"It probably means you’re not paying yourself from those budgets but in exchange, you own the asset and can exploit it however you wish and all that profit is yours (and your investors’). " This. This is some good stuff. Like any of those tech startups where you're putting a whole lot of time and money in until the payoff. Thank you Stacey.
I have gone to VIDCON for 12+ years, first introduced to this amazing convention through a friend. At the time, very few people in the DGA and PGA (I'm a member) had even heard about it. Hollywood was disdainful. But the VIDCON conference (originally in Anaheim, CA) started there with one building and now uses all of them for the conference. Most people there are freedom oriented creators meaning that they don't want network notes, interference from know-nothing executives or more. They just want to create. Eventually VIACOM took notice and bought the VIDCON conference and now has them in Europe, Australia, East coast US, etc., The difference between even NATPE, DGA Digital Day and the PGA conference could not contrast more with VIDCON. VIDCON has dynamic presentations and seminars, a sea of creators, cutting edge content, audience outreach strategies and more. You walk into the halls and FEEL the enthusiasm and excitement, galvanizing the mission of creativity. I could see the writing on the wall for Creative Indie works there as compared to the hierarchical nature of Hollywood with its massive cost structure. Exploring unique niche audience for creative freedoms and profitability is the trend.
Thank you Stacey. I think your columns are right on the mark for a 'guerrilla filmmaker' engaged in 'Guerilla film warfare'. The entrepreneur overcomes the economics to make a film/show to sell and keep going.
I'm an infant in the world of film and am nowhere near producing one of my own. But I know for sure that when I do, I will have no ambitions towards Hollywood stardom. As a result, I will be looking to raise my own money to fund my project. It'll be the indie life for me!
I'll observe that many good feature films could, by my estimate, be 'series' by being presented in well defined 10 - 20 minute 'episodes'. That is, most good scripts have 'mini endings' to sequences which could serve as a break point for an 'episode'. On the other hand, I'm watching series which have episodes of 60 minutes and even up to 80-90 minutes. When you, or Mark if he delved into this, talk about a series and estimating a budget for that series, what is the length of the episodes? And is there an ideal length for episodes in a marketplace in which many people get their entertainment on cell phones?
"It probably means you’re not paying yourself from those budgets but in exchange, you own the asset and can exploit it however you wish and all that profit is yours (and your investors’). " This. This is some good stuff. Like any of those tech startups where you're putting a whole lot of time and money in until the payoff. Thank you Stacey.
You got it @Taylor!
I have gone to VIDCON for 12+ years, first introduced to this amazing convention through a friend. At the time, very few people in the DGA and PGA (I'm a member) had even heard about it. Hollywood was disdainful. But the VIDCON conference (originally in Anaheim, CA) started there with one building and now uses all of them for the conference. Most people there are freedom oriented creators meaning that they don't want network notes, interference from know-nothing executives or more. They just want to create. Eventually VIACOM took notice and bought the VIDCON conference and now has them in Europe, Australia, East coast US, etc., The difference between even NATPE, DGA Digital Day and the PGA conference could not contrast more with VIDCON. VIDCON has dynamic presentations and seminars, a sea of creators, cutting edge content, audience outreach strategies and more. You walk into the halls and FEEL the enthusiasm and excitement, galvanizing the mission of creativity. I could see the writing on the wall for Creative Indie works there as compared to the hierarchical nature of Hollywood with its massive cost structure. Exploring unique niche audience for creative freedoms and profitability is the trend.
Completely agree with you @Michael!
Thank you Stacey. I think your columns are right on the mark for a 'guerrilla filmmaker' engaged in 'Guerilla film warfare'. The entrepreneur overcomes the economics to make a film/show to sell and keep going.
I'm an infant in the world of film and am nowhere near producing one of my own. But I know for sure that when I do, I will have no ambitions towards Hollywood stardom. As a result, I will be looking to raise my own money to fund my project. It'll be the indie life for me!
You should come to SeriesFest in 2025! I think you will be surprised by what you find taking place in Denver and with Indie Television community
Yeah I would like to! I know it's blown up since it's early days :)
I'll observe that many good feature films could, by my estimate, be 'series' by being presented in well defined 10 - 20 minute 'episodes'. That is, most good scripts have 'mini endings' to sequences which could serve as a break point for an 'episode'. On the other hand, I'm watching series which have episodes of 60 minutes and even up to 80-90 minutes. When you, or Mark if he delved into this, talk about a series and estimating a budget for that series, what is the length of the episodes? And is there an ideal length for episodes in a marketplace in which many people get their entertainment on cell phones?
30-45 min is typical