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Except this: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones The actual digital content issue isn't primarily contrac

Except this: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones The actual digital content issue isn't primarily contractual problems. It's more like Ford saying, "No, we won't sell you that car, you have to buy our car subscription service with a new vehicle every month that you don't want and can't use!" Sure there are frictional costs etc, but to pretend that they--rather than stone age business models--are the primary cause of difficulty in legally accessing digital content is, well, not entirely sustained by the facts. HBO could easily make back any amount of cash by allowing download purchases of GoT etc. But they don't. They simply don't offer their content for download sale, and people stream instead (which is wrong, but entirely predictable.)

anigbrowl 12y ago
I don't really care about Game of Thrones. I do care about the fact that it's increasingly hard to raise money for smaller film projects that aren't linked to an existing successful franchise. Unfortunately it's nearly as easy to torrent low-budget indie movies as it is flagship TV shows and blockbuster movies, so guess which projects don't manage to recoup their costs of production or make a profit?
- vonklaus 12y ago
  Also, it has never been cheaper to make a movie, distribute it and fund it. On a kickstarter budget you could certainly make a film, as people have done in the past. Then, you can see if people want to watch the movie before you make it. Many people don't want to watch low budget indie documentaries, however the ones's that do are often willing to pay.
  - anigbrowl 12y ago
    It depends what sort of film you want to make. For documentaries, that model can work quite well. If you want to make a narrative feature it's a great deal trickier. That's why the most successful Kickstarter projects in this area have been tied to existing franchises, eg the Veronica Mars film. But suppose you have an original concept that's not a film version of a graphic novel and doesn't have a built-in fanbase: that's an awful lot harder to get interest for, and the methods you can use to get interest (eg sharing the script or key art or storyboards) can also limit your upside, ie the more you reveal to potential backers the less suspense you can create in the work itself. It's doable and crowdfunding is definitely going to become an increasingly important business model, but it's still very far from an ideal approach. When I look at narrative projects on Kickstarter I can tell a lot just from the tagline, picture, and budget they're seeking. And for 90% of people trying to do a feature the prognosis is negative - either the quality is going to be dreadful, or the producers clearly don't know what they're doing, or everyone in front of and behind the camera is going to be working for free (with a correspondingly higher risk of non-completion). Unfortunately, the most competent ones (in terms of demonstrable ability to deliver a marketable film) are less likely to get funded, because of the amount of money they need to raise.

anigbrowl 12y ago

I don't really care about Game of Thrones. I do care about the fact that it's increasingly hard to raise money for smaller film projects that aren't linked to an existing successful franchise. Unfortunately it's nearly as easy to torrent low-budget indie movies as it is flagship TV shows and blockbuster movies, so guess which projects don't manage to recoup their costs of production or make a profit?

vonklaus 12y ago
Also, it has never been cheaper to make a movie, distribute it and fund it. On a kickstarter budget you could certainly make a film, as people have done in the past. Then, you can see if people want to watch the movie before you make it. Many people don't want to watch low budget indie documentaries, however the ones's that do are often willing to pay.
- anigbrowl 12y ago
  It depends what sort of film you want to make. For documentaries, that model can work quite well. If you want to make a narrative feature it's a great deal trickier. That's why the most successful Kickstarter projects in this area have been tied to existing franchises, eg the Veronica Mars film. But suppose you have an original concept that's not a film version of a graphic novel and doesn't have a built-in fanbase: that's an awful lot harder to get interest for, and the methods you can use to get interest (eg sharing the script or key art or storyboards) can also limit your upside, ie the more you reveal to potential backers the less suspense you can create in the work itself. It's doable and crowdfunding is definitely going to become an increasingly important business model, but it's still very far from an ideal approach. When I look at narrative projects on Kickstarter I can tell a lot just from the tagline, picture, and budget they're seeking. And for 90% of people trying to do a feature the prognosis is negative - either the quality is going to be dreadful, or the producers clearly don't know what they're doing, or everyone in front of and behind the camera is going to be working for free (with a correspondingly higher risk of non-completion). Unfortunately, the most competent ones (in terms of demonstrable ability to deliver a marketable film) are less likely to get funded, because of the amount of money they need to raise.