Posts Tagged ‘dvd release’

Broken Hearts Club…In Release Via Hybrid Self-Distributionution

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

“Broken Heart Club” has officially been released!

True to my plan, I’m using a hybrid model of self-distribution. The film has been airing on AMGTV for the past two months as a six-part series. Today the film was officially released on IndieFlix (http://www.indieflix.com/film/the-broken-hearts-club-30432/), available for immediate viewing and for purchase on DVD. Later this month the film will also be available on Amazon for DVD purchase and Amazon UnBox as a video download.

Next month the film will finally go to Western Europe on the Global Broadcast Network. I say finally because Global has delayed its official launch three times in the past four months.

Retro Television Network (RTV) is still in the works. They have a copy of the six-part series version of BHC.

So if you’re out there reading thing, guess what? You can watch Broken Hearts Club right now. Now delays. No waiting for a DVD to be shipped. You can watch “Broken Hearts Club” online right now.

If you haven’t heard of IndieFlix, click here to check out the site right now.

IndieFlix is dedicated to providing a forum for filmmakers and their audience to interact and to building a community that translates artistic vision into commercial success.

We believe that every movie has an audience, every filmmaker has a story to tell and each story has the right to be shared.

Baqsically IndieFlix is for indies by indies and that’s the kind of support indie filmmakers need.

Tags: broken hearts club, dvd release, hybrid self distribution, indieflix, watch bhc
Posted in Broken Hearts Club, Distribution | 1 Comment »

“Broken Hearts Club” DVD Content

Saturday, September 12th, 2009

I have to start outlining and prepping ’special features’ content for the inevitable release of “Broken Hearts Club” on DVD. With the holiday season rapidly approaching I have an opportunity to reach a tremendous amount of people within the last few months of the year.

I’m deciding about what to include on the DVD. I’m also deciding if I should include a two-disk DVD. Here are some other thoughts:

Since the film typically receives lots of comments about the casting so I think a featurette about how the film was cast might be a good thing to include. There’s quite a few stories to tell.
I’ve also been asked many times about the writing and dialog. I think this is tied to the performances and the casting.
A featurette about low-budget techniques employed in the film is most certainly required
Director’s Commentary??
Bloopers?? (I’m not sure if there are that many)
What do you think? Please add your comments below

Tags: broken hearts club, distribution, DIY distribution, dvd content, dvd release
Posted in Broken Hearts Club, Distribution | 2 Comments »

B-Side partners with Virgil Films for DVD Releases

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

B-Side partners with Virgil Films & Entertainment for DVD Releases.

Also: Liz Ogilvie joins the team as VP of Marketing; B-Side announces acquisition of “Visioneers.”

(From our April 13th press release.) In keeping with its mission to creatively and profitably distribute independent films, B-Side Entertainment and Home Video/DVD distributor Virgil Films & Entertainmenthave entered into an exclusive partnership for the release of B-Side’s films on DVD. This announcement comes on the heels of the launch of B-Side’s distribution arm, whose newest member is documentary marketing veteran Liz Ogilvie. Ogilvie, formerly of Indiepix and Docurama, joins the company as VP of Marketing. B-Side has also announced the acquisition of its first feature film, “Visioneers,” starring Zach Galifianakis.

B-Side Entertainment offers filmmakers a viable alternative to the highly expensive and nearly impossible world of independent distribution. Through innovative niche marketing and insight gleaned from festival audience data, B-Side has turned the industry’s model upside down to generate significant ancillary revenues at a fraction of the normal cost.

Virgil Films & Entertainment distributes DVD product in the theatrical feature film, documentary, special interest, and sports categories through partnerships with Sundance Channel Home Entertainment, ESPN, MLB Productions, and TV Guide, among others.

“Virgil and its president Joe Amodei are known for being smart, innovative and filmmaker friendly. Joe’s track-record of success – particularly in the documentary category – is unparalleled. We’re excited to work with Virgil to find new ways of achieving results in the tough DVD business,” said Chris Hyams, Founder and CEO of B-Side. “When it comes to marketing independent films and documentaries, there are very few who have as much experience as Liz Ogilvie. She has a creative approach to marketing films and has the utmost respect from the film industry. I can’t think of anyone better able to contribute to B-Side’s success than Liz.”

“B-Side offers a new exciting alternative to the age-old theatrical release of independent product we have lived with for some time now. It gives films a chance of being seen, something that is almost impossible to accomplish given the economic realities of today,” said Joe Amodei, President of Virgil Films & Entertainment. “In our business it is all about how many eyes get to view a film and B-Side increases those numbers dramatically. The extra exposure these films receive will help our DVD sales and rentals.”

