“Broken Hearts Club” is now available on the largest International retailer of home videos…Amazon.com.
Posts Tagged ‘dvd new release’
What I’m Working On Today
Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
As usual my day starts with a blurry-eyed sweep of Google Alert emails and new Twitter follows. Then it’s off to scour the Internet for more information on independent film distribution. I usually squeeze in some time to jump on Myspace to promote my two films The Resurrection of Serious Rogers” and “The Broken Hearts Club.”
My dilemma is that I had to do a cold-market of my short film collection, Pulp Fusion: The Raw Shorts . There have been no recent screenings except for one of the films screening online at RebFest.com. The last screening for three of the films on the short film collection was during 2007’s LA ShortsFest. However, it was a necessary rush to market so that I can learn more — in real time — about self distribution. I’m prepping myself for the release of Broken Hearts Club in the Fall. Additionally, I’ve rehashed an old film, made it a new one and now The Resurrection of Serious Rogers will be an important aspect of my learning curve as well.
There’s so much sporadic information about distribution and its various methods that someone who clearly and concisely gathers that information, decodes it and brings it to the masses will probably make a lot of money. For my own efforts, I’ve been working with a mentor as well as conducting fact-gathering via case studies I’ve found. In between these efforts I’ve been going to war with the Newport Beach Film Festival because of their feeble but bold attempt to bully me.
My efforts are concentrated in generating audience interest outside of the United States. I’ve set up profiles on several UK and Australian forums and chat boards. I’ve also identified several potential foreign partnerships to leverage their networks as my own.
Ultimately the goal is this, earn enough to from my Amazon DVD sales to fund bulk replication of DVD’s. Then I’ll run my own kitchen-table distribution company, handling fulfillment on my own (allowing me to keep a bigger percentage of the profits); build networks and partnerships in the US and abroad to serve as retail outlets. Build and maintain a personal distribution list. Eventually move to more formal retail outlets. And finally, keep making films.
Please don’t hate me because I’m on Amazon.com :)
Sunday, March 29th, 2009
http://www.amazon.com/Pulp-Fusion-RAW-Shorts-Collection/dp/B00212TYIO/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1238348813&sr=8-5
Restructuring New Goals for Films
Thursday, March 26th, 2009
Business on my mind
Something has been on my mind for a few weeks and now it’s time to commit. There’s no way I am going to finish my b-cinema film “Pulp Fusion: The Resurrection of Serious Rogers” within the original timetable. There have been far too many events out of my control that have delayed it. So, it’s time to roll with the punches and adjust my timetable. I think pushing everything back until the end of April will work well.
Pushing the deadline for the rough cut back to April also allows me to focus on “pushing” news about the release of the first Pulp Fusion series DVD, “The Raw Shorts” which is a collection of five short films from myself and Daryll Harkless. The DVD is currently available on CreateSpace (www.createspace.com/263219) and will soon be on Amazon.com, Amazon Unbox. At some point the shorts collection will also be available for VOD.
These changes give me time to work on creating opportunities to screen the “The Resurrection of Serious Rogers” locally when it is ready.
Lastly, there are a few changes I plan to make to my film, “The Broken Hearts Club” as well, in preparation for the film to go direct-to-DVD sometime this fall.
Movie “Blank” Available on DVD and for Free on BitTorrent
Saturday, March 21st, 2009
[original post on TorrentFreak.com]
Psycho-Thriller ‘Blank’ Premieres For Free on BitTorrent
Written by enigmax on March 21, 2009
Today a brand new movie has premiered but this is not the usual Hollywood-style launch. ‘Blank’, described as an intense psycho-thriller by director Rick L. Winters, will debut on DVD but you can get it for free on BitTorrent too – with the blessing of the entire cast and crew.
Times are certainly changing and slowly but surely people are beginning to realize that rather than trying to fight piracy and destroy file-sharing networks, the best approach is to embrace your one-time rivals and try and create something positive.
Established in 2000 by director Rick L. Winters, Annodam Productions is an independent film company. A forward looking outfit, Annodam will premiere its latest movie ‘Blank‘, worldwide today.
‘Blank’ is the story of a Johnny, a young boy who witnesses the violent death of his parents and older sister. Roll on some 20 years later and Johnny becomes involved in crime with his adoptive father – who is also a crime boss. While watching a game of poker Johnny discovers who murdered his family and sets about planning his revenge. Johnny unwittingly becomes involved with a pair of serial killers and the whole movie climaxes with a bizarre and shocking end.
