Indiewood is dying too.

Just to continue the drumbeat of bad news, traditional independent distributors and financiers are dropping like flies.

For us DIY filmmakers, this means that we're competing more and more for our audience (and for dwindling art house screens) with larger films. It also means that our "golden ticket" mentality is even more nuts -- you know, where we dream about the big sale of our film to a distributor for millions of dollars.

And since this is a trickle-down thing: it also means fewer investors willing to step up.

In any case, read this interview with Mark Gill of The Film Department, for a very succinct look at the toxic indie film economy.

Where are the opportunities in this situation?

Think outside the multiplex and beyond the DVD.

In other words, the industry should not be part of your "A" plan. In some ways, this is the way it has been for DIY filmmakers, but these days the industry doesn't have much to offer us at all -- not even a pipe dream.

Now go out there and make your movie. And don't quit your day job.

Comments

[nathyn masters]

I just wrote a couple of books called "Action Filmmaking" and "The Action Filmmaking Workbook" and I'm working on "Marketing Micro-Budget Movies" right now. What we have to do is redefine our market and do like the big boys do, create a market when one doesn't exist. It's harder to do when there isn't any money in the budget but it can be done. I'm working on it and I'm sure many others are too.

-Nate

[Richard]

Indie filmmakers have a bold new world to develop with internet distribution. You have an advantage over large, less nimble corps.

The problem is that you now really have to sell to the mass public instead of the distributor's buyer.

What can you do to attract attention to your vision?