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Film Distribution Comes To The Internet 224

Posted by michael from the slashdot-is-too-uk-centric dept.
Dooferlad writes "thisisnotalovesong.com hosts something of a first - a film that is being distributed over the Internet because independent films are being pushed out of the box office by blockbusters. At a time when everything on seems to be a sequel it would be nice to have something original on the silver screen, but unless you live near the 5 cinemas in the UK where this is been shown you will have to do with your own small screen. The film is being distributed in Windows Media format, either streamed or for download. The code you pay for (2 to 3 UK pounds) allows you to watch as many times as you like. The catch for most of you reading is that it is only for people in the UK. More coverage is available from the BBC."
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Film Distribution Comes To The Internet More

Film Distribution Comes To The Internet

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  • what a way to test the bandwidth, post it on /. i wonder if they will survive.

    bonus! free advertising!

    • Re:bandwidth test (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Directrix1 ( 157787 )
      How the hell is this the first film to be released on the internet? I can point you to a couple bazillion films released on the internet. This is not news.
    • Nope. They're down.

      Makes one wonder how they'll successfully deliver films to customers if they can't stay up under a slashdot load.
    • Well, they're down now.

      This appears to be as a result of a combined DoS attack by the MPAA and BMI along the slashdot effect.

      Its a real pain, it's not often I feel like getting the plastic out of my wallet!

  • Finally... (Score:4, Funny)

    by angst7 ( 62954 ) on Friday September 05, 2003 @10:38AM (#6879406) Homepage
    Now Mel Gibson will have a method of distributing The Passion.

  • Tommorrow's /. Headline: (Score:5, Funny)

    by grub ( 11606 ) <slashdot@grub.net> on Friday September 05, 2003 @10:39AM (#6879420) Homepage Journal

    Film Distributed by Internet comes to Kazaa
    Posted by michael on Saturday September 06, @10:48AM
    from the it's-just-a-matter-of-time dept.

  • This is not... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 05, 2003 @10:39AM (#6879421)
    ... a site worth worrying about slashdotting.

    It has zero content on the front page. It starts with a useless flash animated menu. When we bring the server to its knees, you will see this:

    -o

    which is the world's smallest online fiddle playing "My Heart Bleeds For You."

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Friday September 05, 2003 @10:39AM (#6879429)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re:Interesting idea (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Acidic_Diarrhea ( 641390 ) on Friday September 05, 2003 @10:46AM (#6879491) Homepage Journal
      DVD-Rs are not the same thing as a pressed DVD. And while a DVD-R, to burn, would be $3, in order to get a DVD pressed (which is the only acceptable commercial solution - burned products are not products at all) the cost per DVD is lower BUT there's a certain amount of money up front that you have to pay for a run. I don't know what the average minimum run is but it is substantial. Furthermore, DVDs need to be shipped and that introduces more cost to the consumer in which that cost in not going to the creator of the intellectual property. I would much rather have indie films stick to download only and have all my money (at a lower price as well) go to the crew. Also, as this becomes a more popular way to view movies - those without broadband will see the benefit of having broadband. The more people who want broadband, the lower the price becomes and the more broadband is laid.

      • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

        by account_deleted ( 4530225 )
        Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • "DVDs need to be shipped and that introduces more cost to the consumer in which that cost in not going to the creator of the intellectual property. I would much rather have indie films stick to download only and have all my money (at a lower price as well) go to the crew."

        Where do you live? I'd like to move to a place where the bandwidth needed to distribute movies is free.
    • A little while ago I was lucky enough to go to the screening for "Standing In The Shadows Of Motown [standingin...motown.com]" at the Apollo Theater here in NYC.

      It was sponsored in part by Microsoft as a vehicle to show off WM9 for theater use.

