Entertainment is a good investment in a down economy.

Now let's take this thinking into the investors and people working on
their portfolio.
Some are balking at putting their money into anything that doesn't seem to have a long tail solid foundation and so
are buying real estate and bullion, things that seem like a safe
investment, primarily because they don't trust the economy.
Let's face it it is a bear market and everything is a little shaky.
The important thing is to be patient with your choices and especially be
patient with your investigation and think outside the box.
The rule of thumb is that if your grandmother knows about a great investment deal
then it's probably too late to really capitalize on it.
Thinking outside the box when you are investing will get you places that the
masses never go because they are listening to all the "experts" which
are usually regurgitating what they were trained to say and peddling
whatever investments pay them the most to sell.
Understanding that the economy is already only so much blue sky in the first place makes
one aware of the precarious situation of investment.
Are coins and gold a good investment? Yes of course they are, because when the economy
slips as it is sure to do again then tangible assets are still going to
hold their value.
However if you want to make money from your assets you have to take risks, which is where many run into trouble or worse.
"The wrong thing to do is nothing." is a good place to start any strategy.
An investment is based on consideration of two things and it always boils
down to this so you may have heard this before and if you haven't then
you need to do a lot more research.
Rate of return
Return on investment
These are the only things that investors want to know really.
You can hype all you want and tell how your widget is going to change the way people live forever but the real investor doesn't care
they are putting their beans into the pot that shows them clearly what
these two factors will be.
This is actually part of the problem with originality in entertainment today in the US especially as I discussed
in "Hollywood and the Economy of the Calculated Sequel" an earlier blog
posted here.
one problem is that filmmakers don't know how to relate to investors and can't think in terms that are attractive to investors and so don't get backing for real original production concepts.
These are scary for investors because they can't do like a Realtor and check
comparable investments "in the neighborhood".
How can you track something like Avatar which there has never been really anything made like it
and explain it to an investor.
The truth is that this film was made and released into a bear market a down economy and yet made more money than "Titanic" (though it cost more to make) which was released into a very strong economy or a bull market in '97.
The truth is people want to have an escape from the daily grind even more when things are down
than when things are going great.
It makes sense when you look at it that way, the average person my not be able to spend $4,000 on a real
vacation but $10.00 for a movie and a genuine escape for a few hours fits into even the tightest budget.
Now let's take this thinking into investment and consider the current market.
A few thousand dollars can go a very long way with the digital age and frugal filmmaking
processes.
A new Red camera or an SLR camera that shoots in true HD can be rented or purchased for a small fraction of the cost just a few years ago so the real cost is in talent and man hours (or woman hours)
for the crew locations and editing and or CG graphics.
In New Mexico many locations are available for free from the state and the incentives
for investors are considerable.
One of the problems is that a production company has to borrow almost 2 million just to get the loan
from the state (interest free). Most filmmakers here don't relate to
that kind of money so will never get it.
The 25% rebate is like an insurance policy for the smart production that sees it as a means to
make stable payments on the initial loan until such time as profit can
be gleaned from the production.
These are all factors that not only need to be considered but developed into a proposal for the investor to
understand clearly before writing a check.
Then the distribution process needs to be addressed. It takes around 10 million to get a
proper marketing campaign into today's market through television and
internet advertising. The need to reach a person in the world three to
five times before they even recognize that there is a film,what the name
is and when it will be available. Basically "branding" the film is the
goal and it is expensive. So before the distributor is going to put that
kind of energy into a film they need to know that all the necessities
are covered so are usually working with known filmmakers as a safer
investment knowing in a sense what to expect in return.
Anyone with a hundred bucks can be an investor these days with websites like
www.indiegogo.com and actually help fund some original content.
There is the distribution problem to overcome and so it pays to research the filmmaker's plan to get a return on the investment and there are some very innovative plans to be considered on
those sites.
Be not afraid of the unknown. Don't invest what you can't afford to lose.
Think outside the box and you could be a part of something significant like so many films that came from nowhere like; "Pan's Labyrinth" for example.
Someone had to back that film before any frames were shot.
Some considerable profit was earned and new movie deals were made as a result with the director for Hellboy 2.
There are many examples and the project you get involved in could be one of them.

Back in the saddle with a new drive to make things happen.

I said in one of my earlier blogs that Life is what happens when you are trying to get things done.
Well I have just been encountering that inevitable series of distractions that only indicates to me that I am doing something important.
Every time I have tried to do something significant I get the whammy.
So you have it.
I am going to write a lot of the recent events into a script eventually.
Who knows? I may have a new "World according to Garp" on my hands Though the plane hasn't crashed into the house(yet)I hope I have the camera running when it does.

Now I have a script finished and the real desire to shoot something new, something different and exciting. Though I may have to take other steps first. Namely making several short films to establish this new world I created.
I know that others will get into it once I show them what I found when looking deep into the shadows of my imagination.
Perhaps it will reveal something in yours too.

Still working for all of us

I want to thank everyone for your continued support. Showing loyalty and willingness to follow me over here These two sites will be merged when I shift us all over to streamingindy.com
I have been working a lot lately on logistics and behind the scenes web development for the distribution model that will make what I am talking about on the seminar video a reality.
I keep running into obstacles which tells me I am definitely doing the right thing. Real distribution for the idependent that puts them in control and reduces the chance of losing all revenues through bad distribution contracts.
As of this writing I am developing a script to shoot as a feature following the mainstream template to a point of names and faces that are recognizable to the general public with the sole intention to distribute online through the network.
I have a budget established around 400K for production and marketing.
This as you can imagine is a difficult number to come up with for an unknown business model but that is exactly what I am doing.
So just to keep you up to date. We need something that is ready to distribute and of course I am a filmmaker. That is what iI want to do., make films.
And so I shall.
I have the player almost ready for distribution but found some issues with censorship from the host company trying to force their agenda through the business and have been trying to work that out.
Otherwise we can't have any nudity language gore or violence in a feature.
I mean seriously, that is just not reasonable If I was James cameron I couldn't load Titanic under those restrictions.
So obviously, I am still fighting under the radar and just want you to know that I am still working for all of us.

