On Friday, Channel Four news came to interview me about the impact of the Sony Warehouse fire on the indie film business. You can watch that interview above.
I really do believe that this fire is a tipping point for DVD. It’s not just indie films that will disappear from UK distribution, but many old (and classic) library titles as it just makes no economic sense to restock.
As indie film makers this is good news as VOD, once ubiquitous, is SOOO much better for everyone. More on this in future posts.
What do you think?
Also, a while back I was interviewed by the Sunday Times (which blew up in my face) and I wrote a top ten tips for being interviewed on camera – read here.
Onwards and upwards
Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspiritgroup.com
www.ProductionOffice.org
e: mail@livingspirit.com
Good report, Chris, and I share your optimism despite the apparent gloom. I think we’re still a few years away from full maturity where the vast majority of people can watch pretty much any movie on any TV or mobile device easily, but there’s no question that that is the future (I see this year DVD / Blu Ray sales fell 8% while downloads are up 18%). However, I’ve thought for a long time that we’ve moved from distributors being the gatekeepers to PR firms being the gatekeepers. It feels a little like independent filmmakers have to rely on some sort of gimmick to get themselves noticed or heard above the noise.
As I said on your Facebook post, I don’t believe DVD is dead yet. Sure, it’s not in good health and it will eventually go the way of the Dodo but it’s still alive and kicking.
IMO, digital distribution is the way forward. However, until such point that high speed broadband is available across the board, physical copy will not disappear.
Without revealing figures, the number of people on our DVD pre-order mailing list outweighs the number of online rentals for our film.
I agree 100% Mike. The writing is on the wall.
Good interview Chris, but slightly disappointed you left the hawaiian in the wardrobe!…. :]