MovieMaker Magazine on GreenCine's VOD

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The Internet resurfaces as a viable option for indie movie distribution

By Daniel Nemet-Nejat

A snippet from the larger piece:

But a solution is emerging for frustrated moviemakers. With little fanfare, video-on-demand (VOD) Internet movie services like Movielink, CinemaNow, MovieFlix and GreenCine are delivering movies—via streaming and download—to a mass audience. Dave Networks, which debuts this summer, will offer on-demand viewing through a computer as well as a TiVo-like set box. While all of these sites feature independent films, it is GreenCine, which launched its online service in 2003, that trumpets its collection of independent and international films. When Zahedi went to the San Francisco company to design the DVD jacket for In the Bathtub of the World, he found a fan of his work in Jonathan Marlow, the company’s director of content acquisitions and business development. Last May, GreenCine began distributing Zahedi’s films, marking the first time that any service had made films that were not released on DVD available online for on-demand viewing.

Marlow developed GreenCine’s VOD as a way to give exposure to a growing number of quality films that were unable to secure a theatrical release. "The opportunities for theatrical distribution—particularly for international and independent films—were getting worse every year. The number of screens were increasing, but the number devoted to non-traditional fare was decreasing," he says. "So why not create new distribution avenues? Video-on-demand seemed to be a very good avenue to reach an audience without having to figure out the theatrical angle for filmmakers."

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At present, neither the exposure nor the dollars of a VOD run rival those of even a limited art-house release. Despite his cult following, Zahedi says that to date he has only received a few hundred dollars in royalties from VOD. Marlow says that "the range of current revenues varies from under $100 to over $10,000, depending on the film." But he predicts that GreenCine's audience for a given film will soon be comparable to a small DVD release of 1,000 to 5,000 copies, without all of the production and warehousing costs. GreenCine's deals are non-exclusive, too, meaning moviemakers are free to exhibit their work on other sites. Despite resistance from moviemakers who are apprehensive about this new medium, GreenCine has expanded their VOD library from 100 to 2,500 since its inception. Marlow hopes that, as on-demand grows, moviemakers will be freed from trying to make movies that fit the Sundance mold and make the movies they want, secure in the knowledge that there is a distribution avenue for their work.

To read the entire article, click here.