Ogilvie will be responsible for bringing B-Side’s film slate to captive audiences. She was previously the Head of Marketing for IndiePix. Prior to IndiePix, Ogilvie was Head of Programming at Docurama Films®, an independent distribution company dedicated exclusively to releasing cutting-edge, critically acclaimed non-fiction films into the home entertainment market place. Ogilvie is a member of IFP, IDA, New York Women in Film and Television, and serves on the board of the New York Film and Video Council.

“I am delighted to be joining the B-Side team where the combination of technology, media and creative thinking has shown that independent film can be connected with audiences in a unique and fresh way, and I am looking forward to taking the next step toward expanding this model,” said Liz Ogilvie.

In addition, the company announced the acquisition of its first feature film, “Visioneers,” directed by Jared Drake, written by Brandon Drake, and starring comedian Zach Galifianakis. “Visioneers” is a one-of-a-kind dark comedy set in a futuristic society in which citizens are known to spontaneously combust from stress, and dreams are a thing of the past. At the heart of the story is George Washington Winsterhammerman (Galifianakis), a mid-level manager at the Jeffers Corporation who starts to reevaluate his mundane existence and decides to take matters into his own hands. D.W. Moffett, Judy Greer, Missi Pyle, and James LeGros co-star in this 1984 meets Office Space social satire. The film premiered at the 2008 Seattle International Film Festival and went on to play such festivals as CineVegas and AFI.

The acquisition is the second this year for the Austin-based distributor which plans to acquire, market and distribute ten films in 2009.

Tags: b-side, dvd release, virgil films, visioneers
Posted in Distribution, Festivals, Filmmaking | No Comments »

Should Studios Shrink DVD Release Window?

Sunday, April 5th, 2009

Encouraged by record box office revenue despite the recession, the trade group representing theater owners said studios must resist further shrinking of the theatrical release window in the face of declining DVD sales.

The average theatrical release window in 2008 (before bowing on DVD) was four months and 13 days, which was six days shorter than in 2007.

Speaking March 31 at the annual ShoWest confab in Las Vegas, John Fithian, president and CEO of National Association of Theatre Owners, outlined a series of talking points underscored by 2009 box office revenue data through March 22 that was 8.8% above record 2008 revenues during the same period.

Box office sales year-to-date totaled more than $2.2 billion, compared to $2 billion during the same period in 2008.

Fithian said DVD revenue declined by 8.4% in 2008, with consumers increasingly opting to rent movies rather than buy them. He said consumers treat theatrical and DVD differently, and studios should do the same and not negatively impact box office revenue with reduced release windows in an attempt to buttress falling disc sales.

“In doing so, they only endanger the healthiest and largest revenue producing segment of the industry,” Fithian said.

Specifically, NATO said the top 10 theatrical releases in 2008 generated 2.8% more at the box office while declining 15% in revenue when released on DVD.

With an average ticket price of $7.18 in 2008, Fithian said going to the movies represented greater entertainment value than live sports events, live theater, music concerts and even bowling.

“Consumers are revealing their careful spending priorities in a way that bodes well for the cinema industry,” he said.

The home entertainment industry, which is still on track to double theatrical revenue in 2009 despite the economic downturn, counters that DVD and Blu-ray sellthrough and rental continue to generate greater margins and significant revenue.

DVD and Blu-ray distributor Wax Works recently began marketing bags to retailers outlining how a new release $4 movie rental offered greater economic value to a couple than going to the movies. Specifically, Wax Works said when adding together the cost of tickets ($18), soft drinks ($6) popcorn/candy ($9) and babysitter, a night out at the movies was about $45.
www.homemediamagazine.com: Theaters: Studios Must Resist Shrinking Release Window for DVD - By Erik Gruenwedel | Posted: 03 Apr 2009 egruenwedel@questex.com

Tags: box office, dvd release, NATO
Posted in Distribution | No Comments »

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!

Tags: DVD distribution, dvd new release, dvd release, film distribution, Filmmaking, indie, marketing, pulp fusion, self-distribution
Posted in Filmmaking, Internet | No Comments »

Self Distribution Online by CreateSpace

Monday, March 2nd, 2009

Today I setup my Amazon/CreateSpace account for the DVD release of my short film collection, Pulp Fusion: The RAW Shorts Collection. The DVD will include five short films: Get Spielberg (a Hollywood satire), Renounced (a drama about heroin addiction), Valerie & Sid (a drama about human trafficking), I Know Who Shot You (a suspense thriller), The First Time (sociopathic murder drama). Note: I make a cameo appearance in one of the above-mentioned films

"PULP FUSION: RAW Shorts Collection" DVD cover

The CreateSpace account setup was fairly simple; I’ve completed similar tasks while submitting my films to film festivals and screenwriting contests over the past nine years. The interesting part came when the site called for my DVD cover artwork and disc artwork.

