Industry Insider: It’s Time For A Better Video Distribution Model
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- November 03 2008
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Industry Insider is a new Transworld Business column featuring the views and opinions of, you guessed it, members of the action sports industry. If you’d like to share your thoughts, opinions, initiatives, or other industry related tidbits, drop us a line at business@transworld.net.
By: Brad Kremer
Film director/producer
Filming and producing some of the sport’s best movies since 1994, Brad has clocked up 5 ‘Movie of the Year’ titles. From Kingpin Productions to Mack Dawg Productions, Kremer has spent the last 15 years of his life traveling the world in pursuit of the perfect shots, and learned the video side of the industry inside and out.
There has been a lot of talk lately about illegal downloads of snowboard videos. Even though it has been happening for quite a while now, it recently seems to be the hot topic. Things are changing in the independent snowboard film industry. More and more snowboard companies making their own films, MDP not making the “standard” snowboard movie anymore; I think the current situation of the industry, and the economy, has really put a stress on the independent filmmaker, and of course when we get stressed about the decline in DVD sales where do we look first? Illegal downloads. I recently put a lot of thought and research into the topic and what I found out is that is extremely complicated.
There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding this issue. You may think that since I have made a living off of making snowboard videos that I would put all the blame on the people downloading the videos. But I say that we filmmakers are as much to blame as the kids doing the downloading. So let’s explore it from both sides.
First things first - The most common reasoning I hear from these kids downloading our films for free is that we make all our money off sponsors, and since they buy snowboards and support our sponsors they therefore are supporting us as well. This couldn’t be more wrong. What they need to realize is that the independent filmmaker is different from the snowboard company that makes a film. The independent film gets maybe a third of its budget from sponsors. The rest of the money comes from DVD sales. We are lucky if we sell just enough to stay in business. Now if a snowboard company makes a film and just barely breaks even it’s a really good thing for them, because for them it’s just one big marketing tool - not their bread and butter. If they have hundreds of thousands of YouTube views and thousands upon thousands of BitTorrent downloads it’s actually good for them because they are getting more people watching their marketing tool. So you can see how it’s a big difference. The next excuse I hear a lot is that they can’t get the movies until months after the release in their country, or that it costs too much money, or that they don’t want a hard copy any more. These are all valid points, but non of them makes it OK to steal these films. They are just excuses. They are still “stealing” the films.
But let’s have a look at these last few “excuses”. Although they do not make it right to steal the films, they do make me think about why they are doing it, and this is where I came to realize that we as filmmakers are just as guilty as the ones who are ripping off our films. Before I get to that, I will try to explain some of these points. So kids want the movie now, not next month - now! Well, can we blame them? We should feel honored that they can’t wait for our movies. It sucks that some countries have to wait so long for the film to arrive there. If the people are into the scene enough to know when the film is out then the filmmaker and distributor should do all that they can to get it to them on time. But what then if it costs too much? Here in North America the DVDs are decently priced. Not too high, but not cheap either. But in some countries, especially in Europe, the DVDs have been outrageously priced - sometimes costing as much as $60 US. 60 bucks?!!! That would have to be one hell of a movie for me to buy it too, I’ll tell you that. Whose fault is this? Well I can tell you that the company I worked for didn’t make anymore off those high priced DVDs then we did here in North America. The distributors in those countries thought it was a good idea for some reason. We fought them for years to lower the prices but they refused. I think they have finally come down some, but it might have been too little too late, and none of this matters if they don’t even want a hard copy anymore. What to do then? Well, the only option is for us to offer a digital download. There have been a couple problems surrounding this. First, it’s a huge risk for an independent film company to offer the movie for download with no copy protection. Who’s to say that we wouldn’t lose even more revenue because a few download the film and then share that copy with everyone for free. Maybe that wouldn’t happen, but it’s a scary thought for a company when they are barely making it in the first place. Second, the music is a huge issue for downloads. Most soundtracks these days are from bands on major labels. A lot of the bands you think are indie are actually on an “indie” label owned by a major label, and as such clearing for digital downloads gets complicated and expensive. So if you put your film on say iTunes, where it has protection, after paying the bands and iTunes and the agent that got you on iTunes, you end up making next to nothing. It’s all so complicated and hard to get a grasp of when you don’t have adequate resources.
