I will admit it upfront. I am a Mac girl - always have been and probably always will be AND I am a bit of a tech idiot which is why it is not surprising that I was scouring various and sundry news sources this week about Steve Jobs' announcement of what he is calling Apple TV. "I don't understand" How does it work again?"" What will I need to buy and how much will it cost me?" Here is the skinny: Essentially, Apple TV is a Mac combo of itunes and IPTV. It will consist of a wireless box that will sit on top of your television with a 40G hard drive capable of storing 50 hours of video. You will be able to download films, video content, etc from your computer to this box and watch on your television. I think the whole thing is pretty fantastic. For one, it has brought the talk of IPTV to the mass media and the public and two, because I firmly believe that it will change the face of the independent film industry. If successful, it is going to change the way indie films are distributed, marketed and eventually financed.
Apple has already made a deal with movie studio, Paramount Pictures for about 250 titles to make available for download. Included in this mix will be titles from Paramount Vantage - the studio's indie specialty arm. As small a step as this may seem, this allows more people to have access to films that a) do not come to your local cinema or festival and b) may not be available at your video store. In another indie friendly move, itunes has also struck a deal with this year's Sundance Film Festival. A number of this year's festival shorts will also be available for download. This fabulous but I am sure not flawless technology is paving the way for more and more people - that means you - to see and experience independent film. Each film that is available this way is automatically given a much further reach than ever before and each filmmaker who may not ever have been able to get their film released in the traditional theatrical or DVD way will now have a chance. All good, right? Well that remains to be seen.
The downside of all of this "new" technology is that is just that new. Not everyone from filmmakers to the consumer is going to feel comfortable with it. The issues of broadband vs a T1 cable or dial up will make the download times for films vary tremendously. If it takes you longer to download a film than to go out to the store to rent it or get it from Netflix, will you do it? But as someone mentioned to me the other day, when ipods first came out - even though they knew they really didn't need the CDs once the songs were downloaded and backed up - they still bought and kept them. Now years later, this same person NEVER buys CDs and downloads all of her music from itunes. It is all about mindset, convenience, and access,
So how this all plays out remains to be seen, but I would guess that a year from now more and more people will be downloading their films, more and more filmmakers will be looking at downloading as just another means of distribution and we will still be here keeping you up to date on all of it.
Keeping it indie,
Julie
Apple has already made a deal with movie studio, Paramount Pictures for about 250 titles to make available for download. Included in this mix will be titles from Paramount Vantage - the studio's indie specialty arm. As small a step as this may seem, this allows more people to have access to films that a) do not come to your local cinema or festival and b) may not be available at your video store. In another indie friendly move, itunes has also struck a deal with this year's Sundance Film Festival. A number of this year's festival shorts will also be available for download. This fabulous but I am sure not flawless technology is paving the way for more and more people - that means you - to see and experience independent film. Each film that is available this way is automatically given a much further reach than ever before and each filmmaker who may not ever have been able to get their film released in the traditional theatrical or DVD way will now have a chance. All good, right? Well that remains to be seen.
The downside of all of this "new" technology is that is just that new. Not everyone from filmmakers to the consumer is going to feel comfortable with it. The issues of broadband vs a T1 cable or dial up will make the download times for films vary tremendously. If it takes you longer to download a film than to go out to the store to rent it or get it from Netflix, will you do it? But as someone mentioned to me the other day, when ipods first came out - even though they knew they really didn't need the CDs once the songs were downloaded and backed up - they still bought and kept them. Now years later, this same person NEVER buys CDs and downloads all of her music from itunes. It is all about mindset, convenience, and access,
So how this all plays out remains to be seen, but I would guess that a year from now more and more people will be downloading their films, more and more filmmakers will be looking at downloading as just another means of distribution and we will still be here keeping you up to date on all of it.
Keeping it indie,
Julie
posted by indieIN | 10:35 AM
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