Short films on DVD - Part 2
In the first part of this article, we looked at the latest developments on the market and the current selection of short films on DVD. Now we would like to examine the DVD as a tool for marketing and selling short films, from the point of view of filmmakers.
In the first part of this article, we looked at the latest developments on the market and the current selection of short films on DVD. Now we would like to examine the DVD as a tool for marketing and selling short films, from the point of view of filmmakers.
Most filmmakers would agree that marketing and sales are the most difficult aspects of making a short film. In this regard, DVDs open up entirely new options. These range from providing a convenient medium for examination prints to submit to festivals or television editors, to selling films to end-consumers on the home video market. Most of the functions now covered by the new storage medium of DVD were previously fulfilled by other media. In this sense, the DVD is simply replacing other outmoded formats. But in our context it is interesting to explore what advantages and disadvantages the DVD entails specifically for the distribution of short films. A direct comparison with earlier media shows that the disadvantages are primarily technical in nature, and therefore presumably capable of being solved. The advantages are lower costs, easier handling and a greater range. Beyond the question of whether in this case a new carrier medium is simply fulfilling the same functions as an old one, but better, we would also like to explore the DVD's possible innovative potential for media production and media use.
DVD replaces VHS videotape
The VHS print will still be doing duty for a while, at least as 'examination tape'. Because for viewing and selecting films, VHS tapes are still indispensable for most film festivals. This will not change until worldwide uniform standards are enforced for DVD formats, or until festivals and film markets are no longer able to replace their existing video equipment because the right video players are no longer being made. But at present the compatibility problems with DVD present too great an obstacle for a complete changeover to this medium.
In the home video field, however, DVD has already replaced VHS tape. New feature films are only rarely brought out on VHS, and then always alongside a DVD version. On the shelves of home electronics stores, VHS players are making way for DVD players. If one were to count all of the DVD drives in computers as well, one would be forced to conclude that DVD players are now so widespread as to present the best possible basis for disseminating short films.
DVD replaces the 16mm screening print
The 16mm film print – once the classic format for distributing short films – has now vanished from the market. The reasons for this can be found in the restructured screening conditions in the non-commercial and educational media sectors. This restructuring already began with the introduction of video. First, the 16mm projectors disappeared from schools and educational facilities, then from the non-commercial film clubs, and finally today there are hardly any cinemas anymore that can screen 16mm films.
As a consequence of this development in the screening sector, duplication services saw their order volume plummet, so that today, even if one succeeds at finding a service that is still capable of copying a 16mm film, the price is sure to be prohibitive.
The main engine behind the triumph of the DVD is without a doubt the education sector. DVDs are cheaper to copy and easier to handle and transport than film. And they also have another major advantage for educational work in comparison with video: apart from the actual film on the DVD video level, on the DVD-ROM level, additional information, didactic background material and interactive learning units can be distributed.
DVD as public screening format
As a screening format, DVD has certain disadvantages when compared with film or professional video formats. Data compression entails losses in quality, especially the picture quality. Since compression means nothing more than omitting redundant picture components, this is especially relevant for films that contain complex frames and rapid cuts. It is not always possible to select the best bit rate and resolution since storage capacity is limited, and thus compromises must sometimes be made, depending on the length of the film. While audio quality is excellent, the picture quality of a DVD is usually equivalent to that of a good S-VHS print.
This does not present much of a problem, however, when the film is to be played on a monitor, for example in an exhibition or gallery.
But the playback quality is not adequate for projection on the big screen – at least not if the viewers expect quality 'like at the cinema'. Nonetheless, film organizers are making more and more use of DVDs for screenings. For example, a short film festival that made its way through the Rhine-Main region this summer showed films only from DVD in some venues. Indeed, copying short films in various formats onto one common format to reduce equipment requirements or ensure a smooth-running programme seems to be a trend these days among programme organizers. But DVD is not the best solution for this purpose. Even MiniDV delivers better results.
Larger festivals and event organizers, who place great stock in screening films in their original format, have other reasons for being sceptical when it comes to screening DVDs – for example, in competition programmes. Even when the obstacles created by varying standards and norms have been overcome by the availability of a selection of DVD players, there may still be some unpleasant surprises in store. For example, a DVD might include complicated menus that must be navigated – in full view of the cinema audience – before the film can be started. And it is particularly embarrassing when a DVD was programmed in loop mode for an exhibition and the only way to stop it is for the projectionist to jump in and stout-heartedly press the eject button at just the right moment ...