Rob Ellis
Streaming Indy
Founder

They tell me I'm crazy

There are no experts in this field. No one is talking this language and my business friends are telling me I'm crazy for sharing this video.

Find more videos like this on Streaming Indy

Will you make art or gas?

I've been working on a web system for almost a year now to help filmmakers get paid for their efforts even with a short film.

There is a way but when I try to explain it most people look at me cross eyed with a false ego based knowing that tells me I'm talking to a sheep. Bleet, bleet.

They all want the theatrical release for their $5000 budget film. and can't see that that will never happen.
The film world doesn't want your film.
Sorry to break it to you but you've been duped. Just like thinking if you go to college you'll make more money, then you go to work for someone that owns a company that never went to college. Yeah that system is well advertised too.

I am almost ready to throw in the towel and just do it for myself like everyone else does, almost.
But that wouldn't fit with my ethics. Which to me is doing what is the greatest good for the most.
Even if it leaves me out.
I've been at this for some time now, almost a year and have been running into the same attitude from people everywhere. They can't see into the future beyond their own ego and wallet.

I don't care what they do anymore. I know my conscience is clean, and my ethics are what drive me for the vision I am going for.
Still it does bother me to see all the people I try to help so easily led astray.
People with short films excited to be getting a free screening when they could be making money from their art.

The film industry here is full of ego driven people with no real vision. little support for art. Lots of critics.

I don't think very much of critics. If you want to criticize a film, make sure you can show a film YOU MADE that was better and give examples of what you did in your masterpiece, and let me see it.

Or shut up. Your opinion is only so much gas wasted in the atmosphere.

Go make something and stop criticizing.

Art is alive and free and moving to the one who experiences it.

Cowards make copies of past successes. An artist has the tenacity to go against the grain and do something great.

Make art or make gas, eventually we will all smell the difference.

Visionaries often see the wonderous panorama alone.

I have been blogging and doing more blogging about the trends I see moving to the online distribution of film on the internet for some time. When I sit with someone who thinks they are an authority and they haven't got a clue what I am talking about, I just smile and think to myself, you should have listened to me when you had the chance.
I don't need permission to do anything I want to do and regardless of what the self appointed experts think we are going to make this an effective business model that will be pioneering a way to profitable entertainment for the independent.
I know that if enough people get involved in the fund raising and production parts of creating a project then they will have a vested interest in helping promote the film to all their friends and we will be successful.
I have been working extra hard lately to push past the opinions of others. I know they haven't done the research that I have done and come to the projections I have so don't think less of them just am aware that I am operating from different data.
Many people would love to be involved in the film industry, but don't think they have the means, be it capital to invest or experience on the set or as a writer.
But we are going to change all that and give the fans an opportunity to be involved at whatever level they want to be or can afford.
I have a new business plan under development that outlines how a cashless investment of one hundred dollars can add up to enough guarantee notes to get funding for a feature film in New Mexico.
There are some great programs here that give a filmmaker an opportunity to shoot on a budget that he may not have been able to anywhere else.
State loans and refunds for expenditures in the state are a few of the things that make this the time and the place to shoot.
Couple that with the online distribution model I have outlined elsewhere and the collaboration of hundreds if not thousands of people and you have something that has never occurred before.
A panacea of opportunity for the filmmaker that can see the opportunity and seize it.
So I still shout from the rooftops and am looked at like the local crazy.
Now I have nearly completed a feature script for production and I have other friends with scripts ready to shoot.
We are almost there.
Waht we need now is attention and the right exposure to the ideas we are ready to shoot.
I created the collaborative to give people the opportunity to see first hand what I see as the future of entertainment. Where everyone has an opinion and even as a minor investor or group member can have a say in the final product.
What do you want to see on the screen?
Let's do that.


View my page on Sta.rtUp.Biz - The Small Business Social Network

Battle for focus

I'm fighting the seemingly never ending battle to stay focused.
The Holidays and the new year come and go with all their drama and new challenges but the unfinished work remains so until I finish it. There are so many reasons to get distracted.
Life has a way of demanding your attention when you need to focus most.
It's as if the universe wants to challenge your commitment as soon as you determine that you will stay the course.
But I will tell you this; even if it takes a little longer to complete what I started in the productions I am working on, and the distribution model that the world of independent film is waiting for.
I will stay the course.
Though there are others that would take from me and try to make me submit to a lower calling than what is outlined here. I will stay the course.
This is an unstoppable idea and it's time has come. I will prove it and you can help.
Units and microunits for the next feature film will be offered soon.
This means you can get involved in the production of a film and have a viable part in making it a reality. Right here.
We will be putting a paypal button on here for the collection from investors with a full breakdown of the treatment and distribution model as well as the production budget and profit return for each unit and microunit investment. You can participate in the distribution of the film and track right here what is happening with the project.
This will be the atart of a new method of indy filmmaking.
Where as a community we can make it happen. It takes a whole village to raise a child. It will take a whole community to create a film we can all be proud of.

Stay tuned here for more details.