More Dead Harvey Thoughts About Online Content And Innovation

I've got a few ideas swirling around in my head right now and I'm not sure how I'm going to tie it all together, but I'm going to try...

It's funny to say, but it is true - horror and porn are the two genres that push change in the industry. Porn changes things from a more technical standpoint, as porn producers just want to reach people as easily and as cheaply as possible. They were the first to switch to video, they were the first to embrace the internet... the were the first to use 'user generated' content... Porn is truly an innovator in the entertainment industry and it's unfortunate to see how the internet brought it to new heights, but then, subsequently, has brought it to new lows due to piracy and free content. Bail out the auto sector? Please... bail out porn. Anyhow, horror has also always been an innovator. However, horror has innovated on a more creative level. From visual effects, to things like strong female characters and villains, to using things like 3D, smell-o-vision, all the way to music and sound effects... horror has pushed the envelope. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. Check out this article from Adage.com, which is about 'augmented reality' and showcases a 3D sasquatch. Really, it's no surprise it's a sasquatch. Who do you think would be the first genre to use this technology? Without question - horror or, hopefully, porn. The long and short is, they need to innovate now, as porn is in dire straights and mainstream horror is hemorrhaging along with the rest of Hollywood.

A lot of people think that online content is the answer and we all know that the internet and TV have been on a collision course for a few years now... There will come a day when you will switch your TV to watch online content the same way you switch it over to play your PS3 or watch a DVD. This should, in theory, make it easy for any one of us to create our own TV channel and compete with the major networks. I mean, Magna just came out with a report, which you can click here to download, that says "despite the economic downturn and its inevitable strains on overall advertising expenditures, one category is clearly holding up as a beacon of change and growth: online video". Once again, I don't want to write the Magna Carta here, so I'll get right to the point... this isn't as easy as they make it sound. One, it's not simple enough to connect the internet to TV yet and, two, content on the internet is just not as good as the content on TV. You can argue both of those, but the truth of the matter is, until the average household can browse through online content with the push of a button, while sitting on their couch, this isn't going to hit critical mass. The technology IS here, but don't expect to see it implemented any time soon. Here's why...

The networks make shit-tons of money through advertising, which finances the shows that it airs. Online content STILL hasn't figured out how to generate an equal amount of revenue on a per-show basis. Really, if you think about it, the amount of TV channels is finite - there's not too many of them. That's why they can charge so much for advertising, more eyeballs per show. IF creators of online content were allowed to compete on the same field, what would that do? Dilute the eyeballs. So, it's no surprise that the networks, with all their money and clout, are going to fight this every step of the way. Now, as for the ease of connecting... it CAN be done fairly easily, but is it easy enough for the average household? No, not really. Not only that, the content that's available online doesn't really interest the average household as much as TV does, so... not worth the effort. Personally, I think indie horror and the indie film world, as a whole, needs this innovation to happen - we NEED a system that allows people to easily browse through online content while sitting on their couch. It's the golden goose that will bring our content to the masses. 3D, smell-o-vision and creative innovation isn't going to save us this time...

Now, let me tell you about a success story, which is going to loop back and tie all this shit together, I think... I'm a baseball fan. Further, I'm a Red Sox fan. I want to watch or listen to every game. I'm on mlb.com and redsox.com every day. I subscribe to XM Radio, so I can listen to all the games and, since they introduced mlb.tv, which streams every game online, I've been subscribing to that. I'll come home, plug my laptop into the TV and watch the games. I can't get enough, really. I go through the effort of logging on, plugging my laptop into my TV and watching pixelized content on my big screen TV. Why? Because it's worth the effort for me. I'm not alone on this, either. MLB's online, satellite and streamed content has been a huge success story and they had this all figured from the start. MLB's content has grown year after year and is generating good dollars for baseball AND it's increasing its fanbase. So, hold on... if people are fanatical enough about something, they'll go to the effort for the content? Yeah... Well, what else is like that? That's right... horror.