Filmmakers or distributors should thus think carefully about the exact purpose for which a DVD is being produced and, if necessary, make different versions to fit different requirements.
Short film DVDs on the home video market and as collector's item
The current situation strongly evokes the developments surrounding the introduction of commercial VHS tapes in the 80s. Back then, many independent filmmakers and producers hoped that direct marketing of videotapes would help them to circumvent the entertainment conglomerates and cinema distributors and reach out directly to consumers. Initiatives for short film compilations on VHS popped up everywhere, and dozens of independent labels were established. Many of these projects were forced to give up after a few years, or even went broke with their very first edition. Only a few have survived (and are today producing DVDs)!
The most ambitious and prominent of these projects was doubtless the international video magazine INFERMENTAL. According to the visionary ideas of its founder, Gabor Body, INFERMENTAL was to be published on an interactive storage medium (such as we now have in DVD). Of the 10 video editions with 70 hours of footage by 1500 artists that were produced, only a few are still available today. The work can be viewed in its entirety only at the media centre of the ZKM (Centre for Art and Media in Karlsruhe), after being painstakingly and arduously restored there. The debates surrounding the conception of INFERMENTAL and the difficulties it faced, along with its successes and failures, are still pertinent today when applied to the opportunities for DVD publications and make for an interesting object lesson for the dissemination of artistic works on a mass medium. (see website: www.infermental.de/).
People's expectations in the 80s of what VHS distribution could bring were certainly euphoric, and can readily be compared with today's DVD hype. But ultimately the failure of many projects can be attributed to the medium itself – with several disadvantages and problems that for the most part do not apply to DVD. One problem was that the costs for marketing and entry into the sales and merchandising system were underestimated. Today, the Internet and e-shops furnish less expensive routes to the consumer. Furthermore, the production costs per unit were too high, so that with smaller print runs the break-even point could not be reached by means of retail price adjustments alone. The production and duplication of DVDs – even though it is technically more complex – is much cheaper in comparison.
Not to be underestimated is also the fact that the DVD as product has a much better image. Back in its heyday, many labels tried their hardest, although in vain, to change the lowly image of VHS – a cheap plastic product in a cardboard box. For example, 235 Media, the Cologne label for video art, sold artist tapes in slipcases made of precious metal. Although, materially speaking, the DVD is nothing more than a plastic disc covered in metallic foil, and the term "jewel case" that is used for the most common package form is a flagrant euphemism, people nonetheless perceive the DVD as something incomparably more valuable than a humble VHS tape. So valuable, apparently, that people who have never purchased a film on VHS have elevated the DVD to the status of collector's item.
Nevertheless, the question of appropriate sales channel must be addressed anew in the case of the DVD. It is doubtful whether independently selling individual titles, as is being done today by some filmmakers or groups, can lead to lasting success, despite Internet advertising and e-commerce. A more promising strategy is surely to entrust sales to a committed label that has better marketing instruments at its disposal and perhaps international contacts with resellers in other countries.
DVD production
The DVD is an extremely inexpensive data medium with comparatively good playback quality. Since prices for hardware and software continue to drop, DVD production is possible – at least from an economic point of view – right on a filmmaker's home desktop. This is easiest when the film has been digitally produced in the first place. Films in analogue video formats can be processed as well, but must first be digitized, which means a further investment of time and money for the necessary production tools.
DVD extras: Bonus tracks and random access
Just like film prints, DVDs can also be used as storage media for playing linear films. However, one should bear in mind that a DVD is a data medium with many other potential functions, on which every kind of data - photos, texts, graphics and music – can be stored. These extras, so-called 'featurettes' or 'bonus tracks', are what actually account for this medium's appeal. Even a DVD of short films can be marketed more successfully the more extras it has to offer. These might be documentation about the film team, photographs, storyboard outlines, audio commentaries or a complete 'Making of'. Moreover, interactively networked features on the ROM level of the DVD even allow 'back channels' from the viewer to the filmmaker.
Another attractive feature of DVDs is the option for random access of content by the user. Of course, not every short film DVD can be as elaborately produced as the new Residents DVD, "Commercial Album", on which the video clips are accessed through a computer game interface. But even the possibility of being able to immediately select and play certain titles in a short film compilation is a huge improvement over the tedious search for a certain place in a linear medium, such as a 2-hour videotape containing a dozen different films.
One might say that random access virtually predestines DVD for the presentation of short films - for there is a great affinity between the navigation technique and the short form.