While the plot may seems standard Hollywood fare, the way this movie has been financed and is set to be distributed is not – Director Rick L.Winters explains, “The thing that makes this film unique is that it is a co-op based concept where the entire cast and crew worked on a deferred percentage of the film’s gross. In other words, the cast and crew own a percentage of the film’s gross, so the profits are not going to Hollywood executives but instead into the pockets of the filmmakers themselves.”
After receiving several distribution offers for ‘Blank’, Rick turned them all down.
“I have seen firsthand the greed that lurks in the Hollywood corporate circles,” he said while explaining that after he released his first film, the cast and crew couldn’t understand why a distribution company was making all the money. So instead, Rick decided to let the audience distribute ‘Blank’ for him – via BitTorrent.
“This time around the fate of the cast and crew getting paid is in the hands of the audience who watch the film. No Hollywood bank accounts being filled to turn out more crappy remakes,” he said, while adding that the future of film is “in the home market, through peer to peer distribution.”
Today, ‘Blank’ is released on DVD for $14.99, via online streaming and of course, for free on BitTorrent. “No one should have to pay for a film they did not like,” says Rick. “No one should be denied the right to enjoy the art of film.”
The idea is that if people like the movie after they have seen it, they should go to the ‘Blank’ website and make a donation. People are asked to donate what they feel the movie is worth, and in return will be invited to follow the production of the next movie, which they will have helped finance through their donation.
Rick told TorrentFreak, “I am excited with the aspects of peer to peer distribution and the possibilities. Giving everyone the opportunity to see my film for free in hope of receiving donations is a little nerve wrecking – wondering if I will receive enough donations to make my next film. The concept is still scary for independent filmmakers who don’t have the big budgets like the big studios and most of the time drain their personal accounts and run up credit just to get their film made, in hopes of recouping the cost of making the film.”
Several large BitTorrent sites including Mininova will be offering ‘Blank’, but undoubtedly it will spread to many others too. Rick L. Winters is also writing a book which will document the whole process so that others can use the same methods to distribute their own movies.
“I can only hope for the success of this endeavor to show the world that the revolution of peer to peer distribution can no longer be ignored and the time is now,” Rick told TorrentFreak. “I decided to try the concept of a coop base film in hopes of encouraging other independent filmmakers to come together and create and share the art of film for EVERYONE to enjoy.”
Congratulations to Rick and the crew for effectively ending the piracy of their movies and we wish them the best of luck with ‘Blank’ and all future success.
You can grab the torrent for the movie from Mininova.
Click here to see the rest of the article
More Pulp…and elongated perspective of “Pulp Fusion”
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009
PULP FUSION:
The Raw Shorts Collection by Angelo Bell
NEW DVD RELEASE
Don’t miss the surprise trailer at the very end of this auction ad
This is a Brand New, self-made DVD collection by independent filmmaker Angelo Bell. I self-distribute my films using my MacBookPro. I have 13 film credits, two “best in fest” awards and I made history at the Los Angeles ShortsFest in 2007 when FOUR of my shorts were accepted into the festival. My credits are at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1479226/
This DVD short film collection comprises the first of several “Pulp Fusion Series” DVDs that I’ll be releasing as part of my Independent self-distribution model. My films are now available to a global audience. The second film in the series, “Pulp Fusion: The Resurrection of Serious Rogers,” is actually a 2-hour feature film and contains several clips and sequences from “Pulp Fusion: The Raw Shorts.” The next DVD will include director interviews explaining how I rewrote the narrative for a previous film to include clips from several of my other films. It was an amazing process. But more on that later. Let’s talk about RAW.
On the DVD you get FIVE short films and a director video totalling over an hour of entertainment. The short films cover the gamut of genres and often contain multiple genres. There’s art house, action, drama, noir, girls-with-guns, satire and comedy. The films discuss drug abuse, heroin addiction, human trafficking, murder, love, sisterhood, friendship, sacrifice and of course, murder in the first degree. It’s great entertainment. And you’ll want to want each short film over and over again. If I do say so myself, the writing is exemplary and has gotten many kudos.
As I mentioned, you get FIVE films. Get Spielberg, Renounced, Valerie & Sid, The First Time and I know Who Shot You. Here are the trailers for the films
View the trailer for GET SPIELBERG here: http://www.319prods.com/films/getspielberg/
My Blog: http://www.angelobell.com/pulp-fusion
My Official Amazon DVD ships March 30th for $24.95. But you can get it here on eBay at a $10 discount. I manage my own DVD replication but my DVD’s are guaranteed to work. If the DVD doesn’t work on your DVD player or laptop for any reason, you’ll get a new one. Period. Just ship it back. My DVD discs do come with an affixed label.I ship within 48 hours of receiving payment. DVD arrives in a cardboard mailer in a DVD sleeve. No case.
