WE HAVE NO SECRETS

THE COSMONAUT shows how movies can be made in the New Worlds of financing and distribution. Although the project is still ramping up, the filmmakers have already developed a provocative new paradigm.

This sci-fi feature is being made by the Madrid-based Riot Cinema Collective, which began producing “subversive media” in 2007. Three 22 year-old filmmakers (Nicolás Alcalá, Carola Rodríguez, and Bruno Teixidor) and their 27 year-old head of communications (Gabriela Lendo) make up the collective. For their first feature, they took on an ambitious project that stands out online because of its unique content and distinctive graphics. It is the tale of a Russian cosmonaut, lost in space, who sends mysterious messages claiming he returned to earth and found it deserted.

Riot Cinema launched the project online with a rich and engaging website that includes the script, and an “aesthetic dossier.” It also features an irresistible video that conveys the vision, spirit, and creativity of the project in under 4 minutes. This video demonstrates the brilliant use the collective is making of online media to spread the word, raise money, and build an audience.

THE COSMONAUT already has over 1400 producers and counting. Anyone can become a producer by spending at least 2 Euros at the online store. There is also a growing group of investors who will receive a share of the profits for investments of 1000 Euros or more.

While the 600,000 Euro budget is being raised, a team of more than 35 people is already working gratis on the film. The energy and enthusiasm of this Wild Bunch is captured in their team video. They’ve already scouted locations in Star City (where Russia’s cosmonauts were trained), begun casting, and designed posters. They’re also engaging other musicians and designers through competitions and events.

The collective has devised a radical distribution strategy to attract attention, generate good will, and build community. THE COSMONAUT will be distributed for free online in HD. It will also be released in theaters, on TV, and on DVD at the same time. Even more radically, the film will be made under a “share alike” Creative Commons license that will allow anyone to edit, copy, remix, and distribute versions of the film. Rather than fearing piracy, the collective is welcoming the creative engagement of people across the web.

THE COSMONAUT is a trailblazing project worth following. The filmmakers are committed to transparency and are making full production and financial details available online. They proudly proclaim “we have no secrets.”

Their latest video won the INVI Awards for Audiovisual Innovation. If you watch it you may be powerless to resist becoming a producer. It only costs 2 Euros and could help you see the future of distribution on Earth.

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Jon Reiss’ new book, THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX OFFICE, contains a wealth of valuable information and insights on state-of-the-art distribution. I consulted with Jon on BOMB IT and was impressed by the savvy way he brought his movie into the world. THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX OFFICE presents all that he learned in the trenches, plus the expertise of leading distribution pioneers. Read it and take control of your distribution.

If you know you want to purchase the book, you can click here and buy it at a discount. If you need more information or want to learn about the free gifts that come with it, click here. For an additional discount (valid through December 18th), use coupon code “THANK YOU.”

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SOCIAL FILMMAKING

5,504 miles from Hollywood in Tampere, Finland, five “students and unemployed people” began reinventing moviemaking out of sheer necessity. Lacking the experience and resources to make STAR WRECK: IN THE PIRKINNING their ambitious sci-fi parody, they built a vibrant global community around the production, demonstrating the power of what they call “social filmmaking.”



Going far beyond the traditional model of face-to-face collaboration between handpicked cast and crew, director Timo Vuorensola and his four teammates were able to harness the creativity and expertise of people around the world they had never met. They developed a 3000-person community online, which yielded a writer, composer, and actors. Members of the community also translated the film into more than 30 languages and dialects.

The community created 50% of what ended up on screen. This includes spectacular special effects, 3D models, and digital environments, allowing this elaborate, effects-laden film to be made for only 15,000 Euros.

Their army of viral evangelists helped jumpstart the distribution of STAR WRECK when it was released in 2005. Timo and his team made the film freely available for download believing “you can double your income if you give something away for free.” Even though they didn’t have money for traditional marketing, the free availability of the film online created significant demand for the DVD. The filmmakers sold 10,000 DVDs (plus merchandise) directly from their website and also made retail DVD distribution deals in Scandinavia, the US, and the UK. Eight million free downloads later, they continue to sell DVDs in stores and online. The filmmakers have already earned 20 times what they spent making the film and revenues are still coming in.

