No question of mainstream legitimacy of digital cinema content, says panel

Alternative distribution channels for digital cinema have become mainstream, though conventional legitimacy seems far from the minds of the people using them, according to a panel at the June 16 at VIDFEST. The panelists at the Vancouver event described a rapid proliferation in the number of platforms that can be used to distribute cinematic pieces, including mobile phones, the web and ITV, but none of the speakers on the panel, Get Your Work Seen: Alternative Distribution Channels, were interested in winning the same mainstream press attention that accrues to big budget Hollywood fare. There was no disagreement that digital cinema is at the point of being monetized. Beau Buck, CEO of digital distribution company BigDigit, said: "I’ve watched us go from the buzz to the reality, and we’re moving back to the buzz, now," as the popularity of the company’s content heats up. BigDigit sells content to companies including mobile phone operators O2 and Sprint. Buck summed up what seemed to be the panel’s sentiment when asked by an audience member about the viral phenomena of The Corporation, a small film that saw significant mainstream media attention after an explosion of Internet interest. Said Buck, "I actually don’t care – in a way it’s sort of an advantage…Really, the measure is, do people watch it?" Buck noted that in the U.S., particularly, being small and independent can be an advantage since there is significant mainstream mistrust of the Hollywood machine. Ana Serrano, head of the Canadian Film Centre’s Habit@t interactive school, agreed. Asked about the importance of blockbusters to digital cinema, she noted that, "The short answer to your question is that we don’t care." She argued that the Internet, with its cheap distribution, has created a niche market for video content. A single film might bring in a million dollars, Serrano said, but the same money can be made by selling a million films for a buck. "The niche market is becoming way more important," she said, citing the recent statement by Rogers’ VP Dave Purdy, for instance, that the cable company makes more money on its pay-per-view Bollywood films than any other genre. "It’s important to dispute the notion that this isn’t a mainstream activity," Serrano added. Jeff Consiglio, co-manager of film collective Group 101 Films, which now has branches worldwide with its members pumping out short films every 30 days, said that mainstream attention isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Though "proud of staying outside of the mainstream," he said that "I would love it if a film I made got into the mainstream. I’d love the recognition that comes with that." Mainstream recognition, however, may be difficult to achieve. The panelists noted several hurdles that stand in the way of greater distribution for digital shorts, including the volume of content flooding the market. Moderator Katherine Monk, a film reviewer with CanWest Global, kicked off a discussion about the quality of digital cinema with the note that: "The best thing about video is that everyone can make a movie. And, the worst thing about video is that everyone can make a movie." Consiglio noted that his group exercises an editorial function in releasing works from the collective into the public. Since Group 101 produces a film every 30 days, "a lot of them stink…Luckily, we protect you from a lot of that."The panelists noted that the basic essence of filmmaking has remained the same, and that good narrative remains central to the experience, but the best content is adapted to the devices it’s intended for. "What people are going to do is try to share that content on all the devices, and it’s not going to work," said Serrano. Finding good content, the panelists agreed, will be the viewer’s biggest challenge as filmmaking is further democratized. ZeD producer Weston Treimstra noted that a key consideration in the future will be content producers’ ability to attract viewers over the long haul so that they can deliver new forms of cinema. "Once they find you, then we’ll be able to deliver serialized content; that’s our new model," he said. The search, however, won’t be easy. As Serrano noted, distribution of films has become cheaper and easier, but she said that the old distribution bottlenecks are being replaced by new ones. "The gatekeepers are really not the distribution people, but the people who allow users to find content," she said. "Google is going to be your friend."

No question of mainstream legitimacy of digital cinema content, says panel

Broadcast | June 24, 2005

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