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Truly Free Film

On Indie Street: Social Causes Build Loyal Audiences

By Jay Webb

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Previously: What Are Films Without An Audience?

 Screen shot 2014-06-15 at 11.09.40 AMA large portion of our population has thankfully grown past the phase of only wearing bracelets to feel like we are agents of change in our world or society.  Today the world is small enough and access is great enough for every individual to truly make small changes that can accumulate to create huge impact on life and planet. Filmmakers are some of the most dynamic multi-taskers of our world society, and on top of that they already have a solid medium with audiences they can inspire to make important world changes.

With most all film projects, a director must envision some type of change he/she wants to inspire in the film’s eventual audience.  Whether it is changing their perspective, making them laugh, or giving them insight into the world around them, your story should have a designed emotional shift for those you share it with.  Having a grasp on this desired viewer transformation not only helps a filmmaker determine their core audience, but might also lead toward partners that will help to champion the film and build a larger base of fans for the future; not to mention it might do some good to your world. 

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Truly Free Film

IndieStreet Post #13: What Are Films Without An Audience

By Jay Webb

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Previously: Making A Film? Why?

Audience building interview 1

There is no such thing as art without audience.  A motion picture does not even exist without its impact on human viewers.  As an independent creator without established lines of distribution, how do you build an audience that yearns for your specific stories? How do you keep them excited about your stories of the future?  In today’s market, your response to this question may be the difference between a “one & done” and having a long, sustainable career as a filmmaker.

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Truly Free Film

IndieStreet Post #12: Making a Film? – Why?

By Jay Webb 

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Previously: The Rebirth of the Indie Video Store Experience — Why Human Curation Will Never Die

Being honest about your motives is the first step toward a successful film, and it’s a healthy habit for anyone entering a new life-consuming project; starting a new company, getting married, or in this case, shooting a film.

Screen shot 2014-03-25 at 12.01.31 PMDo you want your film to change the world?  Do you want to make money so you can make your next film?  Do you have something to prove to yourself?  An honest answer in the early stages can do wonders for a filmmaker in finding a workable distribution path, uncovering a forthright story, and figuring out an appropriate amount of money and energy to expend on the project.  (Please note: An answer like “I am creative and want to express myself” misses the scope. This is a reflective question for professionals or budding professionals who live in the reality of scarce resources and time who will express themselves creatively regardless of their path).

Human beings are motivated by different factors, but when I was only 19 years young, a drunk man who I was serving steak to explained to me that motivation could be broken down into the ‘4 Fs’.

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Truly Free Film

IndieStreet Post #11: The Rebirth of the Indie Video Store Experience — Why Human Curation Will Never Die

By Lindsay Blair Goeldner

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Previously: Sundance 2014 — a Microcosm of a Greater Divides

At Indie Street we are holding on to all hope that the interpersonal human elements of storytelling will never fade away into obsoleteness.  The following piece comes from one of Indie Street’s own curators.  While she is not programming a film festival or being one of the coolest computer programming chicks in the game, Lindsay finds time to work at one of the last Indie Video Rental Stores in Canada.  Who better to get a street level breakdown about the effects of technology on film consumer’s behavior…Enjoy!

Screen shot 2014-02-24 at 12.53.06 PMThe death of the indie video store is imminent. At least that’s what everyone tells me. Working as a video store clerk in one of a handful of stores (Queen Video) in Toronto is both a blessing and a burden. While the job remains interesting, I’m continually receiving remarks about how great it is that we’re still open. In the wake of the Blockbuster collapse, the independent video store flourished. Business seemed better than usual around late 2011 when the last Blockbusters were closing down in Canada. At that point in time, Netflix had already arrived, and streaming was still popular, but for some reason many people did not want to let go of the video store experience.

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Truly Free Film

IndieStreet Post #10: Sundance 2014 — a Microcosm of a Greater Divide

By Jay Webb 

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Previously: A 2014 Resolution 4 Independent Artists — Separate Your Egos

Screen shot 2014-01-28 at 12.44.50 PMWalking down Main Street of the Sundance film festival this year, it felt like there was an ever-growing gap between the east and the west side of the street.   Hollywood and Independent seem to be growing further and further apart, making the Sundance film festival, and other L.A. hyped festivals like it, such an increasingly awkward phenomena.  You have a festival director who wants to keep the slate as Independent, fresh, and intriguing as possible, an audience that attends who has come to expect way more “accessible” stories, and big biz owned media companies like Variety claiming the festival “suffered from too much Brooklyn” and squawking at 2 million dollar advance tags for indie films in today’s market.  We feel for you Mr. Redford, we do…but you created this monster, and now it ‘s become a near perfect representation of the dichotomy within the film Industry.   

The divide:  

This is not an East vs. West thing, but more of a continued divide in mentality and approach to film.  It is exclusivity, public relations, and celebrity versus collaboration, community building, and storytelling.   Old Hollywood versus new thinkers.  Creatives vs. creative exploiters.  I think there is some ancient adage about a poor old man with a paint brush who grew frightened he may never be able to buy paint again if something were to happen to his even older brother who convinces the village people that the old man’s art is worth money.  If there is no adage, then now there is.  The artist and the thinker are inherently self-critical and the Hollywood older brother is inherently opportunistic.

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Truly Free Film

IndieStreet Post #9: A 2014 Resolution 4 Independent Artists — Separate Your Egos

By Jay Webb

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Previously: Screenwars

IndieStreet believes that 2014 is the year the cracks widen in the film distribution system. These cracks will make room for entrepreneurial artists to take back deserved revenue generated from their own content. In 2014, Filmmakers will begin to eliminate middlemen, customers will support more creative talent directly, and at least one studio will fall due to its lack of preparation for the cooperative artist revolution.  

Screen shot 2014-01-02 at 8.06.15 PMBy nature, an artist who looks to distribute their work is an

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Truly Free Film

IndieStreet Post #8: Screen Wars “Episode IV: Revenge of the Tele”

By Jay Webb

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Previously: Navigating Potholes

How many haunted junkyards are filled with huge televisions that are not even worth their weight in coal.  How many??

Does it matter?  Do we mourn for these things?  Why is this spreading genocide and waste being overlooked?  “Things are better now, things are faster now, and if they can make TV look this good, than I am sure as hell they can figure out the landfill problem…fuck it.”

Humans have had dynamic relationships with every piece of content, quality or not, that came through the TV screen, but deemed the screen itself inconsequential and now have neglected them to a point of no return.  The screens of this generation are taking their revenge, and it has been quicker and fiercer than even they could have imagined.  I am only here as a messenger to warn the humans of the wars that have already began, and to discuss how we as human filmmakers and content creators can live in a mental world that they may already have taken control over.