25 Aug What’s Wrong with Indie Filmmaking
Over and over again, the question keeps recurring. What's wrong with indie filmmaking? Depending upon which commentary you read, the answer is: Everything. OK, maybe not everything. Mostly just issues related to finance, production, and distribution. Also some questions about indie filmmakers themselves in regard to their perceived immaturity, narcissistic behavior, and general inability to listen to their elders. I have noticed a generational issue in some of these blog pieces. Some recent articles are actually well thought out and are must reads. For example, David K. Greenwald's piece on "Why Filmmakers Fail" is an essential bit of straight talk for the indie trade, especially item 2 on Greenwald's list (“FAILURE TO COLLABORATE”). Occasionally, some of these articles are instructive. Elliot Grove's list of the 16 Reasons Screenwriters and Film-makers Fail offers a good basic checklist of common mistakes. I especially like items 14 and 15 on his list. Yes, they are the same: “They don't consider other opinions.” This is good solid advice that any number of us have trouble following. I know I do. I am a bit weak on that collaborative thing as well.20 Aug Does Cinema Still Exist
Posted at 02:09h
in Death of Hollywood, Dennis Toth, Digital Revolution, Film Elements, Film Fundamentals
Proclaiming the death of cinema has become a popular pastime. Jean-Luc Godard has been announcing the death of cinema for over 40 years. So he was bound to be right eventually.
Perhaps the time has arrived. Several years ago, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg warned of the end of Hollywood. OK, they were mostly focused on the current Hollywood business model and its possible implosion. Last Spring, Quentin Tarantino produced a stir at Cannes with his death of cinema pronouncement. However, he was mostly complaining about digital projection while having a nostalgic fit on behalf of old-fashioned celluloid. To be honest, Tarantino sounded as if he still used a rotary phone and an old Philco TV set.
Now, with his recent lecture at Pietrasanta in northern Italy, British filmmaker Peter Greenaway gives a much more detailed and provocative argument for the end of cinema. In some ways, Greenaway's remarks are closer to the Lucas/Spielberg perspective. But he goes much further. It isn't just the business model that is broken. It's everything.
Specifically, Greenaway is focused on the greater aesthetic changes taking place due to the digital revolution. The traditional movie theater is fading from its importance. The concept of the screen is changing as the standard movie model is replaced by multiple types of “screens,” from laptops to smart phones. The entire model of production and distribution is evolving
25 Apr Film vs. Television
Posted at 11:20h
in Digital Revolution, Film Exhibition, Marketing & Distribution, Film Fundamentals
In the past year, I have seen the hoary old question of film versus television come up in a variety of contexts regarding indie cinema. To be honest, I thought that the whole issue was a no-brainer. But people still ask. Should indie filmmakers be...
13 Dec It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s —
Posted at 06:52h
in Digital Revolution
...R&R's site traffic! Google Analytics' site statistics and benchmarking software indicates that our site is outperforming other small business Web sites on a number of dimensions: Bounce Rate = 42.30% [vs. 56.42% in peer Web sites] Visit Depth (Pages/Visit) = 3.5 [vs. 1.48] Avg. Time on Site =...