A few weeks ago, Snag Films announced, by way of their subsidiary media outlet indieWIRE, that they had just closed an exciting deal with Cinetic Rights Management that would add over a hundred films to their catalogue and (in a curious bit of math) “add hundreds” more films to the documentary sharing widget’s playlist.

Cinetic has been very aggressive in their placement of films, and if one looks at the various online film channels and markets, the fruits of their labour are evident. Joost, Jaman, Hulu, Snag, Amazon, Netflix Watch Instantly, E-Z Takes and others are all flush with the riches of Cinetic filmy goodness. The same titles, in fact, on most of these online venues are featured (primarily because Cinetic seems to be repping a handful of high-profile catalogue titles and a host of things that no one has ever heard of).

This wouldn’t be so noticeable if so few other “independent” distributors had come in quite so vigorously. Magnolia and IFC are making a push; as VOD distributors already, going to the internet for some beta distribution there seems natural. Criterion is online on their own site / The Auteurs, but isn’t sullying itself so far by spreading out into ad-supported channels and other free options. Right now, free is largely owned by studios, TV, and Cinetic.

But are free channels like Joost appealing if the selection is limited? Have you come across free movie sites with more selection of quality film? Does something like The Auteurs fill this niche, or Jaman? Do enough people really care about independent film to make it viable and profitable in an ad-supported model? Can Cinetic make money if they are competing with themselves?

The Online Markets that Pay section has been updated. Have you had experience selling your film online as a download, rental, or with ad-supported content? Do you think this model will really work for independent filmmakers? Are there sites you have found (that pay) that aren’t on this list?

The lovely and talented Scott Kirsner hosts a panel today at noon at Sundance described as “In today’s brutal marketplace, filmmakers and distributors are forced to think outside the box. From DIY theatrical to multiplatform releases and viral marketing, there are as many new strategies today as there are successful films. Join us as we showcase films capitalizing on the newest opportunities, as well as the distribution companies articulating the clearest visions.”No surprise that panelists include Matt Dentler from Cinetic, as well as Lance Hammer, Connie White, Christian Gaines, MJ Peckos, Cora Olson and Steven Raphael. Expect to see a post-game on this one at Cinematech.

On Wednesday, another panel in the What Next? series will cover “As traditional film distribution wanes, is broadband ready to pick up the slack? We are finally seeing the major Hollywood players put their cards on the table, and filmmakers are weighing their options. Will broadband revitalize the entertainment industry, or is the industry facing a collapse? This panel assembles studio execs, major independents, and trend spotters to discuss digital distribution. As traditional film distribution wanes, is broadband ready to pick up the slack? We are finally seeing the major Hollywood players put their cards on the table, and filmmakers are weighing their options. Will broadband revitalize the entertainment industry, or is the industry facing a collapse? This panel assembles studio execs, major independents, and trend spotters to discuss digital distribution.”

Oddly, though New Frontier panels are open to the public and free, the logical conclusion of streaming hasn’t really hit yet. What’s next?

During the festival run, January 15-25, iTunes will offer for free 10 shorts screening at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The featured films are “Magnetic Movie”, “Countertransference”, “Acting For the Camera”, “James”, “Hug”, “From Burger it Came”, “Field Notes From Dimension X: Oasis”, “This Way Up”, “I Live in the Woods”, and “Instead of Abracadabra.”

At previous panels I have heard the idea floated about that a good idea would be to have features run online concurrent with their festival dates. No telling exactly what the repercussions of this would be for TV sales in particular (and slightly less of a concern might be theatrical impact) but for shorts, it’s seems only to be a winning proposition.

Ted Hope Art House Convergence Closing Remarks from joe zina on Vimeo.
Indiewire has posted Ted Hope’s keynote address for the Arthouse Convergence, a conference for indie exhibitors ‘and friends’ in Salt Lake City this week. Kind of like one of those relaxation exercises where the speaker keeps repeating “listen to the sound of my voice”, this speech will take you from “the Hell of Now” to a brighter– well, somewhat brighter– place.

I recently got a chance to check out RiP: A REMIX MANIFESTO, the Canadian documentary that takes a look at copyright (and the mashup artist Girl Talk) in a kind of method way- the producers, EYESTEELFILM, and director, Brett Gaylor decided that since the costs of licensing all the expensive music in the film would be prohibitive, and since the film was about these costs, it would essentially be fair use to go ahead and use whatever they wanted (including network footage, usually very expensive) and just see what happens.

It’s a pretty interesting concept, and though the film does paint the issue in overly black and white terms (the CopyRIGHT vs. the Copy LEFT), by the end, Gaylor has raised some interesting issues about the state of copyright, though I’m not sure many of them are answered. Hope to have a discussion with one of the producers which will be here soon.

It’s definitely worth seeing especially if you enjoy the Girl Talk phenomenon- I met him a few weeks ago at a show and was impressed- he’s totally into giving a great performance- which is all the more remarkable given that his performance is pushing some buttons. And, in keeping with the mashup philosophy, if you don’t like the film (or especially if you do) you can make your own version at OpenSourceCinema.

I haven’t had a chance to write about many notable recent articles about the digital distribution scene, but some highlights:

It seems like the idea of digital distribution has enough traction to serve as a seductive cover come-on, but like “10 New Cellulite Cures” or “Are Jen and Brad and Angelina Buddies?”; “Internet for Indies: The Future of Distribution” (HDVideoPro) basically serves to tell us there is a whole lot we don’t know yet.

The New York Times dedicated an issue of its Sunday Magazine to “screens” small and large. A.O. Scott’s article “The Screening of America,” which might be described as “sweetly naive,” praised the emergence of new ways to watch movies while totally ignoring the production mechanism behind the favourites he cites. If the plan is to only watch high-budget studio films, existing work, and YouTube, Tony is definitely in business.

Over at Filmmaker Mag, Editor Scott Macaulay invites five other white guys (distinguished ones) to discuss the emerging/dying state of distribution as we know it. The beginning of that article is here- the basic gist is that things have to go back to being cheap. With the current state of the economy, there’s little choice.

The Internet Archive hosts something they call Open Source Cinema, which is difficult at first pass to distinguish from YouTube in terms of content- though it is less fun to navigate. Apparently, all the media they host is user generated, with a Creative Commons license, so that it not only is free to download and watch, but presumably to use in other noncommercial projects.

A few feature-length films have been created in an Open Source model- one coming up in December is called THE LAST DRUG. I can’t say this approach has yielded films I’d want to sit through for any length of time, but it’s a concept that will no doubt be explored more thoroughly as social networks and cheap technology allow for experimentation.