Social media means no more secrets. I was surprised to see a screening of my film advertised and retweeted over the past few days. It was happening at a bar in San Diego. One problem. I knew nothing about it. No one contacted me. Or asked for permission.
You know that (annoying) FBI warning you get whenever you put in a DVD. The one that says that the DVD is "for home use only?" Well, it’s there for a reason. You see, even in this age of free content, intellectual property has value. Especially when you’re dealing with an independent filmmaker.
I made a movie. I invested my time (3 years) and money, took out loans to make a film about a topic I believed in. And I wanted it to look good, sound great and have entertainment value. So I paid professionals to get it right. I hired a top level cinematographer, editor, composer, graphics designer, animators and others. I hope the quality is reflected in the film. But I did all of this believing that at some point, I would make my money back because people would put value to what I created. And pay for it.
So while I would love to just give away my movie, please understand that it’s not possible. I don’t have a big distributor or studio behind me. So if you want to screen the film at your bar, homebrew club or to your class, please get in touch with me. I always try to work things out. After all, it’s a catch 22. While I need to make my money back, I also want to expose the film to as many people as possible. And please, don’t force me to become "The Enforcer." It takes the fun away from being "The Filmmaker."
Tags: DVD, enforcer, independent, intellectual property, social media
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I am interested in getting this movie to show to a class at Northern Arizona University. Please contact me to discuss this further.
Im looking all over to contact you for screening rights. please get back to me.. we want to screen this film!!!
bob banner
for hopedance FiLMs and edibleSLO
805 434 3950
This is the problem with traditional copyright. you say you want to expose as many people to your film as possible but hint at enforcement against the very people that would of been your biggest customers. the whole “intellectual property has value. Especially when you’re dealing with an independent filmmaker.” rap rings very hollow my friend. Many people release their works under creative commons and make a very nice living and they don’t have to pull the mpaa iron fist stunt on their fans either. when people see your work has value they will buy(ask Scott Sigler,,J.C Hutchins &Corey Doctorow). I wanted this film for Christmas but told my wife not to bother you’ve just lost 1 customer.
Brian:
I think you missed the point. As an independent filmmaker who self funded the film, I have a right to make my money back. If I had no intention of having payback, I would not have invested as much money. Creative Commons is great for some people. It doesn’t apply here because that wasn’t the model. And I have nothing to do with MPAA.
Sorry you’ll miss out.
Anat
so when and where can I buy a copy for home use then? sheesh man, how hard is it to get these things on ebay or on itunes?
Brian and Anat,
Intellectual property does have value. Consumers need to respect that and producers need to learn how to market it and profit from it without alienating their customers. Sadly both consumers and producers’ lack of knowledge of copyright leads to abuses on both sides.
Anat,
I hope you found the bar in San Diego to be apologetic and eager to pay an appropriate screening fee
Kudo’s to whoeve4r made this post. Very good stuff, you really know what you’re talking about…signed up for your feed. Thanks