Thom Powers on the State of Docs in 2013
i’m just seeing this now, but WOW, what a great interview with Thom Powers over at Stranger than Fiction. read the whole thing. it’s a must.Â
here are some highlights:
Netflix has announced itself as a staking more ground in the doc space. They hired Adam Del Deo, a filmmaker who collaborated with Jim Stern on docs like EVERY LITTLE STEP and SO GOES THE NATION and is now looking at new titles to acquire. Netflix has made a big impression with what they’ve done in fiction television with House of Cards. They’re talking about doing the same for documentary.
YES. Netflix can be a total game changer for docs.
… one thing we’re bound to see ahead–either in 2014 or later–will be a changing of documentary formats, including the opportunity for serialized content with films that can go beyond feature length. I think of past series like THE STAIRCASE that was on The Sundance Channel, or Jennifer Fox’s series FLYING: CONFESSIONS OF A FREE WOMAN, which I programmed at the SundanceNOW Doc Club platform.
These were serialized documentaries ahead of their time. I dare anyone to watch the first episode of THE STAIRCASE or FLYING: CONFESSIONS OF A FREE WOMAN and not want to compulsively watch all the other episodes. When those titles were released a few years ago, they were outliers. Normal distribution channels didn’t really know what to do with them. Now an audience has been trained for serial viewing thanks to shows like BREAKING BAD and THE WIRE.
love the idea of people binge watching documentaries.
I would like to see an organization take the lead in finding a way to support independent filmmakers whose legal cases will set precedents for the whole field. In an older documentary structure, filmmakers were on the staff of networks. When Peter Davis faced a Congressional investigation for THE SELLING OF THE PENTAGON in the early 70s, he had the backing CBS News. He didn’t have to worry if he was going to lose his company or livelihood because there was an institution to back him up. Independent documentary filmmakers don’t have that, and increasingly, this kind of investigative journalism, or even just profile filmmaking, is being undertaken by independent filmmakers.
YES! it’s hard enough trying to get funding to make your film but to then have to worry about possibly getting sued is absolutely nuts.
The specter that should haunt all filmmakers is that of THINKFilm that had a tremendous library of docs including Oscar winners like BORN INTO BROTHELS and TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE. But since Think went bankrupt, those titles have been in legal limbo. The contract language that stipulates a filmmakers rights revert back to them in case of a bankruptcy doesn’t have any force. As a result, all those great titles in the Think library such as MURDERBALL, SPELLBOUND, and MONDOVINO can’t be found on digital platforms like iTunes.
One possible safeguard to your distributor going out of business is if a filmmaker retains the right to do some aspect of self-distribution. This is something that filmmakers and distributors need to come to terms with. The distributors who figure out a way to carve out these opportunities for filmmakers are going to have a real edge in a more competitive landscape. As filmmakers choose between deals, a big factor in their decision making–sometimes even more than the advance being paid–is the ability to have control.
moral of the story? retain control over your work.
