Digital Video May Be Cheaper, but That Doesn’t Mean You’ll Profit

Wired News covers the problem the digital-video only film studio, InDigEnt, is having sustaining success and making money for itself and the filmmakers who take a chance on producing ultra-low-budget flicks on DV instead of film.

The problem, of course, is not getting the movies made — it’s getting them distributed, since that’s where the money is, and it’s a competitive game locked up by the major distributors and studios.

Movie-sports mogul Mark Cuban has put together a DV production company that looks a little more promising, if only because he owns a theater chain. That company’s co-founder tells Wired, “If you don’t own the means of distribution, there is no valid production model.”

It’s just a version of the Times story I commented on back in November, about aspiring independent filmmakers who have basically bankrupted themselves producing a film that has been shown at prestigious festivals, but not been picked up for distribution.

Having inexpensive and high-quality means for production at your disposal is both important and remarkable. But the old saying about the better mousetrap isn’t true for media: just because you make a better film doesn’t mean the world (or distributors) will lead a path to your door.

The business model of the modern media cartel is premised on control and full exploitation. Time/Warner, Sony, Viacom and their brothers-in-arms have no interest in letting outsiders in, unless they can make a good bet on buying up the rights and exploiting the hell out of whatever film they get. But there are so many people trying for those few opportunities, it is a buyer’s market — which means most sellers lose.

If you’re a rich bastard like Mark Cuban you have a better shot at challenging the movie cartel than a guy with a DV camera, Final Cut Pro and 10 grand in credit card debt.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t cracks in the pavement of Hollywood Boulevard. There’s plenty of ways to get a film or video seen — they just take a little more work and creativity, and lower expectations of fame and profit. But if it’s fame and profit you seek, you’re better off whoring your way up the ladder at a studio than striking out on your own, anywy.