      I must say it was pretty impressive -- the whole movie was projected from one DVD disk (though not the standard DVD compression) through hi-res projectors. It looked great -- the only time I really noticed was on the credits -- thin white text on a black background brings out the compressi

  • DRM Laden (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 05, 2003 @10:40AM (#6879440)

    with no Linux or Mac alternatives

    If this is the future of film distribution where MS leads (and to hell with the EU antitrust violations
    ) then ill stick with stealing movies from hollywood in DVDRip.DIVX format

    and congrats for buying the marketing for this flick, film distribution has been on the Internet for at least 4 years (IFILM etc)
    • "If this is the future of film distribution where MS leads (and to hell with the EU antitrust violations) then ill stick with stealing movies from hollywood in DVDRip.DIVX format"

      Seems to me you should be helping the Open Source Community to develop a better alternative that works in Windows.

      Come to think of it, where is the OSS Community on this topic?

  • Lisa, Miss Hoover, movies. (Score:5, Funny)

    by pheared ( 446683 ) <[ten.deraehp] [ta] [nivek]> on Friday September 05, 2003 @10:41AM (#6879443) Homepage
    Indie Film Maker: Uhh, Industry? I don't think I can play your game. I think it's wrong.
    Industry: Okay Indie Film Maker, I respect your moral objection.
    [Presses the "Independent Thought Alarm" button under her desk.]

  • Get reel/real! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by z-kungfu ( 255628 ) on Friday September 05, 2003 @10:41AM (#6879446)
    They need to ditribute this in multiple formats if they want a chance in hell of making this work. It seems that the same people that go to see indy movies are the same people using linux and Mac. So they need to make it available to us.

    • Re:Get reel/real! (Score:2, Insightful)

      by grub ( 11606 )

      Not necessary, at least not right off the bat. Recall that iTunes is Mac only and is raking in the cash. Catering to the Windows-only crowd is a very safe bet.. as distasteful as that may be.

      • Re:Get reel/real! (Score:3, Interesting)

        by p4ul13 ( 560810 )
        It would be interesting if Apple was to develop an iTunes-like delivery system for movies. Heck, it seems they already have the code, but just need to tweak it to add DRM to quicktime or something like that. Could be neat....
    • The same people who are using Linux and Mac are watching indie movies? Wow - that's quite a generalization. Of course this should be distributed in a format that can be played under a multitude of operating systems but if this is the company's first foray, catering to Windows-only (although as another poster pointed out, mplayer can play these files) is not a bad business strategy. Frankly, I'm not sure how you know that most people using Linux and Mac watch indie movies more than the public at large. Perha
    • I really doubt that. If the only people going to see Indie films are those using Linux or Mac, their target market is quite small and they have small chance for success. As much as I hate to see people tailoring their applications towards windows, they have to do it to give themselves a fighting chance.

    • Re:Get reel/real! (Score:3, Insightful)

      by blackmonday ( 607916 ) *
      Perhaps you need to get real. What a shame, only 99% of computer users will be able to view the film. Mac users click here [microsoft.com]. As an avid OS X-er and wannabe film maker, this is probably the easiest way to distribute an indie movie. The encoder [microsoft.com]is free, and you have a massive audience. Politically correct around here? No. An intelligent choice for a broke movie director? Fuck yeah.
      • Linux and UNIX users can view the film. Its players have no problem with the WMV file format.

        My problem is that they state that you need to be based in the UK to view the film. I don't live in the UK. What's the hang-up here? Is it because of the payment system that they are using?

        It's not Linux that is my problem, it's that they aren't treating the Internet like the global village that it really is.

  • Windows only? (Score:4, Funny)

    by VEGx ( 576738 ) on Friday September 05, 2003 @10:41AM (#6879447)
    For a sec I was excited, then went numb... If it's Window$ only, it can die as far as I'm concerned.

    • Re:Windows only? (Score:2, Insightful)

      by KDan ( 90353 )
      Funnily enough, I think you'll probably find that the feeling is reciprocal coming from them - ie you can die, as far as they're concerned.

      Not that I'm saying that it's a good thing that it's windows-only - I don't think it is. But just giving you a little free tour in the not-even-close-to-infinite-just-kinda-earth-sized perspective vortex.

      Daniel

  • UK & Windows Only (Score:5, Informative)

    by PhoenixK7 ( 244984 ) on Friday September 05, 2003 @10:42AM (#6879451)
    It's UK and Windows only, and it isn't the first independent film to be released on the internet. See here [bbc.co.uk]. Took only a few seconds of googling to find it.
    • Do you have a point or are you just jealous?
    • I'm having problems with the beeb website at the moment, so I cannot follow your link.