Horror fans ARE fanatical, they DO crave more and more of it. The problem, currently, is that there's just too much out there and none of it is standardized and/or easy to find. If there was one portal for horror, where you could read news about ALL new projects, watch ALL trailers for upcoming films, read interviews with filmmakers, download ALL available films, watch EVERY horror TV shows, etc... you'd probably use it. However, it's not going to happen any time soon because all of the "content producers" aren't going to agree on how it's going to be distributed, how to generate revenue and, then, how to distribute the dollars. If there's was one league of horror, say... MLH, this would be easy. Just do what MLB is doing. However, there's not. So, standardizing everything isn't going to happen anytime soon... and that's why Hollywood will only innovate on a creative level. If they innovated on a technical level... it may allow you, the indie horror filmmakers, to take away some of their eyeballs.

So, while Hollywood horror and porn fight to retain its audience and maintain its eyeballs through creative innovation, the battle for how online content will be distributed will rage on... In the end, I think it'll work out for indie horror filmmakers - just not as soon as everyone thinks. However, do know that each and every day brings us closer and closer to that point where the average household can sit back on their couch, push a few buttons, then watch online content through their TV. When they can, I hope they'll turn to DeadHarvey.tv.

God, I hope all that made sense...

Interview with Frank Ippolito, writer/director of "& Teller" and "& Teller 2"

And a happy Cinco de Mayo to you, Mes Amigos!

For you history buffs, Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for "fifth of May"), is actually a regional holiday in Mexico, primarily celebrated in the state of Puebla and it commemorates the Mexican army's unlikely defeat of French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5th, 1862, under the leadership of Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin. In the U.S., Cinco de Mayo has been adopted as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride. I, personally, have incorporated it into my life because I love margaritas, tequila and Mexican beer... plus, I always celebrate May, as it's the beginning of a new fiscal year for me.... which means I managed to get through another year, pay all my taxes and I'm ready to start all over again. In any case, happy Cinco de Mayo! Go get yourself a Pacifico and celebrate the fact that I paid my taxes!

Anyhow, that's not what this post is about... this post is about innovation. They say that necessity is the mother of invention and invention, really, is to innovate. To innovate - the creation of a new configuration, composition of matter, device or process. Inventions can be based on simply innovating pre-existing models OR they could be much, much more. Innovation can lead to radical breakthroughs that extends the boundaries of human knowledge or experience. They can literally change the way that we, as humans, see and interact with the world. Think about computers, space travel and nano technology. In all that, however, they didn't factor in laziness. Laziness can also be the catalyst for innovation. Think about the remote control, automatic transmissions or frozen pre-made dinners. Something tells me that necessity was not at the root of those inventions... and something tells me that pushing the bounds of technology is NOT why Frank Ippolito did his Dead Harvey interview via his webcam... but it's genius, it's innovative and, now, I crave more webcam interviews. Happy Cinco de Mayo to YOU, Mr. Ippolito!

Frank Ippolito is both a top notch special effects guy, plus an award winning filmmaker. He got his start in the make-up department and has worked on big budget films, such as "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest", but also did effects for a lot of low-budget films, as well as shorts. For example, he worked on "Cheerbleeders" and "Gay Zombie", two short horror films that we've covered. He also went on to write and direct "The Growth", "& Teller" and "& Teller 2". The "& Teller" films are brilliant shorts starring one half of the comedy duo, "Penn & Teller" and are getting lots of buzz... Now, there's a lot you can take away from this interview and, through the power of innovation, you can rest your brain and your eyeballs... don't try to think, just sit back, relax... and press play.

Dead Harvey interview from Ghost Works on Vimeo.

