Sitting here on Planet Raindance for thirty years has been an exercise in humility. So many films and filmmakers have passed through the doors. So much has changed.
Back in 1992 it was all 35mm. Now it’s (nearly) all electronic. Award winning films, even Oscar winners are shot on cellphones like Looking for Sugarman.
On February 15, 2005, Youtube was launched changing the face of film distribution forever. Check out their domain registration here:
Then there was Facebook, Twitter and the deluge of social media. With it came the crumbling of the traditional film distribution models. With it the crumbling of traditional monetisation strategies.
Youtube has brought its own opportunities to filmmakers. Namely, through the monetisation of movies on their platform. Filmmakers soon latched onto this and started creating episodic short films known as webseries. The theory was a short was easier to produce than a feature. And an eyeball on the ad in front of a feature is the same money generated as for a short.
The first webseries were created during the screenwriters strike in 2007. Writers couldn’t break their own strike by writing for film and TV – but they could (and did) write for the internet.
One of my favourite early web series is You Suck At Photoshop by by Matt Bledsoe and Troy Hitch. Each episode is another Photoshop tutorial voiced by Donnie Hoyle, a fictitional character with a multitude of mental and personal problems. Through this popular series you could actually learn Photoshop and have a laugh. A two for one!
This is my favourite episode:
Here’s the thing the web series creators discovered: if you get enough views you can make some decent money from the ad revenue earned by Youtube from the ads served against your show.
Suddenly there was a whole generation of young Youtubers creating content for very specific audiences: their fans.
Here’s a story that might convince you to stop making excuses.
I have a dear friend who’s a single mum. She has a 14 year old daugther. The daughter was sneaking off to her bedroom to make, what her mum thought of as, quite silly videos. I met the daughter in the centre of town one day last year and showed her how to create a channel that gets monetised on Youtube. This is one of the things we teach in the course. The 14 year old went off and started building her social media network.
To my amazement I got a call last week to tell me that her 14 year old daughter had just received an ad royalty check for – get this – £452.00. Isn’t that amazing? Is there anyone reading this who wouldn’t like £452 a month for a few hours work?
Want to have a peek at this 14 year old’s web series?
Can you do me a favour and subscribe as well?
Here’s my point: No more excuses!
If a 14 year old girl with no training can make £452 a month then so can you!
Know what the difference is? She’s actually doing it.
Let’s make movies!
Did You Know?
- Raindance Film Festival is considered one of the top fifteen film festivals in the world?
- Raindance has a Higher Education programme offering HND, BA and MA in Filmmaking and Screenwriting?
- Raindance members support indie film, and enjoy a range of benefits
- Let Raindance guide you on your filmmaking pathway. call +44 (0) 207 930 3412 or email filmschool@raindance.ac.uk
Photo Credit: Bertie Watson
I founded Raindance Film Festival in 1993 because the British film industry was closed, polite, and congratulating itself while shutting new filmmakers out.
I co-founded the British Independent Film Awards in 1998 because British indie film deserved more than a shrug, a pat on the head, and a Tuesday night screening.
Raindance didn’t start as a brand. It started as a rebellion: film training without gatekeepers, a festival without permission, and a community built by filmmakers who weren’t waiting to be invited in.
Later, we took it global: Toronto, Vancouver, New York, LA, Berlin, and Brussels, because independent film doesn’t belong to one city, one class, or one accent.
I’ve produced 700+ short films and seven features, including Deadly Virtues (2014) and ALICE, which won the SXSW Grand Jury Prize (2019) not because someone “discovered” us, but because the work earned its place.
I’ve written three books used by filmmakers worldwide because too many courses taught compliance instead of survival.
In 2009, I was awarded a PhD for services to film education, ironic, given that most of my career has been about tearing down the rules that education insisted you follow.
I don’t believe in waiting for permission.I believe in making work, building systems, and forcing the industry to catch up.
Specialties: Independent Film (the real kind) · Producing · Writing · Film Education · Festivals · Breaking Broken Systems
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