      However, legitimate film distribution over the net has been around for many years. Atomfilms and Shockwave have have had short films and I'm sure the odd feature film on their website for at least five years. Jeez, the first time I ever saw Cartman getting an anal probe was on Shockwave.com, six months before the first series of South Park aired in the UK. I highly recommend Atomfilms site, lot's of good films to watch,

  • I just got some broadband (Score:5, Insightful)

    by kacp ( 188529 ) on Friday September 05, 2003 @10:42AM (#6879453)
    ...and I'd love to put it to some use. I'd pay and download this, even if it's something I don't fully like. I figure supporting this distobution would be the best way to show the industry that it would actually work. ...too bad I'm in the States. There other legal distobutions centers for indie movies out there online?
    • I'd pay and download this, even if it's something I don't fully like. I figure supporting this distobution would be the best way to show the industry that it would actually work.

      You really shouldn't do that. You'll make the first sales look big, convincing the producer to dump more money into it and produce a bigger/more expensive product next time, probably on loans obtained based on initial performance, but you won't be around to buy the next one. The product will do that much worse.

      If you hadn't artif

  • not quote... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Savatte ( 111615 ) on Friday September 05, 2003 @10:43AM (#6879465) Homepage Journal
    independent films are being pushed out of the box office by blockbusters

    Close, but true independent films are being pushed out of the way to make room for independent (low budget) films aiming to be blockbusters. It's not that art houses are going to be showing Bad Boys II or Freddy vs Jason, but that they would rather show My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Bend It Like Beckham over Gerry and The Secret Lives Of Dentists.

    • Re:not quote... (Score:2, Interesting)

      by MikeHunt69 ( 695265 )
      What is a 'true' independent film? One thats shot on S16mm for under 10k? Id much prefer a good story, well told to a film that passes inexperience in shooting, lighting and acting off as 'art'.

  • The other half of the catch... (Score:3, Informative)

    by the_pooh_experience ( 596177 ) on Friday September 05, 2003 @10:43AM (#6879475)
    By now, no one here is surprised, but I can guess that most are outraged... according to the movie website:
    - To be running Microsoft Windows XP, 98 SE, Me or 2000

    - To have Microsoft Windows Media Player 9 Series installed
    The good news is you download the file (not streaming) and can watch it as many times as you want for somewhere under about 4 USD!

  • They want to be underdogs (Score:3, Interesting)

    by fleener ( 140714 ) on Friday September 05, 2003 @10:44AM (#6879479)
    Only available in the UK? It seems like independent films want to be seen by as few people as possible, relishing their underdog status. I guess it wouldn't be an 'art film' if it went mainstream.

    An internet debut announced around the world, yet only available to those living on the island. Woo hoo!
    • It might be that they're limiting the distrobution to the UK at this time in the hopes that they'll gain enough attention to get some actual screen showings in the states and other countries. Most hollywood films are released to the US and then their worldwide distrobution is largely affected by their performance here.

    • Re:They want to be underdogs (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Dicky ( 1327 ) <slash3@vmlinuz.org> on Friday September 05, 2003 @11:16AM (#6879774) Homepage
      An internet debut announced around the world, yet only available to those living on the island.

      Um... I've seen this advertised/discussed in exactly 3 places now: the BBC (yes, the British Broadcasting Corporation), the GLLUG mailing list (that's the Greater London LUG) and here. Of them, I would only consider the BBC one to be an 'official' announcement and they are a British corporation, aiming at a British audience, paid for by the British tax-payer.

      The amount of content on this site which is only available or in any way relevent to residents of the US is phenomenal. And that's largely okay, since this is effectively a US site. But you and others who are complaining that this is only available in the UK are only seeing a small example of what we see all the time.

