Two nights ago at Soho House Bob Alexander spoke on the Alternative Modes of Distribution panel held by Jonathan Russo of IFP (BIG THANKS to Jonathan for reaching out to me for this) and moderated by the lovely Ingrid Kopp of Shooting People. Other speakers on the panel included Ryan Werner from IFC, Josh Green of Emerging Pictures, Slava Rubin of Indiegogo, and Erick Opeka of New Video Group. Here are some of my quickly-taken notes.

Josh: Emerging Pictures is a mechanism to help filmmakers self-release, an infrastructure to help get films out there. The upside of self-distributing is you have more control of your release. The downside is the risk you take and the additional money you will need.

Bob: We have resources that self-distributing filmmakers don’t. People behind new web technologies increasingly have begun to understand that the traditional Hollywood model is broken. Without diminishing the internet, we are re-examining the building blocks of distribution by looking into TV sales, booking films for a run of one-off screenings,etc. The focus is on building the audience. The audience has more money than anybody.

Ryan: If you don’t live in NY or LA you have to wait for months to see a film. As a filmmaker you’re doing all this press, and you want people to come see it, but they can’t because prints are so expensive. Day and date is a possible solution to that.

Ingrid: As a filmmaker it is no longer acceptable not to be educated on distribution. How do you get into it smart?
Ryan: A sales rep is indispensable.
Bob: A sales rep is a great resource, but an expensive one.

Josh: We’re in the post-studio/pre-internet era. Check out www.greatnewtheaters.com
Ingrid: You can take the audience with you to your next film now, thanks to e-mail, myspace, and other internet marketing strategies.
Slava: The internet allows you to collect proof that you have an audience in different ways.

Audience question: What’s your criteria to working with a filmmaker?
Ryan: Publicity is what we are looking for - we still need compelling PR behind a film.
Erick: We have to believe there’s a commercial audience for the film.
Bob: We try and diminish the negative power of choice. We don’t have to like it. We want the festival community to have approved it for us.

A FEW CLOSING QUESTIONS AND TIPS FROM THE EXPERTS

Josh: If you’re not spending money, how do you get people to come see your film?
Erick: How many links on a website equal a sale?
Slava:The music industry bows down to the artist now, and film will soon follow its footsteps.
Bob: More options = less choices.
Ingrid: As filmmakers it is wise to manage your expectations.
Slava: Even better than DIY is DIWO (”Do-It-With-Others”).