ConvergeInternet distribution portals
Internet is the most recent way of film and AV distribution. Internet platforms can be /dependent on content and goals of platforms/ are ALTERNATIVE and additional way of traditional distribution model:
First of all, film is premiered at festival; pass over festival circle, then theatrical release, tv broadcasting and DVD distribution…. Internet can but not has to be in the end of the chain.
VIDEO ON DEMAND !! without any space or time limitation, everywhere, everytime – new motto: “click and view” !! for years, life of a documentary film practically ended after a few festival screenings and broadcasting by television. It was hard if not impossible to get hold of a couple years old film. These previous problems with accessibility of the documentary films can be solved via internet. !!
Three kinds of distribution platform:
1.portal with nonselective content demonstrating quantity rather than quality – my space, you tube, blogs…. Amateur rather than professional AV material – not disadvantage Various levels of control –more open /you tube…/ or have a specific community roles /indymedia/ choice of different license sorts, more or less commercial, Community feeling Individual blog, interactivity, creativity
creative commons, open source, free software http://creativecommons.org/ http://www.indymedia.org/en/ http://www.opensource.org
creative commons – „sort of license, which provides free tools that let authors, scientists, artists, and educators easily mark their creative work with the freedoms they want it to carry. You can use CC to change your copyright terms from "All Rights Reserved" to "Some Rights Reserved."
Indymedia – Independent Media centre was founded as an alternative to government and mainstream media, and seeks to facilitate people being able to publish their media as directly as possible, left wing point of view. They distribute print, audio, photo, and video journalism, the content is determined by its participants, both the users who post content and members of the local Indymedia collective who administer the site.
www.onlinefilm.org – German, community of the filmmakers – each one can upload its own film and decide about screening price – also amateurs
2.selective portals – according to categories as genre, theme, specific dramaturgy /Doc Air../ or goals – activism… www.doc-air.com www.ubu.com/film - experimental and avant-garde film www.nomadsland.com – social and engaged film – activists dealing with social and political issues
3.institutional portals – national film archives network – just database of film material www.filmarchives-online.eu TV websites – BBS, Arte VOD, national TV – www.tvp.pl www.artevod.de www.submarine.nl – cross genre portal – docs, animation, games – producers as well as distributors – they produce content for different devices – mobile, Ipod, computers
DOC AIR
Main characteristics: virtual platform for all kinds of creative documentary and experimental film, the only one focused on Central and Eastern Europe initiative of Jihlava IDFF - back round selective platform target groups: wide audience, professionals – producers, festival program selectors, distributors, sales agents, cinema owners, film schools
Main aims: to improve international public's access to documentary production Portal offers documentaries from all over the world, on the other hand doc air has very personal and careful approach to Central and Eastern European Region and try to motivate producers to assume equal status and feel equal with their Western colleagues, along with stimulating their work and carrying their topics and points of view to reflect recent documentary world as well as history of this genre – we are offering representative collection of contemporary films, collection of students films, films which are just in progress now as well as significant archive films - kind of documentation of today audiovisual culture, virtual archive – preventing films from getting forgotten - plans to cooperate on film archive online project regarding target groups // portal helps producers to present films to other distributors, sales agents, commissioning editors and festival program directors without any place or time limitations // presents film schools and student films, students and teacher can see what their colleagues do – educational aims – FAMU /FILM AND TV SCHOOL OF THE ACADEMY OF PERFORMING ARTS IN PRAGUE/, VŠMU, LODZ, LA FEMIS and VGIK in near future
Organizer - Project has been launched at IDFF Jihlava 2005 civic association JSAF – a lot of activities: festival, publishing /Godard, Gauthier translations/, anthologies of theoretical texts, doc revue, market – East Silver – regarding the wide range of activities JSAF decided to start a new civic association DOC AIR
Portal profile: very clear profile, content selective – creative documentaries , criteria of social and aesthetic merit – we are searching for films of a serious, attractive theme, aesthetic qualities and unique author style, innovative visual approach – the reason – your film will be surrounded by quality members of committee come from Jihlava program selectors and are choosing the film applied by online registration as well as prepare the list of filmmakers who are asked to participate on doc air - two ways of submitting genre categories: contemporary archive coming soon students and debuts experimental thematic categories: war, globalization, philosophy, family, east – west…
Technologies 3 formats – stream, Xvid /mpeg 4/ - to 700 MB , DVD /mpeg2/ - to 4GB real time of downloading depend on connection speed – 2Mb/s – 45 to 75 minutes for Xvid and 4 hours for DVD pay via visa – contract with bank prices depend on length and format, but can be discussed visit rate of portal: 10 downloads per day 9000 – 11000 unique IP addresses access per month /dobled from 2006, the number is rising/
Rights and protection
- Each film we present is protected by license contract upon the jurisdiction of Czech Courts. ! Czech law doesn’t know creative commons, this fact complicate to make the license in different condition, we would prefer more progressive thinking law – more license possibilities
- Contract is signed by right holder and doc air on the other side, royalty rate is based on a share 60 percent per licensor and 40 per doc air - non exclusive license - each film can be territorial restricted – controlled by IP address - royalties are payable two times per year, Doc Air sends to the Licensor a statement of royalties, the amount is invoiced then
Protection against piracy– just with logo in frame , we don´t use digital rights managment /DRM/ - Microsoft licence /it means 24 hours usage/ - we try don´t limit our users
Finanacing Doc Air
- not self sustained organization - Financed by state funds, European union grants - media