I’ll also enclose a coupon for $5 off the second film in the Pulp Fusion Series, “The Resurrection of Serious Rogers” which will be available in early April right here!
[DVD NEW RELEASE] Pulp Fusion: The Raw Shorts, Now Available for Pre-order
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009
NEW DVD RELEASE
Below is a trailer for a video collection of five shorts I made in the past three years. In 2007 I made history when four of my short films were accepted into the LA ShortsFest. This DVD short film collection comprises the first of several “Pulp Fusion Series” DVDs that I’ll be releasing as part of my self-distribution model. The second series, “Pulp Fusion: The Resurrection of Serious Rogers” actually contains several clips and sequences from “Pulp Fusion:Raw.” The next DVD will include director interviews explaining how I rewrote the narrative for a previous film to include clips from several of my other films. It was an amazing process.
DVD ships March 30th. Press “BUY NOW” below to save $10 when you pre-order the DVD collection.
Stalking the Mighty Indie
Friday, February 27th, 2009
I'm an Indie Stalker
One of the more important lessons I’ve learned in the quest to facilitate the distribution of my films is: look for someone who’s done it and is doing it and shadow them. That’s exactly what I’m doing. And to be honest it’s very simple. I go where they go. I post where they post. I solicit PR where they solicit PR. I blog when they do. I comment when they do. I appear when they appear. All this happens very easily on the Internet. And the answer is “No.” I’m not hanging around their houses at night like the indie-paparazzi.
Timeliness doesn’t matter this time around because I don’t have a film to distribute…yet. This is my walkthrough. My test run. My beta version. Everything I learn goes into the bank, gets refined and then prepped for when it’s my time. Soon.
The beauty of this stalker/shadower process is that you can shadow big independent filmmakers or small independent film makers. Finding out where they live and breath is simple. You can arrange to get emails dropped into your inbox everything your stalkee filmmaker gets mentioned on the Internet. And if your chosen stalkee is procedural and professional (which he/she should be) you can find elegant traces of their whereabouts in their website’s “About Me” or “press” section.
I have a mentor and I have stalkees, i.e. filmmakers I keep a close eye out for. I monitor their movements and successes on a weekly, sometimes daily basis. One of my chosen stalkee’s has a model for filmmaking, community connection and film distribution that I’ve always envisioned for myself. They’ve achieve a respectable modicum of success, which I can emulate, but I have loftier goals. Achieving their business model is a first step for me. And they’ve laid the groundwork for me.
Independent Film Distribution Information Overload
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
There exists an incredible amount of information very pertinent to the independent filmmaker embarking upon the task of self-distribution. The only aspect of the old model of distribution that holds true is that filmmakers must think about distribution BEFORE one sequence of the film is ever shot. Doing this creates a focus on results.
The only caveat I have is the overwhelming statistical data and numerical comparisons used in discussing the old incumbent model vs the new emerging model. Every film is different. Many films have completely different audiences and the way to reach these audience vary by increasing degrees. Podcasts may not work for every film. A local theatrical run may not work for a film while an overseas theatrical run, via festivals, may work wonders.
Filmmakers should have a presence on the web and free Internet tools and social networking sites such as Vimeo, YouTube, Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, Wordpress, Blogger, etc should direct the prospective audience to that web presence (site). Trailers and new versions of trailers are good examples of visual content to make this happen. Promoting a recorded Interview is another way to make this happen. However, I for one, cannot imagine how giving away your content –a completed film– could help a filmmaker unless that was his intention from the start.
In the end, it’s about hard work getting to know your audience(s). My distribution mentor, Tony Comstock, once told me that you should never commit to making your first film unless you’re committed to making your third. It’s about building your audience. Documented examples like “Four-Eyed Monsters” are exciting but rare. It’s difficult to emulate a film’s success especially when you have a different kind of film.
In my personal experience, I realized that there was a 99.999% chance that I’d have to self-distribute my film, The Broken Heart Club. However, being new to this arena I also realized the importance of education. I didn’t want to “learn” on my pride & joy, so I pulled another film out of the cobwebs, dusted it off and prepped it for self-distribution. The process not only revived the film (I ended up shooting another sequence and a narration) but it revived FIVE other films as well. My self-education unearthed glorious and empowering examples of low-budget film distribution. Now I am as excited about distributing Pulp Fusion: The Resurrection of Serious Rogers as I am about The Broken Heart Club.
Empowerment is the key. If independent filmmakers truly believe we don’t need Hollywood to make a film, shouldn’t we also believe that we don’t need Hollywood to distribute our films? We’ve proven the former. Let’s prove the latter.
