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Webcinema wants to change the way independent films are financed and produced.
Next week at the Williamsburg Film Festival in New York City, the 2,000-member online organization of independent filmmakers will host a conference and screening called Digital Pitch.
See also: The Dawn of Digital Movies?- - - - - -
Traditionally, the cornerstone of any film is the script. Whether it's a spec script -- one done by a screenwriter with the hopes of later selling it -- or a million-dollar commission given to a famous Hollywood writer, the story as written in the script is the launch pad from which most films take off. The script is considered the proof of concept. Based on its strength, film producers succeed or fail at rounding up the funds to hire a director and actors, build sets, and cover traditional filmmaking's other major expenses.
But the giant pitfall of this kind of filmmaking, said Digital Pitch organizer Jonathan Sarno, is that a great story on paper often turns out to be a flop on screen -- after millions of dollars have been spent.
"Judging [whether to put] millions of dollars into a film based on words on a page may not be the best way to judge what's good or not anymore," he said.
Recent advances in digital technology have revolutionized the filmmaking process, making it easier and faster. So Sarno proposes creating films using inexpensive digital filmmaking techniques. A movie could be shot with digital Beta cameras instead of on film and cut with inexpensive editing software such as Adobe Premiere, using a US$3,000 Macintosh instead of a $150,000 Avid editing machine. Sarno believes that aspiring auteurs stand a much better chance of getting their vision across to investors by shooting in digital before pitching their ideas.
Once a digital filmmaker has secured backers, it's relatively easy to go back and remake a film with higher production values.
"You can't show a script to an audience of 50 people and see how they react," said Sarno, "but you can do that with an inexpensive digital film."
Jack Lechner, the former executive vice president of production and development for Miramax Films, is more measured in his assessment of film's evolution toward digital technology.
"[Digital filmmaking] will change everything. I know so many filmmakers who are intrigued by the possibility of making a movie inexpensively and bypassing entirely the endless process of raising the huge amounts of money needed to produce traditional films," said Lechner. "That said, however, the technology means nothing without the content. You still need to tell a great story."
"The other interesting thing about digital video is that every new technology brings its own set of strengths and weaknesses," said Lechner. "Digital video, for example, is great for telling the kind of intimate stories you can't necessarily get with a big film crew. But for movies with lots of scope and action -- any of the current Hollywood blockbusters -- 35-mm film is far superior."
At the Williamsburg conference, independent filmmakers selected by Webcinema will be given the chance to present their ideas to an audience of peers and, it's hoped, investors looking to back future endeavors.
Already, traditional indie film companies have begun to move into digital filmmaking. Open City Films, a New York-based production company, recently announced the creation of a new division, Blow Up Pictures, dedicated strictly to digitally produced fiction and documentary films for theatrical release.
"This kind of filmmaking is a really good opportunity for us to turn the risk-reward ratio upside down for investors," said Blow Up Pictures head Sharan Sklar.
"We're able to co-collateralize a bunch of films together, so instead of investing in just one picture you're investing in a slate of six. It spreads the risk around and increases the chances that at least one will be a success."
And from a director's point of view, said Sklar, the new digital filmmaking tools offer lots of new opportunities.
"You're not tied to having only this much film and you must get it right in a couple takes. It gives us a lot of creative freedom. You're able to work with your actors more, the crews are smaller, and it gives you the mobility to capture things and get into places that you haven't been before."
Despite the gee-whiz factor, said Sklar, one thing hasn't changed: "Whether it's on film or digital, people are looking for good stories. They want to think. They want to be challenged. That's what we're trying to do."
Digital Pitch takes place at the Commodore Theater on 26 June.
