Thoughts on self distributing DVD's?

[Liam]

Maybe an alright alternative?

A travelling filmmaker passed through here a little while ago with his merch and made a decent haul and has a good following from it. Not sure how he gets a "gig" though.

Logistics? Arts festivals? Flea markets? Is it pretty pointless since there's Vimeo?

[Don Kotlos]

Yeah a card with your Vimeo link would be better. 

[kye]

3 hours ago, Liam said:

Maybe an alright alternative?

A travelling filmmaker passed through here a little while ago with his merch and made a decent haul and has a good following from it. Not sure how he gets a "gig" though.

Logistics? Arts festivals? Flea markets? Is it pretty pointless since there's Vimeo?

Was he selling the DVDs?  or using the DVDs as a business card for getting film-making work?

In the eyes of business owners who might hire someone being able to "make a DVD" might be completely different to "upload a video" (which their kids can do).  Perhaps similar to having a big and professional looking camera...

[kaylee]

@Liam: frankly i dont own a DVD player..... so. that would not be ideal lol

[Robert Collins]

I dont actually own a dvd player anymore.

When I do presentations I hand out usb thumbdrives. Isnt that easier? You can simply plug it in to your laptop/desktop/android box/TV/Apple TV etc.. Is there any real advantage to a DVD?

[BTM_Pix]

You could argue that the DVD player may be more likely to be attached to a big screen and surround system so viewers are getting more the experience you intended.

There is also the piracy issue in that it's far more convoluted to copy than if its already a readily playable file.

The best hybrid solution is to have a simple app that plays the file from a host or has the film embedded in it if it's a short. You can add a few more DVD extra type stuff like BTS etc to add value and it's a very simple transaction system hosting it on the app stores so you get paid and have worldwide distribution. 

[Inazuma]

2004 called. They want your post back. 

[Cinegain]

SVCD for teh win!

[IronFilm]

Hey guys, what do you think about using stone tablets for media distribution? I just came down the mountain with a handful of them. 

[kaylee]

one word: laserdisc

[Liam]

The point is also that not a lot of other people are doing it. And that it's in person. Blurays would be newer but probably actually less likely for everyone to be able to watch it.

And with DVDs, there's a case with the cover on it that could get you interested in the film, and it looks like a product.

So.. I didn't feel too crazy, sorry.

Maybe I WILL go back to 2004.. when people were nicer!! 

[kye]

2 hours ago, kaylee said:

one word: laserdisc

that guy looks so cool!!!  look at his collar!

[TwoScoops]

2 hours ago, Liam said:

The point is also that not a lot of other people are doing it. And that it's in person. Blurays would be newer but probably actually less likely for everyone to be able to watch it.

And with DVDs, there's a case with the cover on it that could get you interested in the film, and it looks like a product.

So.. I didn't feel too crazy, sorry.

Maybe I WILL go back to 2004.. when people were nicer!! 

I think it really depends on your demographic. Older people 35+ are more likely to still have a DVD player hanging around IMO. 

[Mokara]

I tried a self distributing DVD before. I left it on my desk, but the thing stubbornly refused to distribute itself  

[fuzzynormal]

7 hours ago, IronFilm said:

Hey guys, what do you think about using stone tablets for media distribution? I just came down the mountain with a handful of them... 

"hey guys...and if these tablets pleasest thou, yay, may thouest not forget to like and subscribe?"

 

Anyway, Liam's a midwest guy, correct?  DVD still goes a long way in the fly-over states, especially if you're angling towards anyone GenX or older.

 

The thing you need to keep in mind is that if you're gonna go around and hustle your wares in the flesh, you have GOT to be good at it --and that means enjoying doing that sort of thing.  If you don't like it, you're just going to be wasting your time.

[newfoundmass]

While those people buying DVDs are declining there's still enough of a market, at least in independent professional wrestling where I work in, for them and Blu-ray to still warrant releasing them in my line of work. 

I think there will always be people that want physical media. Vinyl, cassette tapes, even VHS, have all maintained a consumer base, and in the case of vinyl, have seen that base grow. 

If my company can still make $400 or more (profit) selling DVDs or Blu-rays at wrestling events then, for me, yeah, it's still worth it and will remain so until it becomes too much work for not enough reward. 

[kaylee]

@Liam lol i was jk im sorry~!!!! u kno i love you

in all seriousness, weird as this sounds, i KNOW ppl who SELL DVDs~! they fuckin sell em... and, weird as this is, theyre independent professional wrestlers. you see –

41 minutes ago, newfoundmass said:

While those people buying DVDs are declining there's still enough of a market, at least in independent professional wrestling where I work in, for them and Blu-ray to still warrant releasing them in my line of work. 

I think there will always be people that want physical media. Vinyl, cassette tapes, even VHS, have all maintained a consumer base, and in the case of vinyl, have seen that base grow. 

If my company can still make $400 or more (profit) selling DVDs or Blu-rays at wrestling events then, for me, yeah, it's still worth it and will remain so until it becomes too much work for not enough reward. 

omg ?

[User]

I loathe Dvds or any other lazer read/ write media. Way too problematic. But as the others have said, the older troglodytes have been conditioned to trust them... holding something in their hands to feel like they've got value for their money... more plastic crap.

A file on a memory stick, or a web link is what I want.

Maybe scan the movie to 70mm and throw individual frames into a light box and sell these with a link to the film. My proven method is to create a kind of danegerous sexy vibe in and around the film, then you've got them, and they'll spend every penny they have to party with you.

[kaylee]

2 hours ago, User said:

My proven method is to create a kind of danegerous sexy vibe in and around the film, then you've got them, and they'll spend every penny they have to party with you.

+1 these are advanced techniques

[newfoundmass]

If you're an independent artist of any type you gotta hustle. If you can make even $100 bucks selling DVDs that's $100 more bucks than you had before. Doesn't mean though that you don't explore more modern methods of distribution in conjunction. I feel like people are too quick to move on to the latest technology, eager to leave behind old technology before its even dead yet.

Physical media still accounts for 15 or so billion dollars in sales last year. Streaming only recently, as in 2016, made more revenue than physical media did. That's pretty remarkable given Apple hasn't updated/supported DVD Studio Pro since 2009 and Adobe hasn't updated/supported Encore since 2012, showing how early they'd given up on physical media. 

Indeed there are still areas in the country that don't have fast enough internet suitable for high quality video streaming. Other countries are even further behind. I live in a very rural state, Vermont, that has areas where they don't have high speed internet or even high speed wireless. For those areas streaming/downloading isn't feasible. 

I personally still get Blu-ray copies of movies I really love. Classic horror movies that have limited edition cases mostly. I'll then rip a digital copy for myself that I can watch while traveling, etc.