Wagging the Long Tail: Digital Distribution and Peripheral Screen Production Industries

Abstract

In the context of digital media convergence, Richard Harris in his recent monograph Film in the Age of Digital Distribution (2007) acknowledges the need for urgent Australian research into the future of the screen production industry when he says, "I believe that government and industry need to stand back, take a long hard look at where the industry is likely to go over the next ten to twenty years, and start asking questions about the future place of content within it" (Harris, 2007, p.61). He asks questions including 'how do we navigate this emerging media landscape?', 'how can Australian films take advantage of these opportunities and challenges?' and 'what innovative approaches are there for distribution?' As the consumer market, especially among the under 25s, becomes increasingly fragmented and divided into niche audiences (Balnaves, O'Regan and

Entertainment Architecture: Constructing a framework for the creation of an emerging transmedia form

“…In a slightly wider context, this third step strives to combine the textuality and deep movie knowledge of film studies and theory (Eisenstein 1949;Deleuze 1986;Kracauer 1960;Bazin 1967;Ellis 1992;Bordwell and Thompson 2008;Braudy and Cohen 2008;Monaco 2009;Caldwell 2003;Ryan and Hearn 2010;Harris 2007;Ross 2008;Luckman and de Roeper 2008;Kaufman and Mohan 2008;Connolly 2008), the social relationship between producers and consumers of media studies (Fiske and Hartley 1978;Hartley 2009b;Caldwell 2008;Dyer 2002), the business strategy of marketing and business (Drucker 2007;Porter 1998;Bennis and Nanus 1997;Kaplan and Norton 1992;Magretta 2002;Kotler and Armstrong 2010;Belch and Belch 2009;Starkey, Barnatt and Tempest 2000;Eliashberg, Elberse and Leenders 2006), the dynamics of change of evolutionary and complexity theories (Darwin 2008(Darwin [1859; Arthur 2009;Maynard Smith 1993;Dawkins 2006), traditional economics (Smith 1776;Marshall 1890;Keynes 1936;Coase 1937;Samuelson and Nordhaus 2010;Williamson 1975;…”

Next-Generation ‘Filmmaking’: New Markets, New Methods and New Business Models

“…While a movie was traditionally shot on 35 mm film, exhibited in cinemas before video/television release, marketed through traditional media channels to mass audiences whose consumption practices were constrained by release patterns and screening windows, emerging screen content is increasingly shot on digital video, distributed online and consumed via numerous platforms from laptop computers to mobile phone, and available for viewing on demand. Next generation filmmakers operate in a world where social media and networking tools (including Facebook and Myspace) are connecting filmmakers directly with audiences, and a 'personalised' content experience is becoming fundamental to establishing and maintaining audiences (Luckman and de Roeper, 2008 (Harris, 2007: 31).…”

“…Yet there is very little research into next generation filmmaking, both in terms of sustainable business models and enterprise dynamics for an online world, and career trajectories for Australian filmmakers (particularly emerging filmmakers). Harris (2007), Luckman and de Roeper (2008), and Verhoeven (2010) have initiated discussion into the implications of digital distribution for Australian screen production, but ongoing research is required. The economics of emerging screen practices in particular, is very much an international conversation, and as a report for the Tribeca Film Institute observes:…”

Coming Soon (to a Theatre near You): The Temporality of Global Film Distribution to Australia

“…But this is not necessarily the case. With the exception of several government-initiated or sponsored reports -from the 1927 Royal Commission to the likes of Jones (1998) and Reid (1999) -the specific analysis of distribution in Australia has been scarce, though notable exceptions include the work of Lobato (2007Lobato ( , 2010, Walsh (1997), Bertrand and Routt (1989), Molloy and Burgan (1993), Luckman and de Roeper (2008) and Thorne (2007). This deficit is particularly telling at a time when film distribution and exhibition methodologies are fundamentally being challenged by new technologies and shifting audience preferences.…”