      In a more practical sense, I can think of at least three major reasons for the limitation:

      • Another US/UK inbalance thing - we pay for bandwidth both ways because we have to pay for the privilege of talking to you guys. Streaming a movie could get really expensive really fast.
      • This is an experiment - they are hoping to generate enough noise and support from this to get a US distribution deal.
      • Um... forgot the third one. Argh. There was something to go in here. Really.

  • It's cheaper to buy a DVD (even if I lived in UK) (Score:3, Insightful)

    by dcordeiro ( 703625 ) on Friday September 05, 2003 @10:45AM (#6879485)
    You see, even if it is only 3or 4 euros/dollars for the "token", you have to pay for the download time/bytes.

    So, for some that have 56K/ISDN or a broadband connection with traffic limit (my isp makes me pay 50euros month for 2G and 2euros plus for every 100M), it's always cheaper to buy the damn thing.
    Same applies to download/buy linux distributions.

    But hey... you can always download it at work :P
  • a film that is being distributed over the Internet because independent films are being pushed out of the box office by blockbusters

    I hate to burst your bubble, but Indy flicks have *never* done well at theatres. Hell... half the big chains of theatres are owned by the major production companies... ( like Cinema City, Cineplex Odeon, etc... ).

    Also, if you read the site... the film took a whopping *12*!!! days to film... um... unless you have a damned good photographer, and a butt load of luck, you ju
    • As a side note, I would actually argue that indy flicks are doing a bit better for cinema coverage...

      Blair Witch 1,2,3,42,etc...

      Not that any of the Blair Witch movies deserved major cinema coverage...

    • Lock stock is an impressive movie.

      And i guarantee it wasnt made in 12 days

      Make a movie worth buying on DVD...and people will buy it. Regardless if they can get it for free on the internet or not.

    • Crouching Tiger is "Indy?" (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Valdrax ( 32670 ) on Friday September 05, 2003 @11:21AM (#6879830)
      "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was no "indy" film. The film studio that made the movie was Sony Pictures Classics, one of the largest and best funded film houses in Asia and a part of the same Sony that is a member of the MPAA. A mere glance at the film should tell you that this was a high-budget feature backed by a large company. Just because something's not made by Hollyhood doesn't mean that it's "indy."
      • You are confusing the production entity of a movie and the distributor.

        Crouching Tiger was produced by Good Machine International, which (until it was bought out last year to become Focus Features, the indie "arm" of a studio) was an 800 pound gorilla of East Coast indie production. James Schamus -- one of my film professors here at Columbia -- raised financing from smaller companies and private investors worldwide. (Schamus and director Ang Lee discuss the complicated financing on the DVD, in the scenes
    • Ummm... this search is kinda duffo, I think.

      As has already been mentioned, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon was made by Sony.

      Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was made by Handmade Films, a long established company which was also responsible for The Life Of Brian and Time Bandits.

      Blair Witch? *Made* by small companies, but *distributed* by Artisan Entertainment, a huge firm with over 224 films to their name.

      Shine? Heh. Buena Vista International. Yep, they're indie alright, I mean, they're only Disney.

  • Careful now! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Talia Starhawke ( 650311 ) <talia_starhawkNO@SPAMyahoo.com> on Friday September 05, 2003 @10:46AM (#6879493) Homepage Journal
    Screen those downloads so you don't end up getting a renamed copy of Gigli.

  • So what is the movie about? (Score:4, Informative)

    by the_pooh_experience ( 596177 ) on Friday September 05, 2003 @10:49AM (#6879515)
    According to the movie's website [thisisnotalovesong.com]
    This is not Badlands.

    This is not The Blair Witch Project.
    This is not Deliverance.
    THIS IS NOT A LOVE SONG.

    A film by Bille Eltringham

    Synopsis
    Spike and Heaton are the unlikeliest pair: two loners who have found each other. Taciturn, competent, unreadable, Heaton is someone we are instinctively afraid of. In contrast, his side-kick Spike is manic, child-like, unstoppable: someone we are instinctively afraid for. But when Spike commits a terrible crime, Heaton decides to stand by him - an act of astonishing, almost foolhardy loyalty. There begins a chase across a vast Northern landscape of moors, rivers and dark woods, the increasingly exhausted fugitives being hunted not by the police but by a posse of farmers intent on revenge. As exhaustion and hunger take hold, Heaton injures his leg and the roles are reversed. Suddenly Heaton needs Spike's loyalty. But as the farmers close in, Spike is forced to decide whether to stand by his wounded friend or run for the safety of the city. No ordinary chase film, This is not a Love Song is a love story trapped inside the body of a thriller.

