Missed Brian’s presentation at DIY Days so it’s great that our new online video technology can bring it to us on demand.

What is the future of the DVD format and what is working now? I spoke to Brian Shirey, Director of Media Production at Kino International, about the DVD and where it’s headed.

INFINICINE: In the last 2 years in DVD production, have you noticed any changes? Have you had to make more DVDs to stay at the same revenue levels?

BRIAN SHIREY: There hasn’t been much change in actual DVD production, other than trying to get HD materials as our source when it comes to new films. For Blu-Ray, HD masters are a given. For DVD, if you start with an HD master and then down-convert to Standard Def, you get slightly better quality, plus a good selling point. This is something we do in DVD that in effect anticipates Blu-Ray before actually doing Blu-Ray. But once we start doing Blu-Ray on everything, it’s a moot point. The costs of making more DVDs, while low compared to Blu-Ray, still can offset the revenue, because the DVD market is currently bad. I wouldn’t say for certain that making more DVD keeps our revenue level — but our Sales Director would know better.

I: How much effort do you put into extras? Has that changed over the last few years?

BS: The effort we put into extras varies depending on how accessible they are, and on the title. Classic titles and new films that are genre are good choices for extras, but austere, artier films are often more appropriately released with minimal fuss. Then there are the most obscure titles, for which simply being on DVD is enough. We will often release films that would never see the light of day without us, and we hope that consumers will appreciate the DVD on that basis alone. Not to mention that, the more obscure the film, the less likely that extras would be available. Ultimately, we much prefer doing extras to not doing extras, and pursue adding them as much as we can. But if distribution ends up turning into a primarily VOD market, I wonder if consumers will even care about extras after a while… They’ll just click one button to see a film, then when it’s over, move on to the next one.

I: Do you have to do anything in the production process to satisfy buyers like Netflix or Amazon.com or box stores like Best Buy?

BS: Primarily, no. The more mainstream the outlet, the better it is to have extras. And if it’s a new genre film, having an eye-catching, easy-sell cover is often very helpful.

I: What is a typical range of sales for DVD- what is a small run for you and what is a hit?

BS: A small run is under 5000. A hit is over 15000.

I: What do you think are the end-user¹s favourite aspects of watching a DVD?

BS: How user-friendly and versatile they are. Being able to have the multiple subtitle options, or audio options, and the extras, all on one disc. And now, since they are less expensive to produce and buy, the possibility that more and more movies will be available on the format. As far as I’m concerned, the more films that can actually get released and seen is more important than the quality of how they are seen. This is a debate about Blu-Ray. I think Blu-Ray emphasizes sharpness and absolutely unassailable quality, but by so doing it will exclude entire eras of film (i.e. films before 1950) that might not have the greatest source material available, and hence that distributors might not be willing to transfer to HD. Despite the current dip in the market, I think DVD is the best format for both sides — consumers and distributors.

Readers: Are you still making DVDs? How much longer can you see this format lasting?

IndieGoGo.com offers online fundraising and promotional tools to independent filmmakers.

Useful to think about in terms of reaching communities and audiences…

Speaking with my distribution hat on, we often receive calls from filmmakers who express bitterness that we tend to look primarily at films that come out of major festivals, the big three being Cannes, Sundance, and Toronto, and for us, also Berlin, Venice, and Rotterdam.

They usually act as though it was an affront that we were trying to be ‘exclusive’ and keep their populist movie out of the distribution game. Then there are industry analysts who suggest that these festivals are essential because the programmers weed out the dross and show us “an initial signal of a film’s quality.”

To me, it’s much more basic. Most arthouse/independent distributors don’t have huge marketing budgets. If a film is at one of the major festivals, it means it’s on the radar of a lot of press, theatre owners and industry, and even the public, all for free. If it gets good buzz, or especially an award, that is money in the bank. It’s not some kind of conspiracy to keep The People out but it is a business.

Can this be generated more affordably and in a less elitist way with online tools? Can you replicate the kind of excitement and engagement a large, expensive festival can produce? Or is the whole system outdated?

Today, IndieGoGo and Sausalito Film Festival will launch a new event called the Tease and Screen. The idea is to give filmmakers an opportunity to show clips from works-in-progress and invite audience members to participate as funders, crew, or publicity-generators. The work is featured at the Festival and on IndieGoGo.com.

The inaugural Tease and Screen showcases a number of projects:
o The Harvest – by Robin Romano (produced by Eva Longoria and the producers of War Dance) – A documentary about the children who work to feed America.

o Time to Impact – by Tom Cappello (produced by Dan Abrams and Richard Krasney) – A documentary about Paterson, NJ. Is it possible to turn a city around in 365 days?

o As The Dust Settles – by Arin Crumley (produced by Mike Hedge) – A participatory film, collaboratively shot and edited about life-changing experiences, the Zeitgeist and Burning Man.

o Eloquent Graffiti – by Zak Forsman – A story about the inability of humans to connect in a meaningful way despite the increasing presence of social technologies designed to do exactly that.

o Tapestries of Hope – by Michealene Christini Risly (produced by Michelle Titus) – A documentary about two activists from two corners of the world taking on a government and an urban myth to protect young girls from rape and abuse.

o Win or Lose: A Summer Camp Story – by Louis Lapat – A character driven, personal documentary about the thrill of the win and the agony of defeat… at summer camp.

I’ll have more on IndieGoGo and its funding model and an interview with Slava Rubin, its founder, in the coming days.

The SXSW Panel Picker went live today and there are many intriguing options. One I hope you’ll give the thumbs up to is mine, “The Main Event: Finding an Audience for Your Film.” The idea of the panel is to learn from awesome experts how to create event screenings, i.e. screenings with more excitement, interactivity and singularity than just your typical 7PM showing. Just as rock bands have used live shows to pick up the slack financially now that CD sales are slumping, independent filmmakers can create event screenings to bring more people in to see their movies. Vote here!

You’ve laboured to make the the perfect, taut, compelling trailer- now you need people to see it. Where are the places that will get your film to your audience?

1. Youtube
2. Apple trailers- if you can get on here, it is the gold standard, but they’re selective.
3. Facebook- A fan page is good, but the advanced user may want to consider a video sharing widget ala Brightcove
4. Hulu – trailers are in MPEG2 format and you should contact trailers@hulu.com
5. Specialty sites- no matter what the topic of your film, chances are there is a video-hosting site for the genre. There are Christian video sites, pet video sites, activist video sites, GLBT video sites, and the list goes on. Find the right one (or more) and upload!

Do you have better sites than these for trailer sharing? Please comment.