A passionate advocate for social filmmaking, Timo developed wreckamovie.com, a new web platform that enables filmmakers to build online communities around their films and tap existing ones. Almost 100 projects--including features, documentaries, and shorts--have already signed up.



When I interviewed Timo at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, he was completing the financing of IRON SKY, his new sci-fi feature about Nazis on the moon. Timo and his team’s innovative use of social filmmaking on STAR WRECK helped them raise a substantial 4.2 million Euro budget from traditional financing sources for IRON SKY. Even with the luxury of an exponentially higher budget, Timo and his team are counting on the vital support of the IRON SKY community--already 1000 strong and growing--to collaborate creatively and tirelessly spread the word.

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Scott Kirsner’s new book, FANS, FRIENDS & FOLLOWERS features an insightful interview with Timo. The book is an indispensable resource for filmmakers interested in building audiences for their work.

Scott has offered a 15% discount to all readers of the DISTRIBUTION BULLETIN. You can buy the paperback (discount code: VSZJHH2J) or the e-book (discount code: paradigm).

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CROWD-FUNDING

In her quest to change the world, Franny Armstrong has already changed how films can be funded. She designed an innovative “crowd-funding” strategy that has raised over $1 million dollars--£590,000 for the production and distribution of her new feature THE AGE OF STUPID and £164,321 for the Not Stupid social action campaign. A documentary/fiction hybrid, THE AGE OF STUPID is set in the “devastated world of 2055,” where a lone archivist (played by Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite) views footage from 2008 and asks “why we didn’t stop climate change when we had the chance.” Read More...

JILL'S NEXT RECORD

Jill Sobule is as irresistible online as she is on stage. Her persona on the web is so distinctive and compelling that she’s been able to finance her new album with $85,000 in online contributions. Jill is a singer/songwriter whose music is a unique blend of the deeply personal, the socially conscious, and the slyly satirical. Her provocative 1995 hit single “I Kissed a Girl” was the first song with overtly gay content ever played on Top 40 radio, and the hit MTV music video is now a classic. Read More...

DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMED

BusinessWeek posted an illuminating feature, “Indie Filmmakers Hit Their Target,” analyzing how independents are taking control of their own marketing and distribution. The article explores “the transformation of the film industry” and documents how filmmakers are “skipping [conventional] deals and using the Internet to get their stories in front of people who want to hear them.” The website also includes a useful slideshow with commentary. Read More...

TRUE FANS AND TRUE FILMS

Every independent filmmaker should be building and nurturing a core personal audience. The bigger and more loyal the audience, the greater the revenues and creative freedom for the filmmaker. Read More...

LEARNING FROM RADIOHEAD

After liberating themselves from a traditional record deal, Radiohead took control of their distribution. They are now gleefully reinventing it. They launched their new album, IN RAINBOWS, online, selling it exclusively from their website for the first two months. Anyone anywhere in the world could download the album and pay whatever he or she wanted. It is estimated that Radiohead netted almost $3 million from digital downloads off their site. Radiohead received 100% of these revenues (rather than a 10-15% royalty) and had the opportunity to collect buyers' email addresses for future marketing and sales. Read More...

CREATIVE DISTRIBUTION

Filmmakers who control their distribution can be as creative bringing their films into the world as they are making them. Arin Crumley and Susan Buice are the poster couple for distribution as a creative act. Read More...

BUILDING A PERSONAL AUDIENCE

Aspiring to be a superstar? Trying to connect with your fans? Determined to build a core audience? Make it happen online. Create direct relationships with viewers around the world and turn them into loyal supporters of your work. Read More...

HARNESSING USER CONTRIBUTED CONTENT

It’s not a secret weapon. It’s so powerful that sites ranging from Wikipedia to Ebay couldn’t exist without it. I emphasize its importance every time I do a presentation and talk about it with all of my clients. But “user contributed content” is hard to define and harder to understand. Read More...

LONG LIVE DIGIMART!

I want to devote my first mailing to Digimart, the remarkable global summit that brought together digital distribution leaders from around the world. They came from China, South Africa, Australia, Peru, Brazil, as well as across Europe and North America, to share the lessons learned on the cutting edge of film and video distribution. Read More...