After going through all of this, I again say that we as filmmakers are just as guilty as the downloaders. We have lost touch with what the consumer wants, or better yet, we have lost touch with how to deliver our product to them. We have spent so much time and energy trying to make our films the best that they can be that we forgot to watch as the industry was changing right before our eyes. I think this is a turning point for snowboard films. The producers who will survive this period will have to come up with new models of distribution. They will have to listen to their audience, and they will have to take risks. I just hope that those who are downloading these films can realize they are hurting the industry that they seem to love so much, and if they want it to grow, if they want better films, then they need to put in a helping hand as well. If they want movies to progress, if they want to actually be a part of the answer and not the problem then I suggest they write in to their favorite production company that they are downloading their movies for free and tell them why, tell them what compels them to do this, and tell them what it would take for them to support the cause.
It’s time to stop fighting about who is right and who is wrong. That will get us nowhere. Instead, lets discuss new options, new distribution models - let’s work together to bring this industry into the 21st century.
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November 3rd, 2008 at 10:35 am
Already posted this…but I will again, might be a pie in the sky idea, but it’s the only thing I can think off.
How many people really buy these movies anyway and how much profit is in it? Not many and not much. The cost of printing and pressing a DVD probably cost as much as it does to make the movie. Then you have to give it to a distributor who takes a healthy cut. So what are you left with? Not much. MDP saw the writing on the wall, but they choose to give up instead of changing their model. Give away the movies for free on your website and change the way brands sponsor movies. So their is an upfront sponsorship fee to help pay for the production, then put the movie for free on a website, then have an agreement with sponsors to pay based on the number of times the movie has be downloaded in month and have different rates for the amount of exposure said brand has in the film, with a cap of course. So you just eliminated your printing and pressing costs, increased your distribution, cut out the middle man, killed the torrents and gave you and your crew a steady income for the season. There you go I just save the action sports video star, Please send 1 dollar to Happy Dude at 742 Evergreen Terrace.
Oh and tour the crap out the films. Not just 5 dates in ski towns before the season even starts?
Another idea is to have a donation, which was suggested, but offer 50% of the proceeds to a foundation like POW or Surfrider, so people will want to give you money.
Oh and you can also get money coming in from putting banner ads on your site if it gets or you anticipate a lot of traffic depending on the caliber of your film. It will also be easier to see real time statistic on how well your film is doing. If your flick gets downloaded a million times, the next year you can go to same sponsors with hard facts and they will have a more tangible idea of the return on their investment and be more willing to give you money again and maybe even more then last time. You couldn?t make claims like this under the old paradigm. You can say you printed X number of copies but in reality you gave bunch of guys 100?s of promo copies of your film that they never gave to people and they sat in his office or his bedroom floor and you just wasted a crap load of money and you don?t even know it. And trust me I am sure that happens a lot, or worse the promo copy ends up in the hands of a Pirate.
November 3rd, 2008 at 9:36 pm
I’ve got to disagree with Bhawk; it’s not time to start giving away movies for free. If producers just give their movie away on their sites they shouldn’t do so expecting any money or even a “thank you” from it. Also, the rigors, time and expenses associated with building, maintaining, promoting and then selling ads on a website should not to be taken lightly.
Worldwide entertainment DVD sales overall went up (again) in 2008, not down. There are more good movies than ever before…more niche films…and more bad movies. At the sb shop level, there are so many choices that the retail buyer is just exhausted…and, right now especially, cash strapped. But consumers have no problem whatsoever with choice; in fact we expect and want it (netflix anyone?).
There are actually way more places and ways than ever before to sell content, dvds, blueray dvds, downloads, magazine bind-ins, paid streaming, HD internet streaming, various TV, VOD — the list goes on. Us distributors must change with the times and the producer must make a product knowing it will will molded into different lengths, sections, packages, etc etc. It’s not just about sales of DVDs to shops.
Promo Tours. Expensive…and causes liver damage — but we all love a party!
