Online Distribution

The Telegraph has an interesting article about how new forms of distribution are being used by filmmakers to get attention for their low-budget endeavours.

Susan Buice and Arin Crumley are the writers and directors of a low-budget film, Four-Eyed Monsters, which they financed through the popular American method of racking up tremendous amounts of debt on credit cards. After releasing their film via their own web site, they have recently uploaded the entire film to YouTube for a limited period to garner interest in the film. As the Telegraph comments:

The results of this internet-only exposure have been astonishing. In the first four days on YouTube, more than half a million people watched it - far more than the average blockbuster would attract if shown in every multiplex in Britain simultaneously.

The problem is to translate this exposure into money that will repay their debt. To facilitate this they've filmed a short introduction to the movie that asks viewers to join a web site that will then give the pair a dollar for every new member. It's a simple advertising ploy that seems to be working to eat into the debt the couple has amassed.