Morning finger lickin’ fans! First up, an apology, I didn’t post yesterday because I was re-installing my Macbook. This, I realise is no excuse, but it’s all I got. This is also the reason for the limited imagery at the top of this post, I’ve still got to install CS3. Anyway, in other news, I really want an iPhone and while drooling over YouTube videos and coverflow prettiness in the O2 shop today, I got to thinking about Digital Film Distribution and decided it was about time that I gave you folks a run down of the current lay of the land in this particular area.
So, earlier this week I read that Lionsgate have struck a deal with Apple to make a digital copy of their flicks available at the same time as their DVD releases. This would mean that when their latest film hit the shelves in your local HMV you would also be able to buy the movie on iTunes. If this were to take off, which I suspect it will, it will not only do great things for lazy people who like to “click and download” rather than trudge through the rain to buy a DVD but will also go some way to reducing the film industries current impact on the planet. Less crazy plastic consumption, less packaging, no dirty aviation fuel and/or diesel pumping into the atmosphere from delivery vehicles. It sounds like good stuff but is it feasible to deliver the same range of choice and are consumers actually ready for this new development?
This move by Lionsgate, who already have digital versions of 3:10 to Yuma, Good Luck Chuck and War on iTunes as well as classics Dirty Dancing and Reservoir Dogs, is really good news for the future of digital distribution. These titles, together with their 12,000+ catalogue titles, will presumably be available via iTunes USA in the near future. However, as yet nothing has been said regarding a UK release for such digital products.
The types of devices that these products are available on is also a huge topic of debate. It’s great being able to watch a feature film on your mobile phone or handheld device, but are these really viable viewing mediums? It is one thing checking out a flick on your widescreen iMac or Macbook Pro. It’s a completely different thing watching Die Hard 4.0 on a 4″ screen. People still view the majority of their films on their television in their home. With this in mind Apple have created Apple TV a wireless device that allows you to access the iTunes film and TV show catalogue on your television. Not only can you download films and your favourite shows you can also rent films via this little silver box. However, to date, rental titles have been limited and growth has not matched Apple’s promises. So we’ll have to wait and see how that one pans out.
Finally, this expansion of iTunes and investment by Lionsgate actually bodes very well for the future for Indie film distribution. Should digital film follow the same trajectory as digital music, the major distribution companies should come on board and then based on the success of unsigned music artists on iTunes, Indie filmmakers will no doubt be able to submit their films for iTunes distribution.
If you’re looking for more information about digital film distribution or self distribution check out the links below:
Digital Film Distribution Guru Arin Crumley - http://www.arincrumley.com
Lance Weiler’s Workbook Project - http://www.workbookproject.com
From Here to Awesome - http://fromheretoawesome.com
That’s it from me,
K