One Solution (we think): is to sell the downloads and dvds from as many possible online locations as possible. We ALL love these films; so why not put the widget on your site and get paid to sell some downloads? New films, catalog titles, re-edits, TV shows that never aired. So we’re making it risk-free for sb shops, brands, mags, online retailers, univ clubs, resorts to offer free teasers/samples and paid downloads (and the producer sets the price, not Apple). The Player is going on sites that already have traffic, a webmaster etc.. The filmmaker films and the webmaster…he webs.
New distribution technology, in the hands of people who love the films and know the sport, will soon be in play and making money for those with libraries and for those who have talent and work as hard as Brad. Keep shooting and stay loose Brad!
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:57 pm
i went to two shops last month and neither one had new videos. if the old distibution model can’t get videos out within a month, its no wonder videos are ripped and downloaded. until this season, most companies didn’t give the consumer a choice between a legal download and an illegal one. if you can’t get the vid for a month, or more, and your only choice online is an illegal download, guess what the consumer will choose. the other obstacle is cost. teenagers and college kids can only afford so many 30 dollar vids, but most likely want to purchase a few of them. if you can buy a cheap a download for any of the vids or a 30 dollar dvd, you’ll probably get the dvd of the one you really want and pay for the other downloads. great examples of this are forum or against’em and thats it thats all. and both use an extra feature disc to entice dvd sales over download sales. the jury is still out, but i’m these two vids will sell way more than all the others just released on dvd.
November 4th, 2008 at 8:04 am
Like you said, there is too much selection and a lot of crap and the market is saturated. Retailer don’t want to buy more stock cause they are still trying close out the films that nobody wants to buy. That why stuff doesn’t hit the floor fast enough.
Under the model as proposed above it will force producers to step outside their comfort zone and move away from the standard music video / head shot interview format and actually come up with original ideas to pitch to brands to sponsor their films. It is what a filmmaker has to do when finding funding for their projects. I got buddies that pimp their asses off to get the cash to make movies outside ASI, why should we be so privileged. However, the executive producers are looking for a return on their investment, but not always some are willing to put money behind something as a tax credit because they just simply believe in the project. If your film is dope, has a real message and has be viewed my millions of people then the sponsors will stoked because you have helped increase their brand equity ten fold.
The way it seems to work now is, Ya I’m working on this snowboard flick, it basically the same as every other snowboard flick, and can you send me over a couple grand. You never hear from them again and the only return you get is a box of promos and an invite to the premier and some free beer. I’m sorry but I would be stocked to give so real cash to a crew that was doing something different and can give me some real follow up to my investment.
People need to come up with interesting story line and documentary style films with some real thought, because when you see one 1080 set to the latest trendy music you?ve seen them all. Look at Youtube, 90% of the comments are what track is this, what does that say? Coming up with a new style of filming will give a sponsor a reason to give you more money because you will be actually doing something positive, and the brand will be like wow this guy is finally doing something different. So it not really just the distribution model that needs to change it?s the whole media that needs to change from conception all the way to distribution, the whole thing is stale. I think with this model will allow not only a creative approach to distribution but will force a better overall production standard.
November 4th, 2008 at 8:16 am
Exactly kids don’t want spend 30+ bucks for a 45min film, it’s the same reason why they don’t want to buy music. It’s a shity feeling forking over cash to buy a flick when you know that 50% goes to the store 30% goes to the distrabution company an whatever is left goes to the person that actually made the film, who has incured all the cost of the production and marketing, it’s bogus. I would buy music all day long if it went directly to the person that made it.
November 4th, 2008 at 11:04 am
The video distribution model hasn’t changed since the 80’s when there were only two ways to see skate or snow action: still shots in magazines and VHS tapes from the skate shop. Think about what’s happened since…there is now a ton of snow/skate/surf content everywhere, from several magazines for each sport, a 24hr cable channel, the internet, TV coverage of contests, even advertising. WIth that kind of saturation, the less than hardcore have little incentive to plunk down money for a visual fix. Unless you go to the shop a lot, you won’t have any exposure to the DVDs that are available. The movies have stepped it up and gotten a lot better, but I don’t think that your average participant even knows they’re there. Next time you’re on the chairlift ask the people how many snowboard movies they’ve seen. You’d be surprised at how few of them see any. Most of your average snowboarders don’t set foot in a real shop more than once or twice a season, and when they do, what are the chances that they’ll even notice the stack of video spines buried in the counter?