Interfaces with polymorphous film
When all of the technical possibilities of DVD are tapped, a new product emerges in the extreme case that is far removed from what we normally refer to as film. This begins with various versions of the same film and ends with the complete dissolution of cinematic linearity. The result is not a self-contained work, but rather an open structure, which the viewer is drawn into as active participant. When embedded in online networks, however, 'film' then becomes something completely divorced from the cinematic system. Whether or not we find such a development desirable or worthwhile, the short form is now playing an innovative and groundbreaking role in this evolution of film into something elastic and polymorphic.
Do it yourself?
Notwithstanding the increasingly easy access to production tools, filmmakers should think twice before they attempt to take on this task themselves. Even with the best of equipment, preparing a DVD master demands very specialized technical knowledge – for example in data compression and interface design – and above all, a great deal of time!
The option of producing one's own DVD might be tempting, but it makes more sense to co-operate with colleagues, investing in a common equipment pool and outsourcing the more demanding tasks to specialists. This would actually be a job for film houses and media workshops, which however would first have to receive the requisite public funding.
The fact that it is nevertheless possible to produce a good DVD using the Samizdat method is demonstrated by the following report.
Love Tricycle – A field report
In summer 2003, the Australian production company Rendition Films released the 3-D animated film "Love Tricycle". The film has since been screened at more than 40 international festivals and has won numerous awards. Along with the film in 35mm format, the filmmakers also produced a 'Special Edition' by themselves on DVD. Although the motive for the project and the entire focus was a single 14-minute film, the authors managed to produce a work that functions well as a DVD and that in this format is an experience all by itself. They exploited almost every possible facet of the medium in an exemplary fashion and in outstanding quality. The film's director, Andrew Goode, was kind enough to provide us with a report that very informatively and compactly describes how this DVD was created, from conception to realization. Since the filmmakers themselves were interested in sharing their production experiences with others, Andrew Goode's report, which we will quote from in the following, provided an excellent résumé of our topic.
« We wanted to document our production process as a small independent team, as an example to other low-budget filmmakers. We knew there would be a lot of concept and production artwork, so we carefully collected it throughout the production so we could include it in galleries on the DVD. As Love Tricycle is only 14 minutes long, there was a lot of space left on the DVD, so we were able to include a huge gallery of artwork.
The most important thing I wanted to show was a comparison of the various stages of production. We kept the 3 in-progress edits of the film (storyboards, layout and animation), and on the DVD, showed them side-by-side with the final picture, for the full duration of the film. Other bonus materials include music-only and sound-effects-only versions of the soundtrack, as well as a trailer, production notes and biographies of the key creatives. What we have now is a document of the making of the film, accompanying a high-quality version of the film with a Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mix.
Apart from documenting the filmmaking process, the other major reason for making the DVD is that film festivals only account for a very small portion of the possible audience for a film. The DVD allows the film to be seen by people who love watching films at home, but either cannot or do not usually attend film festivals. It's also a good souvenir for people who have enjoyed it at festivals and want to watch it again and again, or learn about how it was made. Finally, it serves as a self-contained press kit which we can use to promote the film.
As we have some prior experience working in multimedia, we authored our DVD ourselves over a few months after finishing the film. We had to find the right software which would allow us to include all the features we wanted to add, and to ensure a top quality product. Luckily, good software is now cheap enough to make this possible. Often a distributor will be responsible for creating a DVD, but doing it ourselves meant we retained all our rights, and full creative control over the DVD design.
We were also able to find a replication facility which gave us a good price and delivered a professional product. We made PAL and NTSC versions, and they both work in all regions.
This DVD is our best way of making back some of the money we spent on production of the film. Production funding is difficult to get and never enough, so we need other income such as DVD sales to enable us to make more independent films. We sell the DVD directly through the Love Tricycle website - lovetricycle.com. Even though this DVD contains only a single short film, many people are giving great feedback about it, and some people, especially children, enjoy watching it over and over again.
I would encourage more filmmakers to put their short films on DVD. There is a burgeoning market for them, at the right price, and self-distribution ensures that filmmakers retain their rights. Of course, if they choose to have their film distributed, a DVD product like ours can look more attractive to a distributor since the hard authoring work is already done! » (Andrew Goode*)
Reinhard W. Wolf
(Andrew Goode's report can also be read in its entirety under ‘Letters to the Editor’.)
Links - some independent DVD distributor:
Kurzfilmagentur Hamburg DVD Edition
Further links:
DVD-educative