If Spielberg and Lucas are to be believed – Hollywood is indeed imploding! Or perhaps you might want a contrarian opinion to assuage your fears of another Guy Ducker original post here and the ripples of panic that are hitting the industry as the fake sky above the film set is indeed falling…
This is something I think about, breathe, and discuss just about every waking moment of every day. I dare say that anybody who is in the film/indie/tv/commercial industry hasn’t paused at some point in the past year to question the long term viability of the current business, distribution and advertising models… that part is definitely… well… kinda really broken for sure.
But there are solutions… and people ARE doing really great things! The universal truth though is: most of those efforts won’t succeed unless you as a fellow filmmaker, or film lover don’t actively engage in helping establish the future business models of filmmaking.
I’d like to expound on some of my thoughts in a longer post soon, but right now I have a more pressing deadline: I’d like you to consider supporting a company that I think is onto something… One of the big lessons in life is that it’s not always the "Big" solutions that solve "Big" problems… sometimes it’s a very bright idea that comes from a small group people at just the right time.
One such idea that I think is pretty dead on, is Seed&Spark, a start up company that aims to TRULY embrace the idea of community in very pertinent ways. Crowd funding, distribution, and new ways of distribution are going to be key unless you really want to go see Iron Man XIX a decade from now… I think that Emily Best the founder of the company did a bang up job of communicating just how they plan to help pave the way for independent filmmaker in this in the video below… And if you’re interested there’s a chance for you to support them in the next 48 hours to help them expand their horizons… Especially if you’re a small or independent film maker (read: most of us!)
The Future of Filmmaking from Seed&Spark on Vimeo.
If you like what you hear – I do – please consider supporting Seed&Spark by going to the following site here and helping fund their project and allow them to spread their wings even further. They’ve already funded SEVENTEEN films since DECEMBER and you have to admit that’s pretty darn impressive.
You’d be surprised at how quickly a few people (you) and (them) can make a big difference in the future of filmmaking. I meet a lot of people in Hollywood and Silicon Valley these days and I have to tell you: these folks at Seed&Spark are pretty darn smart. More importantly perhaps – they’re incredibly passionate and their heart is in the right place. Excuse the obvious pun, but they’ve gone ahead and planted the seed, it’s your turn to help them spark some change for us all… and perhaps set the old model on fire.
