[Mark Rabinowitz] Keeping on the theme of the ever changing word of distribution (are we ever not on that theme around here?) I figure I should point out a new site that recently launched called infinicine (clever name, no? And no, it's not pronounced "infini-scene.") and their latest post is an interview with D-Word founder and filmmaker Doug Block. Doug's a smart guy and has been at this streaming/day-and-date doc thing for longer than many of you have been the doc addicts I know you are and he has definite thoughts on some of the new models being tried out, to wit:

"Is having a 50/50 split of advertising revenue a good deal? It sounds like one, but there's no way of telling in advance how much advertising your film will generate and how much revenue that will ultimately bring in. And I don't see any companies offering sizable minimum guarantees in the way that theatrical distributors often do."

First of all, I'd argue that a 50-50 split is a pretty fantastic deal. It's more akin to the deals made for docs in the educational distribution market back in the 80's. Of course there's no way of telling what kind of money will be there in advance, but then again, the company is presumably in the business of making money and if they make money, the filmmaker makes money. As for the "sizable minimum guarantees" bit, I beg to differ. I can't imagine that more than .5% of released docs get any kind of serious cash up front.

That said, he's dead right that downloading of features is in its infancy and retaining your download rights is of paramount importance. There's potentially much more money to be made down the road by filmmakers who've retained their digital rights.

[Begin self-serving but important information section here] Two of the companies currently involved in online delivery of docs, SnagFilms and CINELAN (both of whom I work for) do not require the rights to films they distribute, they only license them for online distribution. [End of Begin self-serving but important information.]

Block ends the interview with: "In the end, the truly committed filmmaker will always find a way to make his or her film. This is a funny business. You need to be aware of everything that's going on, but you kind of need to have blinders on, as well." I'd add that they need to be a little crazy too, but maybe that's just me.