    With a fervent desire to break the increasingly uncreative strictures of traditional film making, every stage of This is not a Love Song was approached afresh. Cast before it was written, workshopped with the actors and filmed in only two weeks on a tiny budget, the film champions DV not as film's cheap cousin but as a format with its own unique beauty.

    A Footprint Films production in association with Strange Dog in association with The Film Council (UK) & Longfellow Productions (UK)

    Crew
    Directed by Bille Eltringham
    Produced by Mark Blaney
    Written by Simon Beaufoy
    Executive Producers Kate Ogborn, Simon Beaufoy, Paul Trijbits
    Director of Photography Robbie Ryan
    Designer Jon Henson
    Production Manager Helen Walker
    Editor Ewa J. Lind
    Casting Director Victoria Beattie
    Sound Recordist Rupert Ivey
    Original Music Adrian Johnston
    Sound Editor Graham Headicar

    Cast
    Spike - Michael Colgan
    Heaton - Kenny Glenaan
    Bellamy - David Bradley

    Filmed on location over 12 days, July 2001, near Aberfoyle & Glasgow, Scotland.

    Festivals to date include:
    Rotterdam, Edinburgh, London, Hoff, American Film Institute, Dinard, Belfast...
  • Hey! They're not the first - I made an internet video and plastered it to the internet for money long ago! Just like them, we thought out every aspect of filmmaking afresh and casted before writing the story! what, porn doesn't count? ...
  • It took about 5 seconds of the trailer to realize that this isn't merely an "indy film", but an amateur film done by a couple college kids with a handycam.

    And if the UK Film Council as analgous to the National Film Board of Canada, then I'm sure the movie is just some tripe to justify ridiculous "promotion of the arts" grants.

    But, this is what we need. Actual CONTENT on the internet. Broadband is still expensive, and on the decline, because people realize there's no need for it. Put legal movies, TV sh
    • "It took about 5 seconds of the trailer to realize that this isn't merely an "indy film", but an amateur film done by a couple college kids with a handycam."

      To quote the article: "It's very low--budget, it's made with really just a cast of two people, it's almost like a two hander, it was designed very specifically for this end."

      This is not a film by college kids, but by the same guy that made The Full Monty, and apparently one of the actors also is cast in the Harry Potter movies.

      Regardless, I agree
  • Hopefully it doesn't end here.
    I live in Europe and I have to download most TV-series from kazaa. It's the only thing that keeps virtual pc around.
    Why do I download them?
    1) I like to see them.
    2) They are not (yet) available. I don't want to be 2 or 3 years behind USA.
    3) I only watch that what is worth watching, and thus worth downloading. I don't spend that much time on worthless TV-junk anymore.

    However, I don't download movies. The quality sucks. I go to apple trailer site and to movie reviews s

  • Hey I finally get to complain because some is NOT avalaible in the US.

    DAMN IT! Its not fair, we always get left out with stupid UK only stuff!

  • Excellent! (Score:1, Funny)

    by 91degrees ( 207121 )
    I'll download it and burn to CD to watch on my TV. Oh... It's not available in MPEG. Ah sod it, I'll ignore it then.

  • Showing at.. (Score:3, Informative)

    by Dynamoo ( 527749 ) on Friday September 05, 2003 @10:57AM (#6879603) Homepage
    Showing at..

    • The Other Cinema, 11 Rupert Street, London W1, Tel: 020 77341506
    • Watershed, 1 Canons Road, Bristol City Centre, Tel: 0117 9276444
    • The Showroom, Sheffield Media & Exhibition Centre, Sheffield City Centre, Tel: 0114 2763534
    • Cornerhouse, 70 Oxford Street, Manchester City Centre, Tel: 0161 2287621

    Can't find the other one.. but if you're interested in the film, why not go an see it on a lovely big cinema screen rather than a pokey little window on your PC? :)

  • I believe that independent film producers could make a decent amount of money by doing the following:
    • Make low res Quicktime and MPEG versions of their movies available for free download and viewing.
    • Bundle collections of their movies on a single DVD and sell it inexpensively.