What You Can Learn From Porn

So, when you're, uh, watching your porn... where do you get your, um... 'content' from? I'm going to take a stab in the dark, so to speak, and assume that you watch a lot online. Sure, you may have an old, sticky mag sitting around and there may be that scratched up, worn DVD that your "friend" gave you when he moved in with his girlfriend, but I'm going to make a bold statement here. I guarantee that if you've watched porn at some point over the last year, you've watched some porn online, in some form. Yeah, you know you have. Probably at work, too. So, who cares? Well, the porn industry cares... and, guess what? As much as Hollywood hates to admit it, the porn industry has pioneered almost every innovation in the film industry. They were the first to adopt video and the first to use the internet, but now they're in trouble and they're back to their pioneering ways. Piracy and free content, like user-generated shit, is cutting deep into their profits and they need to right the ship... so, it's time to watch porn. Well, what the industry is doing, anyhow.

Here's a link to an article I read called, "Internet Piracy Is Killing Porn's Profits", by Amy Kaufman on TheWrap.com. It doesn't say a whole lot more than exactly what the title implies, but there was a link to an interesting article on there called "Adult Industry Has Some New Ideas", also by Amy Kaufman, here's the link. (Dig porn much, Amy?) Now, there are a few, key differences between porn and the film industry and the main one is that porn is really only needed for a few minutes, at best. On the flip side, a few minutes of "Friday the 13th" won't really satisfy anyone. Therefore, pirated and free internet content is far more damaging to the porn industry than it is to the film industry. However, there is a key similarity between the two and it's that they're both 'non-essential' luxuries, in a way, and free, pirated alternatives are available. What's the answer? Well, porn seems to be banking on digital, interactive content and social networking. As for revenue, it looks like it'll be a mix of advertising and paid content. They're scrambling and eventually they'll come up with some innovation and they'll recover... then Hollywood will follow their example.

While we're on the fledgling porn industry, remember that other hurting industry called the music industry? Well, they're figuring shit out, too. I was just reading about how U2 is the first musical guest on "Late Show with David Letterman" to be on for an entire week. They're promoting they're new album, "No Line on the Horizon", but a whole week?! I was also reading how bigger music stars are trying to get on things like American Idol and be featured in Rock Star and Guitar Hero. That's all great and all, but the music industry does know where their bread is being buttered these days and it's from live performances. So, what do you think of Live Nation, the biggest concert promoter, and Ticketmaster, the biggest music ticket seller, merging? It's about vertical integration, which means more marketing power and ways to get you to buy those tickets. That also means that that new company could be the biggest entertainment company in the world. So, it looks like the answer for the music industry is in live performances and events, plus pushing the boundaries of where musicians and their music can go. The music, itself, actually becomes a bit of a loss-leader... talk about a major difference from just a few years ago.

Most importantly now, what does this mean for Hollywood... not even Hollywood, what does this mean for you, the indie horror filmmaker? Well, almost all of these forces are against you, plus a few more. Think about it, piracy and free, online entertainment will suck up a lot of your potential audience. Who wants to pay for something when there's free alternatives? Not only that, if you find an audience that IS willing to pay for your film, there's so many choices out there, how do you get them to find you? How do you even compete for shelf space against bigger budgeted films and all the other indie films? You really do have the cards stacked against you. Like they say, once your film is finished, the real work begins...

The key is, you can't push on a string. You need to pull the audience to you. If you just put your film out there with its fancy cover art and a press kit that you put together to sell it, it ain't going anywhere. You need to create awareness any way you can and get people to walk into the video story looking for your title... or going online, searching for your film. To do that, you're going to need a mix of everything that porn and the music industry is doing. You're going to need to create a website, a Facebook page, a Myspace page and start interacting with people and getting your name out there. Announce when and where it's available. Approach websites like ours and give out screeners, do interviews, get people talking about your film. Go to festivals and conventions and, better yet, get involved with them. Getting a screening at a festival is huge exposure. If you can't get a screening, get a booth at a convention. Utilize everything, sell something at every turn and leverage what you've got.... because, really, it's all you've got.

In the end, you need to watch what people are doing in these other industries and figure out a way to copy them, but that's if what they're doing is working... if what they're doing isn't working, avoid it. It sounds simple and, really, it is. Remember, in the indie film world, you can't just be an artist. You'll also need to be the agent... and the sales guy, marketing guy, janitor, shipping and receiving guy...

You get the picture.