If you want to fix the snowboard movie business, you need to reach more snowboarders. Fix the retail bottleneck, fix the exposure problem. There is a massive untapped market of snowboarders who don’t even know we exist, and this market will absolutely dwarf the one that buys or illegally downloads the movies.
November 4th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
I learned more about downloading illegal hollywood movies from a filmer last winter than I had learned on my own. I doubt there is a person out there that doesn’t have illegal content on their computer.
November 4th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
I agree completely with the above post in regard to the ‘fix the snowboard movie business’ sentence. The average person who snowboards isn’t someone reading this, or someone who pays attention to each and every new snow film. ‘Fixing’ (or better yet, changing) the distribution model has as much to do with figuring out how to tap into the average snowboarder’s brain, and insure they not only know about these films, but want to purchase them–either for their iPod, OR their DVD Player. Your average snowboarder isn’t hanging on every word in every magazine, spending every afternoon in their local shop, or geeking on anything they didn’t stumble upon on YouTube, or the TV in the Lodge during one of their 10 days on the hill. Other than Shaun White, your average snowboarder doesn’t know who’s hot and who’s not, who’s style kills, and who puts together a great video part. Tapping into this average snowboarder, this demographic that makes up the vast majority of consumer for us, is really the key. Pirated downloads aren’t killing the snowboard filmmakers, it’s lack of knowledge and interest from this ‘average’ snowboarder. How do you tap into this market?? Great question… While films and magazines are the voice of snowboarding so to speak, SPG is right in saying that the majority of ’snowboarders’ don’t necessarily listen.
November 4th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Everyones making good points. I agree with Ally Video on getting the media out there for all to see and purchase. I have their viewer on my blog and it seems to be working.
I also agree that filmers need to change how they market things and distributors have to fix how they do things. The shop I work in sells through DVD’s a lot. We didn’t used to, but in the last few years our staff pushes it and we display them throughout the shop. Our Oakley Cases bottom shelf has each new title laying facing up so people view it. We have them behind the counter and we play them in the shop so people can kick it and watch them. If a parent says whats a good stocking stuffer for the kids we mention video’s.
Everyones going to have to step up and figure out ways to help. Like Brad said stop pointing your fingers and actually do something.
November 5th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Retail Sales Tip #1: One smallish shop of ours that sells a TON of DVDs does it like this. They put two titles, 8 facings, on 2 long wall shelves directly behind the counter. A smallish flat screen is also on the same wall. When a customer is in line the clerk puts the (opened) DVD in their hand to check out as they ring-up their stuff. “Most of the time” they buy that or another DVD. Most DVDs are impulse buys. Display it where it can be touched (pretend like it’s a pack of gum at a convenience store) and they sell.
November 5th, 2008 at 10:04 am
we’ve but the Ally widget up on our UK site, and people are commenting how cool it is..not sure how many are downloading yet so i’ll look forward to our first load of stats.
I think there is a huge market for the ipod generation, yes a real dvd is great, but tbh most of the ones in my selection came with a magazine or a subscription the following season or that occasional impulse buy.
People are trawling the web for free or cheap movies and the ability to get a movie within an hour and play it on my laptop or ipod is great…i hope more distro’s are going to get onboard or come up with similar solutions, remember as well the market for good films isn’t only in the US it’s international, in places where no dealers are available, or limited quantities are imported or they have to order from the US and wait for shipping..most people won’t wait!!
November 5th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
and since its price is dollarsUSA and not Euro it makes it a good deal over there?
November 6th, 2008 at 11:48 am
well in sterling rather than the euro, but yeah the exchange rate is not to bad..provided your credit card company don’t screw you to hard ;O)
November 6th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
i am a canadian retailer. we discourage downloads…. we sell 14 2009 movie titles. our sales continue to go up.
part of this problem belongs to the shop….. you need to educate your customer….. they come to your shop for products and inspiration.
November 10th, 2008 at 11:56 am
I think one problem with That’s It That’s All Itunes download is that you can download it only from US store. I’m European and it will affect the sales for sure. It’s going to speed illegal downloads. Of course I want to buy that movie to myself on a Blu-ray.
