The changing face of the DVD market

For the last several years, DVD sales have been the lifeblood of independent filmmakers. Bad economic conditions have slowed consumer spending. BluRay may have won the HD format war, but even avid collectors are starting to feel format fatigue, and are reluctant to purchase their collection yet again. And now the ever expanding array of Internet ready devices delivering streaming content to television looks poised to be the third strike against DVD's prominence in the marketplace. Fewer discs are being sold, in any format, and there are fewer places to buy. The remaining retail outlets are sticking with big budget Hollywood films, and even Best Buy recently announced that it would be reducing the floor space allocated to cd and DVD sales by as much as 50%.  Less rack space means fewer titles.

And then there is the reality of modern retail - the joke is "I've got good news, and bad news.  The good news is, we got an order from WalMart.  The bad news is, we got an order from WalMart".  So how can an order from a major retailer be bad news?  Simple - the price for getting your product into those retailers is that they have the right to return 100% of what was purchased - and they're not shy about doing so.  Typically, whatever is still on the shelves at the end of 90 days gets returned.

So where IS the market going? The trend looks to be heading towards "non-ownership" - online rentals and subscription streaming services are gaining market share - so keep that in mind when you get ready to take your film to market.

Adding closed captions to your film

We are always being asked what filmmakers can do to make their films more marketable. Their first thought is to consider foreign sales, but you should consider making your film MORE marketable in North America. You may not be aware of this, but in order for a US broadcaster to present your film over the air on on cable, your film must be Closed Captioned. There are some carriers that will make your film available on Video On Demand (but not all will), but the FCC, which oversees broadcast and cable in the US, requires that all broadcast material be Closed Captioned.

Closed Captioned vs. Subtitled - seems like it should be the same, but it's not, and subtitles can't be used as a substitute for closed captioning. The biggest difference between captioning and subtitling is that subtitles presume that the viewer can hear the soundtrack - captioning was originally designed for the hearing impared, and includes description of important audio/sound effects that are not part of the dialogue. You may have noticed this difference watching captions on televisions in public places like bars, restaurants or airports where captioning is often turned on.

Creating closed captions for your film - Before you dive into creating captions, I recommend reading this pdf. This will give you an understanding of what captioning standards are, and what you should be including as you type. There are several reasonably priced pieces of software that will help you create the caption file - I use MovCaptioner from Synchrimedia (and no, I don't get paid for referring...) - this is a Mac based piece of software that will create the file you need to import into your editing software, such Final Cut Pro or Avid. If you really hate typing, it will even work with the MacSpeech Dictate software. If you are working on a Windows machine, here is a site that lists other inexpensive software that will create caption files. Be sure to create your caption track from the final version you submit for distribution - if you're working with us, we can give you the info you need to include your closed caption track with your deliverables, and we'll take it from there.

Options for having it done for you - a quick Google search will give you lots of options for closed captioning services - you should expect to pay a starting rate of $6-10 per minute to have your film captioned. That assumes you have a precise transcript of the film. Notice I don't say script - we all know actors improvise, scenes change during shooting, what is on screen doesn't exactly match the script. If you don't have a transcript, expect to pay a few dollars extra per minute. Again, if you're working with us, you won't need to create or receive a DigiBeta version of your film, as we directly encode for broadcast, cable and satellite - so you'll be able to save a bit by keeping your entire captioning project digital - just look for a captioning company that offers discounts for digital only work.

New Films on the R-Squared Website!

It's been a busy couple weeks for us around the R-Squared offices. We recently acquired some new movies and have been hard at work getting them ready. Here's a look at what we have for 2010...

The Good Sisters - Here's a review from The Horror Society. The film stars April Monique Burril from The Chainsaw Sally Show as well as one of the premier Scream Queens, Debbie Rochon (Hanger, Tromeo & Juliet, Fangoria Radio Host). The Good Sisters comes out on VOD (Comcast, Time Warner Cable, DirectTV, Dish Network) on 02-01-10 and on DVD 02-02-10.

Killer Biker Chicks is an awesome throwback to the B-Movie, exploitation films of the 60's and 70's. It stars Scarlet Salem, Brenna Lee Roth, Sara Plotkin, Rose Gorlano and Elske McCain. If you're a fan of hot girls kicking ass, then you really need to pick up this movie. Killer Biker Chicks arrives on DVD 01-12-10.

Texas Bloodbath Film Festival - ONE WEEK AWAY!

The Texas Bloodbath Film Festival is just one week away and we're starting to get excited!

If you haven't been keeping up with the blog, R-Squared Films is attending the Texas Bloodbath Film Festival November 13th-15th in Waco, TX and we're hoping to meet a lot of local filmmakers who are interested in having their film distributed worldwide!

If you're in the area or have some free time that weekend and want to drive out, I can assure you, it's going to be totally worth it! The festival is going to have a lot of great films, some cool appearances and a vendor area where we will be giving a 30% discount on ALL OUR FILMS!

If you are planning on attending and would like to meet with someone from R-Squared, email us to set up an appointment. We hope to see you all there!

Two New Films!

R-Squared Films just picked up a couple new films:

KILLER BIKER CHICKS

SPIRITS OF THE FALL

We're very excited about both films and hope to have DVD sleeves and pre-order info up for them soon. Also, AFM has started and R-Squared Films is there, so if you're planning on attending AFM and would like to meet up to discuss distributing your film, email BUZZ REMDE.

Big News for R-Squared Films...

Okay, so here's the big news that we've been talking about...

R-Squared Films signed a deal with Gravitas Ventures today to release selected films to major VOD and digital platforms. Gravitas connects distribution companies to leading cable, satellite and online partners including leading cable, satellite, telco and online distribution partners including Apple iTunes, Amazon VOD, Netflix's Watch It Now, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox, DISH Network(R), Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS TV, Direct TV and Warner Bros. Digital Distribution.

We're in the compression process right now, getting our films ready for the digital market. This means that you'll soon be able to find our films nationwide on your cable or satellite's VOD channels as well as iTunes, Netflix and many other online portals.

We'll have a list up of the films to be looking for and release dates soon. Looks like the films will be available right after the first of the year, so stay tuned!

IN OTHER BIG NEWS....

R-Squared Films is also excited to announce our first feature-film production, ANTHEM. The film is set in the exotic world of Swingers and shows how that lifestyle can help a relationship or destroy it. We just finished shooting and are going to be in post-production for a few months. We're shooting for a Spring, 2010 release, so stay tuned!

ANTHEM has a Facebook Page up and running, so feel free to join and keep up to date on the film.

BIG NEWS!

So we're going to have some very big news to announce in the next few days, so be sure to check back. We can't say much right now, but this is going to mean something very big for the company...keep checking back!