I make a habit of making an Internet sized film poster of all my films. Doesn’t matter if the poster is cheesy, plain, ordinary or what, I just make it to have it. I’m lucky enough to have gotten fairly well-versed at photoshop, particularly as PSD files are concerned. PSD files are more robust than simple jpegs.

I jammed and quickly grabbed screenshots from my films, or I used the previous film posters (one-sheets). Since this is a short film compilation I needed to find five posters for the five films that will appear on the DVD. I found them, layered them on a textured background, created a drop shadow so each posters stands out and moved on to the text.

Pulp Fusion DVD Disc Cover

Again I’m lucky. I’m a writer and writing comes easier for me than speaking — however sad that may sound. Truthfully, I can literally adapt on the fly and write anything. Thankfully, in the past I’ve also studied promotion and marketing (ie advertising). The blurbs for the DVD cover insert were written and proofed within the 2 hours it took me to complete the assignment.

Like editing, I’ve had to learn to do this stuff on my own. I’ve worked with editors and graphic designers int he past, but I’ve never been satisfied with the levels of commitment to the work. While many of these folks are better than me in skill, they haven’t proven to be as good as I in commitment. And there you are.

What remains is for me to receive the DVD proof of the artwork from Amazon and then ship my DVD to them. One these two last items are checked off, my DVD will be on the market! Wow, I’m excited. This is the culmination of many years of hard work: writing, producing and churning out as many films as possible.

As I mentioned there are five films included on the DVD. This DVD actually serves as a prelude to my next DVD release (coming very soon) Pulp Fusion: The Resurrection of Serious Rogers. The reason the RAW shorts collection is a prelude is because I used many clips and sequences from the RAW shorts to complete my neo-noir art house drama, The Resurrection of Serious Rogers. Those who obtain the first Pulp Fusion Series DVD will be ahead of the game in spotting how I was able to adjust the narrative of the feature to include the clips from the short films.

Originally I had decided to include the shorts on the feature film DVD and make it a two-disc set. However, because of the contracts involved with the short films, the resulting pay-outs would tap into my margin. Since The Resurrection of Serious Rogers is my film creation I thought it best to separate the two Pulp Fusion Series DVD’s.

Tags: amazon, createspace, dvd release, independent filmmaker, internet marketing for filmmakers, outsider cinema, pulp fusion, self-distribution
Posted in Filmmaking | No Comments »

Good Day on Twitter

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

Today was a good day on Twitter. Go into a minor conversation about film distribution based on my tweet about being rejected by SXSW. End conversation resulted in my gaining some additional information that reinforces my ideas for self-distribution. The key here may be keeping lots of my process and progress to myself. Many of the techniques and processes i will employ are not common knowledge. Often folks rebuke whatever they don’t understand. Others simply think that the “little guy” won’t stand a chance. History has proven otherwise.

And when all is said and done, nothing beats a well-made plan that’s done well.

Tags: distribution, dvd release, film festivals
Posted in Distribution, Filmmaking | No Comments »

Network Fusion

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

I had coffee with Rob Gokee yesterday at the Portfolio Coffeehouse in Long Beach. Cool spot with good food. I had a Turkey and pesto panini, freshly grilled with a field greens salad, Yummy.

I always get recharged when Rob and I meet up. There aren’t many folks I can sit down with for hours and talk film and film business and not get bored. From Transformers to Twitter, we chit-chatted about everything. One of the subjects of our conversations was of course my film, Pulp Fusion: The Resurrection of Serious Rogers. The new news is that I’ve employed the services of my northern California connection to shoot a sequence for me. They’ll also assist with marketing when the film is ready for DVD release (approx March 30).

In other news I heard from the South by Southwest film festival yesterday. I didn’t get in. I’m focusing my efforts on a possible DVD release for the Broken Hearts Club. My status with several other film festivals is still pending. Those fests are Hollywood Black Film Festival, Newport Beach Film Festival and the Los Angeles Film Festival, to which I still have to submit.

Tags: distribution, dvd release, film festivals, pulp fusion
Posted in Festivals, Filmmaking | 2 Comments »

1001 Positively True Stories of An Indie Filmmaker