First I need to apologize for being absent for about a month now. Pressing work assignments and family stuff have kept me busy. And the editing-slash-assembly of all the footage has been keeping the editor(s) of Londinium quite busy as of late. As the months have passed I have been keeping my eye on what is being made and distributed and I find that there is a niche audience for this kind of film. Certain periods in history seems to move in cycles corresponding with the public’s psyche. For a while there was a huge Austrailian and New Zealand invasion with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Then there was a big Mexican influence in cinema with Pan’s Labyrinth and Y tu Mama Tambien. Every decade or so there seems to be a resurgence of Holocaust/World War II films. This year and last seems like the Victorian Era proves prominent in cinema and DVD. Films like Bright Star by Jane Campion, The Young Victoria produced by Scorcese, Sweeney Todd and Alice in Wonderland both by Tim Burton, Sherlock Holmes by Guy Ritchie and Cheri by Stephen Frears. Some being quite successful and others relegated to critical success with limited theatre runs and small box office. Merchant and Ivory have molded their careers around Henry James’ novels and that time period. It appeals to a certain type of moviegoer and not to everyone. However, it seems that most directors take on at least one Victorian project just for the hell of it or maybe because there is a built in audience for these kinds of films. Years ago (and I risk sounding like an old man) but the best place to see these lush period films with their lavish sets and brilliant costumes was on the big screen. It still is the best place to see these movies and other period films only because seeing it big becomes the experience as if submerged in the time. Dolby surround sound designed so that you’re hearing what you might hear while standing on that battlefield or dancing in that huge ballroom. But the paradigm of delivery is shifting and with technology advancing at such a rapid rate it makes me wonder how these beautiful little gems will get to their respective audiences. DVD is fine and with huge plasma screen TVs in some homes it tries to imitate the movie theatre experience. But the option to ‘pause’ to go and get snacks or run to the bathroom or answer a phone call or text all thru a film renders the experience quite different. And because we as a culture have become so distracted by all the little things in life it unfairly translates to the movie watching experience. While no one pauses the film in a theatre, people do get up and down and answer phone calls text constantly with little screens shining brightly in the dark and talk loudly as if they are in their own living rooms. Being a cinephile it ruins my experience so I pick and choose exactly what I want to see on the big screen and where. That aside, my concern for this film is how it will run the obstacle course of getting from obscurity to the public. The festival circuit is the tried and true way of trying to get juice behind a project. But because there is a glut of content the competition is fierce. Nowadays it seems that a publicist is a necessity in order to grab the attention of programmers and festival directors. And you can’t just hire any publicist. You have to do due diligence and really find the right fit for your film. A little publicity including interviews in some of the trades is always helpful and that gets the ball rolling. I feel confident that A Rogue in Londinium will find its way into a good festival and get some traction from there. There are many ways that this particular film has veered off the tried and true path of movie making. The way the filmmakers produced it and the surprise that will be the marketing hook will take it further than most. Enough said on that. Festivals aside the other concern is distribution. It seems that the way of the future is VOD. Video on Demand. That is the last link on the road to delivery. Hopefully if you’ve made a film and you’ve tended to it and loved it and marketed it well thru the festival circuit you may get a theatrical release. Theatrical releases (with the exception of blockbusters and sci-fi) these days are primarily for critical acclaim, as the box office is usually paltry. The other gamut to run with a project is approaching HBO, Showtime, STARZ and some of the other cable networks like IFC Channel and Sundance Channel for a limited release there. The deliverables for cable, though, can be daunting. And as my neighbors have informed me a lot of people are ditching cable. The monthly cost of having access to these stations is just way too expensive in these lean times. So people are turning to their computers and watching things on Hulu or Vimeo or downloads from HBO or Showtime. The screens are getting smaller, too, as one can download just about anything from iTunes and watch it on your itouch, ipad or iphone. If Apple has their way the entire culture of television will be downloaded as VOD from a mac computer (or iThing) to a large cinema-screen monitor (like a tv) and viewed that way. Television sets will be a thing of the past like the Edsel. I would not be at all surprised to find Apple/Google creating its own studio to deliver content to the iMasses. I even heard the rumor that the new iPhone will have iMovie on it so that video recorded can also be edited right there in your hands anywhere and uploaded to share (via iFlip/iShare or You Tube, of course). Bollywood has taken the challenge of creating an entire feature film using cell phones as the cameras. (certainly recording audio separately). I have watched scenes of the Londinium movie that have been stored on the director’s iTouch and while it is fun to hold the gizmo and experience the film that way, I wonder how that small screen effects some of the wonderful acting and how it is perceived. Our eyes and brains are naturally inclined to see another at the actual size it appears. That is where the emotions register and the nuances of thought can be sensed. Magnify that and it becomes drama our ancient predecessor to religion and ritual. It’s in our genes. We want to feel. Even when we don’t, we really do because it shakes us up and makes us sift through our own experiences or lack thereof. In this new iWorld the DVD will be a thing of the past. Blockbuster, Hollywood Video and even the mom and pops are going under. Netflix began with DVD but it is steadily shifting to VOD. The producer’s first film, My Brother’s War is on VOD with Netflix (as well as DVD for now). With production tools so affordable anyone can make a movie in this age of Aquarius. It will be up to the talent, i.e. writers, directors and actors to rise above the rest and shine. That is why I have such confidence in this big little film. It will certainly be interesting to see how talent navigates this new digital age and how the unions deal with the onslaught of new media.
A few people who have their fingers on the pulse of this ever changing landscape are Stacey Parks with her Film Specific site: filmspecific.com. She was sending podcasts out to her fans on facebook during the Cannes Film Festival. Interesting little tidbits for filmmakers and anyone interested in new trends developing in acquisitions. The other trailblazer is Peter Broderick, president of Next Wave and independent consultant on the changing paradigm of production and delivery. Anyone can be a filmmaker but not everyone can be an artist.
Posts
