In today's world of independent cinema, the only thing that seems to keep money rolling is horror and documentaries.  Getting a science fiction feature out there is almost near impossible without 10 times the visual impact you think it needs, from a filmmaker's perspective.  Getting any money from your films is a sheer crapshoot anymore, let alone anything on the front end. What's going on here?

This is a long one...  When a new filmmaker sets out to make a movie, he/ she aims to make it big, get picked up by Hollywood, or just below it.  A career, of course, is expected at the very least.  Doing a feature film is supposed to increase your odds of success, while a short film used to be a mere calling card and helps to increase local fame, lest it make you infamous around town!  With a feature film in hand, you would think that recouping your costs, most likely so many thousands of dollars (instead of millions), should be a no brainer.  Everyone will want to see your film.  Guess again!

Now there is technology!  This revolution helps bring the entry costs of production down to whatever it costs in some software, a reusable digital camcorder, and maybe paying some people...including yourself for your time.  Sometimes, just sometimes, this can all be done for free...but not likely.  Making a feature film is pure work!  It's hard, not easy!  However, this new technology can offer amazing quality in High Definition and special visual effects never before possible.  While Hollywood's VFX houses charge $275,000 per vfx shot on some films, we can now create 1/4th that level of quality for around a hundred bucks, give or take.  That's a huge statement once you think about it. 

Our economy as failed at a time where technology has grown globally to bring in competition for any area of the arts.  Not only does the United States have artists scrambling for jobs, but now we've got India and China joining in on the fun.  Also, Dell (last I read) was making or has made a huge deal to get the largest supply of computers they've ever dealt with over to China.  Many of our own cartoon shows outsource to other countries for post.  Tell me, am I wrong so far?  The latest trend is to lower budgets and force fewer artists to wear many hats within the industry.  What started off as an artist doing just Computer Generated Imagery modeling, is now also doing animation, lighting of the character, and compositing all the layers of that character and backgrounds together to make the final shot in some other software.  Soon, every studio will have a handful of people that look like an independent film crew, doing what used to take hundreds to do.  How come indie filmmakers weren't accepted to do this for these studios before the crunch???

Okay, so once we realize that indie filmmakers already have it hard enough, now comes the part where a feature film is made, not by outside funding, but rather from credit cards and money they don't have.  You send out screeners to tons of distributors and all reject it, which is depressing after a few, but don't despair, because there are tons more to send to.  If you got a deal, don't expect any advances, because it's almost impossible to get one anymore!  Too much research has suggested that the practice of advancing had ended a few years back.  Also, it's hard to match up your project to any given distributor, because you don't always know what they want at any given time and as they get bigger, the less indie they become, just like Lionsgate, and any number of them have.  What starts off indie gets an ego when more money and experience is involved.  Sometimes it's for good reason, but generally, goes against their original mission, that was obviously surface deep.  Or maybe I'm wrong, and it's simply another corporation saw potential to screw up a good thing while making a few bucks through a merger or takeover.  Yeah....bingo!  How many indie studios/ distributors have been bought out by another larger one?  Too many!  Libraries after libraries are soaked up and rehashed.

Do it yourself distribution models are warned against by sales reps and distributors.  While a filmmaker would say, "well, duh...they would say that since they want the business.", the truth is that you ruin yourself through distribution outside of the system.  Distributors want a clear path to distributing and marketing your mutual product.  Bad reviews and other sales avenues open can get in the way, making some companies not even want to touch your movie.  If you think you can get 1,000 DVDS made for $1,000, fully replicated....you can!  You figure, well my movie cost say $8,000, so by selling all the DVDs off at $10 each gets you a possible profit of $1,000 under the radar.  How are you going to move them, though?  Festivals, with their costs and fees?  How many discs are you going to sell at $5, because someone didn't have $10 on them, but were excited about owning a copy!  How many of those are given out as screeners.  You'll be lucky to break even, but getting rid of 1,000 DVDs is no easy task without marketing.  20 discs, is a piece of cake in under a week, but once you've run out of friends, relatives, and cast/ crew....then what?

Once the filmmaker has had it, the project shelved for a while, the idea of festivals sickening because they prefer to invite other successful films over yours, after taking their submission fee, there is only the option of getting a rep to find you distribution or sales through foreign buyers!  I've been fortunate to have a rep that I like and who found my debut feature a home.  It's seeming that advances are now being paid by filmmakers to actually get distribution, more and more.  Some of the arguments in favor of that make sense, if all parties involved are struggling, small, and new...such as a startup distribution company, but most filmmakers are broke after making a movie, not counting marketing into budgets.  There's tons of debate on this and it's never clear who's wrong or right, mostly because we are all under the corporate thumb at this level of playing field.  Indie film's business credibility is becoming a joke, not that the projects or work are.

Before my summary, it should be noted that DVD is almost out the door in the next couple years, with Blu-ray and other High Definition technologies on the slow rise.  Indie film has a problem in this area that needs ironing out, making yet another obstacle.  Since DVD demand is lower, yet Blu-ray is still expensive, most people that have switched to it are only grabbing up Hollywood titles that they love or just came out with tons of features and marketing backing it.  In this economy, people have to choose wisely.  Internet downloads aren't fully popular yet, so the viability of sales for indies is only so-so in that area.  So, you say...why not sell cheap on Blu-ray and DVD.  The DVD is mandatory for indies, but there's a problem with Blu-ray mastering.  They've had, and I still believe do, a couple thousand dollar fee associated with replicating Blu-ray discs for mass production.  Indies have enough to contend with than adding this fee.  Also, the discs are barely cost effective at this new stage to warrant it.  Some believe that BD-R (Blu-ray burnable discs) are better to duplicate as one-offs.  Perhaps this is fine for now, but another obstacle is of how long the Blu-ray format will last before being replaced?  Wasn't it only around 10 years ago that DVD came out?  Blu-ray has been out a couple years already, including the format war with HD-DVD.  Price point is now coming down for mass consumption and matching the now cheaper HD televisions that were late in taking over.  The indie filmmaker is now floating around like a leaf in the middle of an ocean storm.

To summarize the effects of all this in respect to indie filmmaking's potential.  In order to survive, a filmmaker must make a feature film, get a good rep and distribution deal, and keep costs so low that everything doesn't fall apart with any glitches.  A filmmaker must plan for future projects ahead of time, with any sources of funding in place, all by having "all your ducks in a row", so to speak.  Otherwise, it's gonna be a rocky ride and a lot of feelings will be hurt in the process, including the filmmaker's, let alone any investors.  Forget dramas, comedies (unless the movie cost $2,000), and obscure arthouse fare.  Horror is the biggest seller, and always has been for indies.  Film making's always been a risk, but now it's one more than ever!  Don't give up, just be extremely smart about it!

Kenny Carpenter is the Cleveland Indie Film examiner, doing film topics and indie reviews for the Examiner.  His articles can be seen at: http://www.examiner.com/x-7859-Cleveland-Indie-Movie-Examiner.