Tag Archives: film distribution

DIGI Distribution – Online / VOD Distro & Marketing for Indies

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I caught wind of the DIGI  Distribution model from @MilesMaker™ via a Facebook post. It seemed incredibly apropos to my current situation.

My regular followers know I have two completed feature films. One is  Broken Hearts Club (2008) and the other is Serious Rogers (2010). BHC went into “distribution” via a sales rep and a nonexclusive arrangement with Goliath Promotions. In my heart I’ve always felt that it deserved more. Bigger. Better. Then Serious Rogers was finished and right out of the box it went bigger and wider. There was massive interest in this neo-noir thriller. I met with several BIG distributors at AFM and corresponded with them for months afterwards.  Eventually the super slow market and poor economic conditions of 2011 led everyone to pass.

I tried to take Serious Rogers to VODO.net for a torrent release. My thinking was that I would benefit from the exposure and thus be in a better position for my third film. Unfortunately I found the site clumsy and severely lacking in customer service.

I looked at Mininova as another torrent-release option. Ugh! For sure these folks are shooting themselves in the foot with their labyrinthical web sites. Fuck-a-torrent, I said.

I considered a serial release via a web series portal because I wasn’t into doing the whole YouTube marketing thing myself but I didn’t get a timely response from the upstart web series portal. I started reconsidering Distribber.  Distribber offers a  service that provides the filmmaker with 100% of his revenues, but he pays a hefty fee of  $1200-1500 upfront. In order to use Distribber’s services I would have to go back to Indiegogo and launch a crowdfunding initiative to raise the money. Meh.

DIGI Distribution

Then I read Miles’ post about Digi Distribution. The process works like this: after submission of a DVD screener and approval  you get a nonexclusive distro agreement offering 70% of gross sales, placement on iTunes, Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, DirecTV, Dish Network, COX, Comcast and Cable VOD. DD does all the marketing for you. They even pay the encoding fees.

So far, I don’t see anything to complain about. I’m going to give ‘em a shot using both of my films and report my findings here on my blog.

IFTA: AFM Will Stay in Santa Monica thru 2017

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AMERICAN FILM MARKET® TO STAY IN SANTA MONICA THROUGH 2017

 Los Angeles – Dec. 8, 2011 – The American Film Market (AFM®), the premier event of the Independent Film & Television Alliance® (IFTA®), will remain in Santa Monica through 2017, IFTA leadership announced today. 

 New agreements will keep the AFM at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, its home since 1991, with additional exhibition space continuing at JW Marriott’s Le Merigot Beach Hotel and with conferences continuing at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows.

 IFTA Chairman Paul Hertzberg noted, “We tirelessly explored every option to ensure the AFM would have the best long-term home.  We look forward to many more successful Markets with the beach as our backdrop.”

 IFTA President-CEO Jean Prewitt commented, “Our stated goal from the start of this process has been to provide the best environment, resources and value for the world’s buyers and sellers and, after long and careful deliberations, we believe remaining in Santa Monica will achieve all of those goals.”

 “In Santa Monica, the AFM will soon have access to a new 12-screen multiplex, a 2,000-plus seat world class venue for red-carpet premieres, more hotel rooms, light rail transportation to Los Angeles and Hollywood, and even a spectacular new park across from the Loews.”  IFTA EVP and AFM Managing Director Jonathan Wolf said. “We are thrilled that everyone in the city came together to make this happen.”

 Over the next few years, Santa Monica will be transformed by a variety of public improvements and development projects that will significantly enhance the American Film Market, including:

  • AMC Entertainment is developing a new Santa Monica cinema complex with 12 screens, including an IMAX theater.  It is anticipated to open in late 2014 or early 2015.
  • ·         The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium will be rehabilitated and expanded, providing AFM with an ideal venue for red-carpet premieres.  Expected to be completed in late 2014, the renovated auditorium will include a removable seating system that can accommodate more than 2,000 or create an open space for large events.
  • At least 700 hotel rooms will be added to the downtown area, including mid-priced hotels from Marriott and Hampton Inn.
  • A light Metro Rail terminal at Fourth Street and Colorado Avenue, a five-minute walk from the Loews, will connect Santa Monica to Los Angeles and Hollywood.  Dubbed the “subway to the sea,” it is expected to be operational in 2015.
  • A stunning seven-acre park on Ocean Avenue directly across from the Loews Hotel is scheduled for completion in late 2013, along with an adjoining new mixed-use urban village with restaurants and shops eyed for 2014.

Confirmed dates for AFM in Santa Monica are:

  • October 31 – November 7, 2012
  • November 6 – 13, 2013
  • November 5 – 12, 2014
  • November 4 – 11, 2015
  • November 2 – 9, 2016
  • November 1 – 8, 2017

Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau research estimates that the AFM will contribute more than $100 million to the local economy over the next six years.

About the AFM

The business of independent motion picture production and distribution – a truly collaborative process – reaches its peak every year at the AFM, when 8,000 industry leaders converge in Santa Monica for eight days of deal-making, screenings, conferences, premieres, networking and parties.  Participants come from more than 70 countries and include acquisition and development executives, agents, attorneys, directors, distributors, festival directors, financiers, film commissioners, producers, writers, the world’s press and all those who provide services to the motion picture industry.

Founded in 1981, the AFM quickly became the premiere global marketplace where Hollywood’s decision-makers and trendsetters all gather under one roof.  Unlike a film festival, the AFM is a marketplace where production and distribution deals are closed.  In just eight days, more than $800 million in deals will be sealed – on both completed films and those in every stage of development and production – making the AFM the must-attend industry event.

The AFM is produced by the Independent Film & Television Alliance, the trade association representing the world’s producers and distributors of independent motion pictures and television programs.  More information is online at www.IFTA-online.org.