I’m an independent snowboard filmmaker myself too. For me the most important thing is the quality of the movie. Hard copy is still really important. It’s something you have on your shelf and you can hold it on your hand. If you have movie as a file on your hard drive you might lose it. Hard drives get broken etc. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens.
November 10th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
? video distribution will never go away 100%. no new media form has ever replaced the one before it. for example, in a world dominated by mp3, people still buy records! there will always be customers that want the experience of going into a store and having a manufactured copy of a video. however, the video industry is rapidly following the music industry. for people in the video industry, it would be a good idea to watch music business models. it’s nice to have a guinea pig, and the vid industry has one in music!
? open distribution (legal, illegal, digital purchases, etc.) in music has revealed the true public value of the product. people will sacrifice sound quality, reliability, and convenience for ‘free’. furthermore people have shown that for all these factors, they’re at most willing to pay $0.99 on itunes. (average number of tracks (10) divided by $10 selling price of LP’s). the truth is that if people are ’stealing’ movies, it means that they don’t think it’s worth the purchasing price. what if a kid buys a shred flick, then 20 of his friends borrow that copy? is that stealing? why do we buy a song or a hollywood feature film? ’cause we enjoy it over and over. we get multiple uses out of 1 copy. lesson #1 in quality content.
? while open music distribution has financially put the pressure on record companies, it has also increased pressure on artists as well. to make money on itunes, they need to consistently put out quality product because consumers can select which tracks to pay for. so 1 hit wonders are struggling! lesson #2 in quality content.
? distribution of any product is a numbers game. period. likewise, all businesses exist for profitable gain. if not, they’re called a charity. like how sharks need to move forward to survive, businesses need to generate profit to exist.
? the biggest problem with the snowboard industry is that the market is too small, and this affects us all, from video producers to accessories makers. only 400k people buy snowboards (less than 1% of the usa population). but for ipods, the market is 300 million people because everyone listens to music! this is another one of my beefs with the 1 company that should be expanding our market: our industry leader. they are doing a great job as industry leader, but that’s not good enough, they need to be doing an excellent job. the only way to get their ass in gear is to have other companies offer them real competition. and yet i digress.
? is there a need (not a ‘want’)for snowboard video? yes. this is why it’ll never go away. but bigger companies with crazy overhead are gonna be in trouble. if mack dawg packs it up (i think they have, so enter the name of any other major production company complaining about the situation), are videos gonna disappear? no. some kid with a crappy camera is going to start making the next big vid.
solution:
? the shred video business model is bad from the get go. distributors shouldn’t be paying for production. (i have friends at ally and vas who’ve shown me how vids are financed. it’s stupid). in fact, their money shouldn’t be coming from sponsors, either! why not take a model from a proven film model? like, oh, say, hollywood? producers should make their money on… ticket sales! even with dvd’s people still go to theaters. why? the experience: larger than life screen. crisp audio. crowd energy. what, you don’t think enough people would go to a theater and pay to see a shred movie? 1. remember the “expand the market” comments. 2. content. film makers need to move away from the old model of movie. that model worked 8 years ago and worked well. times have changed, and so should the movies. everyone needs to stop copying robot food’s formula. rf’s ‘lame’ was the nirvana nevermind of shred flicks. every movie afterward has been influenced by lame, without a doubt. but even lame wouldn’t make it in the theaters…
? the existing film model hurts the industry! if producers make the bulk of their income from sponsors, then products must cost more to account for the cost of supporting a movie. consumers do not benefit from expensive products. perhaps more people would be into snowboarding if the cost of entry was lower. on top of that, movie sponsorship doesn’t guarantee success. many brands that have been in top movies have gone down. how does itunes generate $3.34 billion in 08 so far (apple’s 10k filing last month)? they have a wide audience. we need to make pro snowboarders household names! we need more shaun whites! (even though i don’t like his riding style).
? there are producers that do things right. i’m a big fan of benedek’s work. his movies are very watchable (wide audience). on top of that, he experiments with different distribution models. he gave away 91 words for snow in magazines.
? it is for sure possible to grow snowboarding without having it lose its integrity. the path is not with espn or mountain dew. the way to do it is for us to carve our own path. our industry leader can do this, but isn’t. maybe it’s time to start pushing from the back end?