    This could cut out the middleman so the film producers might make enough money to support their art.

    After finally getting broadband at the beginning of this year, I really enjoyed the Sundance online film festival (for those of us

  • The irony here is that in most other areas of society, companies (those with money) LEAD THE CHARGE in moving technology to new areas where it has never gone before.

    The entertainment industry, however; is stuck playing a piss-poor attempt of "catch up" to the nerds sitting in their bedrooms casually typing code for the sheer fun of it.

    What does that say about corporate motivation to pursue new and efficient methods of distribution. We're moving into an era in every industry (not just software and entert
  • Just the other day I was about to download the Return of the King, but there was a very large queue.

  • Transmission Films has done this for a while (Score:4, Informative)

    by PktLoss ( 647983 ) on Friday September 05, 2003 @11:04AM (#6879668) Homepage Journal
    Transmission Films [transmissionfilms.com] Is an online independent films distributor that has been around for around a year, with a decent film library.

  • Are they trying to make some type of stand against "The Media Business"?
    Great idea.

    Too bad they had to play the same stupid trick the big studios play with DVD's
    Limited distribution locations and formats.

    Thanks for playing! Try again some other time!
  • See details here on IMDB [imdb.com]. It's got a quite an early review, given back in November 2002, on there. One of the reviews says "The film is shot with what looks like a video camera and then blown up for the screen. The results are dire.". Sounds like a duffer.
  • I really love the idea of being able to spend about $5-6 on a film which I then own and can rewatch. I think the idea of being able to get the independents is even better, bypassing the vertically integerated distribution system that only chooses what they think are blockbusters.

    The problem is distribution. I don't know how big this film is, but a good quality movie rip can easily be between 700MB to 1.4GB of data in XViD format, more if in another form like SVCD. P2P works because of the cooperative down

  • trailer (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Hard_Code ( 49548 ) on Friday September 05, 2003 @11:14AM (#6879764)
    Did anybody understand the trailer? I for one was not left with any idea of what the movie was about. Some guys in a car screaming. Some people get thrown into a barn. Somebody shoots a shotgun. Somebody pushes a boulder. Techno music throughout. What the hell is this about, why would I want to watch it, and what does it have to do (or not to do) with a love song?? I'm not really impressed by the i'm-more-clever-and-hip-than-you trailers that don't give any indication of wtf a movie is about. Especially if they are trying to gain a following in an alternative distribution channel.

  • But But But.... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by magoolsu ( 661313 ) on Friday September 05, 2003 @11:17AM (#6879797)
    This might be a stupid question, but isn't the quality of the movie going to be pretty crappy? Even on a good internet connection it still takes a long time to download decent quality movies. Why not wait and get the movie on dvd for the same price and a much better qaulity movie.

    I could see so many ways this could go bad.

    I love my wife!
    • "Why not wait and get the movie on dvd for the same price and a much better qaulity movie. "

      Why pay more for the movie if it sucks? It's not a special effects movie, the visual quality increase wouldn't be worth paying $20 or so. A few minutes into the movie, you won't even notice the quality.

  • Not Legal in EU (Score:3, Insightful)

    by DOsinga ( 134115 ) <<douwe.webfeedback> <at> <gmail.com>> on Friday September 05, 2003 @11:25AM (#6879879) Homepage Journal

    I very much doubt whether this is legal in the EU. With the internal market directive, you can't really sell something to people from one EU country and not to another (or even charge differently depending on the country).


    - -
    Help draw the world map of our collective minds. [douweosinga.com]

  • Independent films aren't being pushed out of the box office. The problems with indy lies in distribution. Just because you see more mainstream films in the theaters doesn't mean hollywood is shafting indy filmmakers, it just means that bigger fish have more money to promote their film and get it out to the public.

