May 22, 2012

Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker

by Michael Stroud | Published February 3, 2007

iHollywood Forum's Digital Media Summit

Small films can be big.

The big movies either make huge dollars in their first few weekends and pay back their investments, or they turn into big losses for the studios. Small films, distributed wisely, can become profitable far more easily.

The revolution is coming.

I've always felt there's a revolution waiting to happen in the indie film business, and that digital technology would make it happen. You have this disconnect between big-budget films like Terminator 3 costing $175 million and independent filmmakers shooting films using digital cameras for well under $1 million.

It's all in the projection.

There's a huge disconnect between different types of digital projection technology. You have the types of projection systems that project Star Wars, costing well over $100,000, and you have home theater projection systems that can cost as little as $1,000. Some small theaters and other venues are already experimenting with using these smaller projectors for independent film. I wrote a story a few years ago about one film called Mau Mau Sex Sex that got a hearing in art house theaters around the country using an ordinary LCD projector.