Amazon
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Platform Monopolies: Good or Bad for Independent Filmmakers?
Dubbed “a novelist from the day after tomorrow” in Sunday’s New York Times, Vincent Zandri profits, quite well, by living in the Amazon universe. His mystery novels are edited, published, marketed and sold by Amazon. Perhaps most importantly, the mechanism through which new readers will discover his work, the latticework of likes, referrals and recommendations, are increasingly controlled by Amazon and its related properties, like Goodreads. For Zandri, who achieved modest success through traditional publishers before signing with Amazon’s Thomas & Mercer imprint, the internet giant’s model is the new way. Reduced to “returning bottles and cans for grocery money,” […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 15, 2014 -
Amazon Launches Free Storyboarder Tool
Amazon continues its adventures in moviemaking. Amazon Studios, which began as an effort in crowdsourced content is moving towards content produced by professionals, but they still seem to be interested in moviemaking by the masses. They’ve already released a free storyboarding tool, and now they have Amazon Storyboarder, a tool for outlining stories using a corkboard metaphor. It’s free – you just need to create an Amazon Studios account – and it’s reasonably full-featured; you can add cards and move them around, and you can even share your projects with others and get their input. While the formatting of cards […]
by Michael Murie on Jan 13, 2014 -
The Year in Gear: Goodbye 2013, Here Comes 2014K
It is perhaps indicative of how low-key this year was that when I first scribbled out a list of things that were “big” in 2013 I discovered that half of them were on last year’s list! In many respects 2013 proved to be a year of tentative advances and waiting, rather than one of incredible new tools to play with. Which is not to say that some interesting products weren’t announced and delivered. Sony shipped the F5 & F55, as well as the 4K upgrade for the NEX-FS700, and at the other end of the spectrum Blackmagic shipped its $1,000 […]
by Michael Murie on Dec 31, 2013 -
Liesl Copland on the “Analytic Black Holes” of Netflix, iTunes and Amazon
A filmmaker called me the other day, asking if I could think of some comps for his movie. You know, other movies whose marketplace performance would indicate that there is a paying audience for his demographically-similar picture. He named a title he really liked and said he was shocked to see via Box Office Mojo that it had done so poorly. Indeed, its reported box office was in the five figures. The very low five figures. “But that box-office figure is misleading,” I replied. “The film was bought by a company whose strategy is to release on VOD and digital […]
by Scott Macaulay on Sep 11, 2013 -
Amazon Studios Ups the Ante in the Content Wars
Amazon is upping the ante in the original content wars. On June 27, the giant online retailer’s movie group, Amazon Studios, started accepting 2- to 15-minute sizzle reels or pitches for feature-length films. Its Hollywonk blog said it was seeking projects that “express an idea that’s begging to be seen on the big-screen, in full-length, full-budget form.” Amazon’s current development slate includes a mixed bag of movies: the horror flick, ZvG: Zombies Vs Gladiators, a thriller, Burma Rising, a sci-fi, Hiber, and a family comedy, It Came in the Mail. “Amazon Studios wants to discover great talent and produce programming […]
by David Rosen on Jul 1, 2013 -
Amazon Storyteller: A Sort-of-Free Storyboard Tool
Last week, Amazon added a new tool to Amazon Studios called Amazon Storyteller. Storyteller is a free, easy to use storyboarding tool, but before you rush out to try it, you might want to know a little more about Amazon Studios. A little history Not content with creating a distribution mechanism for films and videos, Amazon began dabbling in the world of production with the launch of Amazon Studios in latter 2010. Amazon Studios invited screenwriters to submit movie and television scripts with the prospect of prizes and production deals. During the first few months the incentive was primarily cash […]
by Michael Murie on Jun 10, 2013 -
Our Top Ten Posts of 2011
As 2011 comes to a close, here, based on Google Analytics, are this site’s top ten posts of the year. 1. 25 New Faces of 2011. I mean, of course — what else would have been our top traffic-getter of the year? As it does every year, the unveiling of our 25 New Faces list outpaced everything else on the site by almost three to one. And one thing I’m especially proud of — at the time we pick them, the people on this list are real discoveries. As I look at lists with similar ambitions on other sites, I’m […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 31, 2011 -
SAG, AFTRA CALL ON IMDB TO STOP PUBLISHING AGES
A couple of weeks ago on this blog Randy Astle wrote about an unnamed Texas actress’s lawsuit against IMDb for printing her age on her professional iMDB Pro profile. Many scoffed at the suit, wondering how an actress could sue an industry database for publishing accurate information. While they haven’t gone so far as to join the suit, Hollywood’s two unions representing actors have made a public statement supporting its aim. Reports The Guardian: In a joint statement, the Screen Actors’ Guild, Sag, and Aftra, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, said IMDb had a “moral and legal […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 29, 2011 -
TIFF: “I AM A GOOD PERSON/I AM A BAD PERSON”
Ingrid Veninger’s latest film has to be the fastest movie ever made for TIFF. The Toronto filmmaker was on her way to unspool her 2010 feature, Modra, at film fests across Europe when she seized the opportunity to shoot an entirely new film. That meant 19 days of scripting, casting and rehearsals in Toronto in March this year, 13 days shooting in north England, Paris and Berlin, then wrapping with five weeks of post in T.O. to make the TIFF deadline. That also meant Veninger presenting Modra in one cinema and then becoming “Ruby White,” who was premiering a fictitious […]
by Allan Tong on Sep 18, 2011
