Part 24: Musings on the future of independent film distribution

Since the release of The Sensation of Sight in the summer of 2008, the independent film industry has been pretty much turned on its head.

And this is especially true regarding distribution. It comes as no surprise to anyone who has been following the independent film business that the last couple of years have seen a long-awaited and much-anticipated disintegration of the old distribution model and the beginnings of a new era in terms of how filmmakers are finding access to the global marketplace.

As I sit here writing this post, I find myself thinking back to when we first launched Either/Or Films five years ago and how different the landscape was then. It’s pretty amazing all that’s happened since. Putting together a distribution strategy when we were raising financing for Sensation, our first feature film, was a no-brainer: Read the rest of this entry »

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An Introduction to The Sensation of Sight

david_strathairn_jane_adams_the_sensation_of_sightHere we are with a new website and a new blog for The Sensation of SightThis will be kind of an unusual film blog, because instead of writing it prior to the filming, which is what most filmmakers do, we’re beginning after the filming, after the film’s festival run, after its U.S. theatrical release, after its North American DVD release, and after its release to the world via our sales agents, LongTale International.

Why now? Why all these “afters”?

The rise of social media is a big reason.  Never before have independent filmmakers had access to their potential audiences as they now do via Facebook, Twitter, My Space, YouTube, and all the other rapidly developing sites.  It’s possible now, for audiences to hear about the film on these sites, proceed to websites like ours, and then decide to take a look for themselves.

Formerly, only studio films or independent films distributed by arms of the studios could come into national and international awareness.  The average marketing budget for a studio film has been estimated at between $30-50 million.  Since independent films are usually made for a tiny fraction of what studio films are made for (usually from $500,000 to $5 million or up to $15 million), they’ve had a difficult time attracting audiences without being able to pay for expensive print and television ads.

But now that’s changed.  So we thought we’d put up a new website for The Sensation of Sight as it makes its way into the world, one that can easily be interactive with you, our audience. We hope to offer you interesting insights, film clips, video interviews, and ideas about the making of this film and about the making of independent films in general.  Let us know what you think.

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