Releasing your film: DVD vs. Theatrical
There is a lot of talk going around the film community regarding DVD vs. Theatrical releasing. Robert Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Co., has expressed an active interest in releasing films on DVD WHILE they are still in their theatrical run. This would basically use movie theaters as a marketing tool for DVD. Granted, studios make a helluva lot more cash on DVD sales than theatrical runs, but does this seem right? Wouldn't this bankrupt movie theaters? As an independent filmmaker I am very pro-DVD. Gaining theatrical distribution is next to impossible, making DVD a viable source for releasing your film. However, I want to see IceBreaker on the big screen! In my opinion, there is no better way to watch a film than in a proper movie theater (the Lakeville 18 is my personal fave). I don't own a plasma screen or DLP projector, nor do I have a THX surround system in my house. Films may look and sound amazing on these products, but I doubt I would get the same satisfaction from seeing a film in the theater. This is a tough one for me. If Sin City came out on DVD two weeks into it's theatrical run, I would buy it immediately. I may or may not have seen it in the theater then (I'm glad I did!). What do you all think? Are movie theaters a thing of the past (ticket sales are WAY down)? Will DVD or some other new medium reign supreme?
There is a lot of talk going around the film community regarding DVD vs. Theatrical releasing. Robert Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Co., has expressed an active interest in releasing films on DVD WHILE they are still in their theatrical run. This would basically use movie theaters as a marketing tool for DVD. Granted, studios make a helluva lot more cash on DVD sales than theatrical runs, but does this seem right? Wouldn't this bankrupt movie theaters? As an independent filmmaker I am very pro-DVD. Gaining theatrical distribution is next to impossible, making DVD a viable source for releasing your film. However, I want to see IceBreaker on the big screen! In my opinion, there is no better way to watch a film than in a proper movie theater (the Lakeville 18 is my personal fave). I don't own a plasma screen or DLP projector, nor do I have a THX surround system in my house. Films may look and sound amazing on these products, but I doubt I would get the same satisfaction from seeing a film in the theater. This is a tough one for me. If Sin City came out on DVD two weeks into it's theatrical run, I would buy it immediately. I may or may not have seen it in the theater then (I'm glad I did!). What do you all think? Are movie theaters a thing of the past (ticket sales are WAY down)? Will DVD or some other new medium reign supreme?
posted by Nick Evert at 11:33 PM
2 Comments:
It's sad to think that technology has advanced to the point where it might render theatrical releases obsolete. Don't get me wrong, without this technology we could never afford to shoot IceBreaker for $30,000...and I personally can't wait upgrade my home theater system. But even though ticket sales are down, I've gotta think that the movie-going public won't allow theaters to become extinct.
Let's face it. Seeing your movie on the big screen is what every aspiring filmmaker shoots for. It isn't the money or the fame; it's seeing your work up there on the big screen, bigger than life, in front of an audience. Imagine, the entire audience bursting into laughter at just the right moment, falling silent the next...this is the true measuring stick of how effective your film is.
I saw "Passion of the Christ" on opening day in a sold-out theater. That was an incredible experience. The audience was making a real connection with the material on screen; we as an audience were drawn in together, and as it is in a wedding or a funeral, the emotional response of the audience had as much to do with the communal aspect of the film's exhibition as it did with the film itself. An audience can truly participate in a film.
The Star Wars films are larger than life and intended to be seen in a theater. The same holds true for any epic adventure. Will studios even bother to make such films if their first and only line of distribution is home video? Granted, we could do without another Bad Boys sequel. But should we close the door to movie spectacle entirely?
Film is the combination of all art forms: art, music, photography, performance, literature. The juxtaposition of these elements create a product greater than the sum of its parts. Creating a film takes a collaborative effort; that effort is then shown to an audience, allowing them to contribute to the process by actively participating - as a group - in what's unfolding in front of them.
I don't think audiences will allow the DVD market to obliterate theatrical distribution. But if that day comes, it will mark the end of Cinema as we know it, and I sure hope IceBreaker makes it to the big screen before it happens.
Long Live Theatrical Distribution!
Agreed.
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