    IndieDVD, an artist-friendly alliance of independent filmmakers, assembles collections of independent film, animation and video to distribute on compilation DVDs as well as full-length feature fil

  • quality (Score:3, Interesting)

    by razorshine ( 704561 ) on Friday September 05, 2003 @11:37AM (#6879996)
    hi guys, I have seen the digital film.. the 300mb file is amazing quality - looked great on a full screen 21" monitor. if you want a review of the film there is one on the bbc somewhere
  • Not a bad movie at all -- should definitely have gotten a bigger release.

    filmcritic.com review here [filmcritic.com]

  • This is not something to be ridiculed (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Attaturk ( 695988 ) on Friday September 05, 2003 @11:53AM (#6880141) Homepage
    Hang on a second, this is /. isn't it? I see a fair few responses looking to poke fun at the movie makers but shouldn't this be something we praise? Well let's take a look:

    Pros:
    • An independant movie maker cutting out the MPAA-friendly 'Hollywood scene' altogether.
    • Direct distribution.
    • Low fee for download - about a fifth of the price of a cinema ticket.
    • Different quality levels available and the ability to store the movie and rewatch it.
    • The movie is also available on DVD and in the cinema so the consumer has plenty of options on what they pay for and what they get.
    • Some nice taglines: "This is not Hollywood", "This is not conventional", "This is not the end of cinema" etc.
    • Written by the guy [imdb.com] that wrote The Full Monty [imdb.com].
    Cons:
    • "UK-only" online release
    • DRM-tastic you can't watch it on any other PC than the one you downloaded it on. Until you've cracked it naturally. You've effectively paid your money to 'rent' the movie on that machine (in fairness the download fee is about the same as a 2 night DVD/VHS movie rental, which you have to return).
    • M$ Windows only
    • M$ Windows Media Player 9 only
    • Limited availability online - they're taking it offline on Sept 19th (subject to change), which means they've got a two week hype window for a movie that we'd have otherwise never heard of.
    • "This is not the Blair Witch Project" should read "We want to be a flash-in-the-pan Internet phenomenon like the BWP.
    • Biggest cast member seems to be a bit-part from Harry Potter.
    • Flash used as basis for website not as enhancements to it.
    • Franki and Jonny [frankiandjonny.com] may need to calm down a little and explore some other web technologies. ;-)
    Oh and the director is virtually unknown but has achieved the respect of some of those that have seen his work.

    In short this looks like a truly great idea hijacked by a bunch of overzealous marketing types that now see the Blair Witch symbol as more potent icon than the dollar symbol. As a result it's now just a-n-other overhyped budget movie release.

    • "DRM-tastic you can't watch it on any other PC than the one you downloaded it on. Until you've cracked it naturally. You've effectively paid your money to 'rent' the movie on that machine (in fairness the download fee is about the same as a 2 night DVD/VHS movie rental, which you have to return)."

      The movie's only $4. That's far cheaper than a one-time/I-better-schedule-around-it movie at a theater.

      I don't know why you guys are picking on them about that, at least they're not time-bombing it. Lighten up

  • Too bad Filthy's not here to see this.

    Sniff.
  • Pattern Recognition [isbn.nu] by William Gibson is a very cool use of this idea. An unknown source has "leaked" fragments of a mysterious film onto the Internet, causing an almost cult following.
  • What's stopping someone from just going here: http://http.firstmedia.speedera.net/http.firstmedi a/filmcouncil/4564654154698/tinals-103587012200315 124783255.wmv and saving the movie? Play it in a player that doesn't care about DRM. Of course, you can't do this in ie since it'll try to launch Windows Media player. Right now http grabber is downloading about 293 megs... so I think there's nothing stopping me....

  • Didn't quite work (Score:2, Interesting)

    by t_allardyce ( 48447 )
    Seems it didnt survive the slashdotting, Internet film launch stalled [bbc.co.uk]. Oh well, i can always go down to the river and see that guy sitting in a glass box...

  • Awesome idea! (Score:2, Insightful)

    by robd003 ( 672018 )
    Awesome idea, I just hope that when more film companies catch on they'll use a format thats multi-platform. (cough) DiVX (cough)

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