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| The Katra Film Series in SoHo, New York Shows the Latest Indie Short Films To a Growing Underground Audience! |
In the world of this film, Bobby Bowfinger is intended to be a loveable loser, an Ed Wood type we laugh at. But if Bowfinger was working today in the current indie scene, he'd be thriving! You don't have to reserve a table at a fancy Hollywood restaurant to hear some guy on his phone talking the Bowfinger-lingo. Today, you'll find twenty-somethings doing the same thing at any Starbucks. Nor is this regulated to only Los Angeles and New York. Over the past few months I've heard more and more about APEX RISING, one of the largest indie film shoots in the history of Long Island. You can read more about that shoot here.
Everyone is a producer now; every actor's got a webseries coming out that they also co-wrote. Television pilots are now a new trend for the indie producer with the DSLR camera. Approximately 15,000 indie films are made a year, with about 1% getting conventional distribution. And if you're wondering exactly what "distribution" means, I can't really answer that because its definition is currently in flux. The Bowfingers of the world have taken the concept of film distribution away from the studios and made it their own concept. By 2015, I predict "distribution" will mean something else entirely.
So how is this different from a year ago? First off, I have to admit I'm somewhat disappointed that the mainstream public has not fully felt the effect of the revolution. There is a growing crowd for film festivals, but in Hollywoodland, the crowds still flock to see THE HUNGER GAMES, THE AVENGERS, and SKYFALL. Hollywood is not going to become obsolete, at least not until a major breakthrough film comes out of the indie circuit.
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| Liz Miele's Webseries DAMAGED |
Thirdly, I feel that independent filmmakers are losing that independence and becoming catered to as a market. Just earlier today I was invited to an indie networking event with a hefty admission fee that promised many contacts; furthermore there are whole series of fundraising seminars for indie filmmakers, screening series for indie filmmakers, and other events for indie filmmakers, all of which charge money in exchange for supposedly helping you gain money down the line. Holy Shit, we are our own franchise!!!!
Not that I'm bashing networking events. They have helped me in the past, and it's always good to meet new people. But this leads me to my biggest point, the special word of the day:
Strategy.
It's not enough to shake hands and hand out business cards anymore. It's not even really enough to say your movie has been screened; there are tons of venues in New York that will honestly screen anything. What matters is doing these things CORRECTLY and in a way that generates momentum for the next step. It's all about the game plan; filmmakers are doing the research and building the buzz in a way that creates their own audience and builds word of mouth before the film is even shown. You can promote your film more in five minutes on Twitter and Instagram than you can in an entire night of schmoozing at a networking event.
Finally, this may sound cliched, but I honestly feel that the best way to succeed as a filmmaker is to just focus on being a filmmaker. Yes, it's important to know how to promote, but if you actually HAVE talent and can reliably make consistently great content, then that will generate promotion in and of itself. I've met a lot of great people and colleagues now that I didn't know four years ago, and it's come not from schmoozing but from just consistently working on my craft. And also by being a post-whore on Facebook.
So there you have it. One year ago, I started this blog and was writing about a cinematic revolution that was in the air. One year later, the revolution is still finding its groove and indie filmmakers are still figuring out how to navigate it. Our job is to work together as a community and develop our strategy together. Stay tuned to G. Rod Buzz as we keep an eye on this movement. Buzz buzz! Who knows, the next great indie masterpiece could be right around the corner...
