3 ms·

They can absolutely go direct. I've watched numerous movies on filmmakers' websites or youtube that I assume never got a cinematic release. I guess the differe

They can absolutely go direct. I've watched numerous movies on filmmakers' websites or youtube that I assume never got a cinematic release. I guess the difference is that the Hollywood studio model is still so entrenched with the massive PR/media industry built up around it and reliant on its survival that indie releases get drowned out in the noise. Another thing to consider is that niche content is just that - if a filmmaker decides to distribute direct to fans (or along some other indie avenue) it's likely you'll never hear about it unless you are one of those fans and regardless of what your definition of "success" is.

paranoidrobot 7y ago
Going direct with movies is harder (atm) than music. The model for selling music is pretty solid, and there are services like Bandcamp that will do the hosting & Transaction processing for you at minimal overhead. Even platforms like Patreon will let you do this directly attaching the file to a post. People have little issue getting the downloaded music onto whatever device they want to play it on. Video is harder: filesize and codecs are one issue, convenient playback is another. You can't just use YouTube unless you want to give it away for free. Vimeo is an option, but the overheads are higher and could easily eat any potential revenue. Playback is a problem - lower device support. It doesn't allow users to download and play offline either, and that would be harder for casual users.
- CamelCaseName 7y ago
  >You can't just use YouTube unless you want to give it away for free. I believe you can actually. YouTube has a section where you can pay for movies here: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UClgRkhTL3_hImCAmdLfDE4g https://m.youtube.com/channel/UClgRkhTL3_hImCAmdLfDE4g And here is a discussion on how indie filmmakers can get into it: https://www.reddit.com/r/Filmmakers/comments/c01kyd/how_to_rent_or_sell_your_movie_on_youtube https://www.reddit.com/r/Filmmakers/comments/c01kyd/how_to_r... There's definitely a higher barrier for movies, but it does seem possible.
  - paranoidrobot 7y ago
    I knew about their paid services, my point is that you can't just go to youtube.com, sign up and sell a movie. The links you provide show that it's still a huge barrier. The requirements for getting onto youtube arn't something you can just do if you have a movie you want to sell. Even with the unknown ($1500? according to that comment, but no links to back it up) payment to a distributor, there's still almost certainly more hurdles and time/etc. Compare that to the experience with, say, Bandcamp - their [pricing is transparent and up-front](https://bandcamp.com/pricing https://bandcamp.com/pricing), and you can go ahead and sign up with minimal fuss. From a customer perspective, it's equally as pain and hassle free.

paranoidrobot 7y ago

Going direct with movies is harder (atm) than music. The model for selling music is pretty solid, and there are services like Bandcamp that will do the hosting & Transaction processing for you at minimal overhead. Even platforms like Patreon will let you do this directly attaching the file to a post. People have little issue getting the downloaded music onto whatever device they want to play it on. Video is harder: filesize and codecs are one issue, convenient playback is another. You can't just use YouTube unless you want to give it away for free. Vimeo is an option, but the overheads are higher and could easily eat any potential revenue. Playback is a problem - lower device support. It doesn't allow users to download and play offline either, and that would be harder for casual users.

CamelCaseName 7y ago
>You can't just use YouTube unless you want to give it away for free. I believe you can actually. YouTube has a section where you can pay for movies here: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UClgRkhTL3_hImCAmdLfDE4g https://m.youtube.com/channel/UClgRkhTL3_hImCAmdLfDE4g And here is a discussion on how indie filmmakers can get into it: https://www.reddit.com/r/Filmmakers/comments/c01kyd/how_to_rent_or_sell_your_movie_on_youtube https://www.reddit.com/r/Filmmakers/comments/c01kyd/how_to_r... There's definitely a higher barrier for movies, but it does seem possible.
- paranoidrobot 7y ago
  I knew about their paid services, my point is that you can't just go to youtube.com, sign up and sell a movie. The links you provide show that it's still a huge barrier. The requirements for getting onto youtube arn't something you can just do if you have a movie you want to sell. Even with the unknown ($1500? according to that comment, but no links to back it up) payment to a distributor, there's still almost certainly more hurdles and time/etc. Compare that to the experience with, say, Bandcamp - their [pricing is transparent and up-front](https://bandcamp.com/pricing https://bandcamp.com/pricing), and you can go ahead and sign up with minimal fuss. From a customer perspective, it's equally as pain and hassle free.