Good for Michael Moore. Yes, some of them are starting to get it. But even the ones who are getting it are only partly getting it, and - like your director, Jan - are bullied by producers and funders who are still a long way from getting it.
In May, I was at a talk about the future of documentaries given by Deborah Scranton, who directed War Tapes. In the end, she advocated YouTube as the best way to get your films seen by people. I asked her how she thought that kind of free distribution fitted with getting the considerable funding needed to make big documentaries like hers. She didn't have an answer. And then I asked her whether it was OK for The War Tapes to be distributed on YouTube so that it got viewed by more people. She said "Oh, that's a question for the producer." I was really disappointed with her. One moment, she was saying "It's great for you little people to get your films in front of an audience on YouTube" - and the next, she wouldn't even give her personal view about her own film being shown that way, to a room full of emerging documentary filmmakers. These questions are no brainers to me, and yet she was supposed to be giving an authoritative view about the future of documentaries. It's all very easy for established filmmakers to say "Up and coming filmmakers should use YouTube" - but if they say that, then they have to be able to justify why THEY should use it, too - regardless of what the studio's lawyers say in 2008. Otherwise it's just a bullshit platitude to make them sound like they get it. And it doesn't address the problem of how big documentaries will be funded ten years from now. I'm always amazed at how long it takes TV and Film professionals to understand and get excited about this stuff, instead of seeing it as a financial threat. Rupert http://twittervlog.tv On 5-Sep-08, at 3:29 PM, Jan McLaughlin wrote: Great news, really. They begin to 'get it'. Ha! Bwah-hahaha. Yes!!!!!!!!! The director of the indie movie I just finished mixing ("City Island") is putting clips from dailies (bloopers & such) online on his blog through YouTube. < http://moviestildawn.blogspot.com/2008/09/city-island-empire-diner- moment.html > The producers had him cease and desist for about a week during production, but blog comments convinced 'em it was the right thing to do. One producer at a time... The director also wants to break his previous movie ("Two Family House") into 10-minute segments and put the whole thing on YouTube - and WILL eventually. The director definitely gets it. Jan On Fri, Sep 5, 2008 at 3:51 PM, Jay dedman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Michael Moore is putting out his new film, "Slacker Rising", on the web > through blip.tv (for free). > > http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080905-michael-moore-skips- box-office-film-heads-straight-to-net.html > > "*Slacker Uprising* details Moore's tour of 62 US cities in an attempt to > rally young voters before the presidential election in 2004. Moore says > that > he originally considered releasing the movie in theaters, as he did with > his > 2004 film criticizing the Bush Administration, *Fahrenheit 9/11*. However, > he decided to go the online route instead as a symbol of gratitude to his > fans. "I thought it'd be a nice way to celebrate my 20th year of doing > this," Moore told the Associated > Press<http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php? id=12199>. > "And also help get out the vote for November. I've been thinking about what > I want to do to help with the election this year." > > I know Michael Moore and Radiohead have built-in audiences, but it is also > getting people used to these new distribution models. > > Jay > > > -- > http://jaydedman.com > 917 371 6790 > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > ------------------------------------ > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > -- Jan McLaughlin Production Sound Mixer air = 862-571-5334 aim = janofsound skype = janmclaughlin [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
