Happy Hump Day :)

There are a few noteworthy tidbits to share this wednesday morning...

First off, my tales of self-distribution may very well be coming to a close - or at least joining forces with fellow comrades. The new DVD of On the Fringe has recently been added to Bifrost Distribution's wholesale catalog. While it's not a jackpot deal (big money up front) it will create new awareness of the Fringe in many circles of the entertainment industry, especially with video store retailers and other production companies.

Click here to look at the press release from Bifrost

and another from PRweb

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Also, a new IMDb comment appeared from someone who recently bought a copy online. Check it out and read more at IMDb.

Excellent character study with spectacular Fall scenery, 15 August 2006

Author: j-vaughn from United States

This was a very entertaining movie and a fine character study. I found myself completely involved in the lives of the main characters and was sorry to see the film end - I would have loved to continue on with these people and see where their lives took them after the events in the movie.

The photography was spectacular with a gorgeous Fall in New England setting as a backdrop to the story. The music was excellent and appropriate to the various scenes. There were moments of laughter as well as sadness - something for everyone. This was an excellent independent movie that deserves more attention & praise.

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Lastly, the new Fringe DVD will become available for purchase on Amazon.com and BuyIndies.com within a week, so if you haven't seen it yet and would like to grab a copy online, by all means give it a look.

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The jury is still out at a handful of online DVD review sites as I await more reviews of On the Fringe. I guess these things take more time than I imagined. So far, the first and only review can be read at TheIndieFilm.com

I have a hunch I'll be posting more news next week, but until then click around and carpe diem.

Adios,
Senior Pixel

Not too much to report on. But I did get an online "Fringe" review at TheIndieFilm.com:

"Looking at the attention to detail and commitment to vision that Palmer has dedicated to his five year effort to refine, remaster and repackage this project for DVD, this is clearly a very personal project that means something to the artist."

read the entire review here

http://theindiefilm.net/modules/wordpress/?p=5

Fortune cookies aren't always a load of manure. Most of the time they are silly and trite and can be a lot of fun adding the "... in bed" suffix after a dinner with friends. But once in a while comes along a fortune - or prediction rather - that jives with what actually transpires that day or week or what have you - even if it isn't winning lottery numbers.

I ate at Silver Dragon, my favorite Chinese restaurant in town. Below is a copy of my fortune and the corresponding letter that I received when I got home from work.

I'm sure this is standard fare for the NH Governor's office and I know it's in no way a one-of-a-kind letter, but it made for a noteworthy tidbit for this blog. Kinda fun.

(click the image to enlarge)

I really do want to make another movie. Honest I do.

It would seem like and feels as though I am obsessed with my first and only feature On the Fringe. Yes I am very excited to finally have it available on DVD. Yes I will keep pushing it out there to find a new audience. Yes I am proud of the end result. But it's still the same movie I shot back in 1999 and wrote 2 years prior to that - in 1997! So, in many ways, the story of the Fringe and all that it represents has been with me for nearly 10 years. Ugh! Hooray! Uhm.... what???

It's important to celebrate the new DVD yet it is critical to move on. I do have some projects in the works. By this October I will have my documentary Frank the Barber wrapped up. This will mark another milestone in the ongoing filmmaking process. I have also promised myself to commence writing my next script The Sleeping Deep, which won't be a low-budget indie flick, that is certain. Think Underworld meets HP Lovecraft. or thereabouts...

But for the moment I am dancing along the fence, between the past and what is to come. On the Fringe means a lot to me and I've just started to send out the new DVD for reviews and retail sales and I might even submit it to a few festivals. Not quite sure right now. Time will tell. It always does.

If you're curious, there's a new review on IMDb here.

stay tuned...

I'm gearing up for some retail sales back in the seacoast area of NH; mostly Dover and Portsmouth, but I'll be pushing for all of the state. Here's a look at the counter-top display for the DVDs. Any chance we filmmakers get to put our goods in front of people and in the customers' hands, it's that easier to make the sale. We'll see what happens! (click image to enlarge)

www.OnTheFringeMovie.com

Just got some more feedback from a film fan in New Jersey who had never seen "On the Fringe" before. Here are a few of his comments:

... a GREAT JOB. So much work! (Firemen..!?)
Two things set it immediately apart from many other no-budget films - the acting and the SOUND.
So many times, the filmmkaers forget how good the sound has to be. We have to hear what the actors are saying!
The acting was way above average. And the four principals were all different. Very important, They looked and talked different. I am an older guy (54 but feel younger) so I am never sure if I can connect with "youth angst" or whatever it is, but your screenplay appealed to all ages.

There is a scene that looks like Seamus impales himself on a fence? Or was that a dream perhaps? Very interesting. Was that the young sister who comes up to him? lots of imagery. Love the tower sequences and the crooked tree, of course. After I go thru the bonus material, I'll check in with you again.

Anyway, congrats Jeff. I love ON THE FRINGE and keep plugging away!!

Feedback like this is always a treat. The DVD is slowly making the rounds. Time will tell!

Feedback is always welcome.

I just got some feedback from someone who had no idea what "On the Fringe" was about and was watching it for the first time on DVD. It was so great to hear her comments about the story, the characters, and the scenery. She has never been to New England but from the movie she now wants to go to see the fall colors, commenting on how amazing "that area" (the seacoast of New Hampshire) must be in the fall. She and her husband really liked the Seamus character and laughed out loud during several scenes, one of which was the card game scene.

I'm glad that even with all the heavy-handed subject matter that runs through the movie, people still find the humor in many of the scenes that are supposed to be funny. That makes me feel like I made the right choices in finding the balance between pathos and comedy. Even in the face of emotional hardship we can still find solace with a good laugh once in a while. My guess is that in the end, levity will usually trump drama. Not always, but usually.

Anyway, it was so great to ask questions and get some unbiased opinions on the new DVD, especially the extra bits. I hope I can talk to more people about it. That's the whole point for me - making connections through art, through movies, through storytelling!

Without any sort of audience interaction, the creative process is lost for me. I'm not out to just make a buck or a bang with movies. Nor am I out to pat myself on the back. The real goal is to generate a conversation, a dialogue with an audience. Not simply entertain, but engage. This is why I make movies and art. To create connections, celebrate imagination and collaborate with like-minded comrades.

Later!

Waiting...

Well, I have shipped out about two dozen promotional screeners for review, press, write-ups, etc. It's a long process and all up in the air. Let the cards fall where they may. It's out of my hands at this point. Tony and I spent countless hours putting this DVD together and the die is cast. All I can do is wait (a painful process as well!) to see if any results trickle in. Feedback and comments are always welcome - good, bad, ugly...

I currently have a screener into NetFlix (fat chance) and the catalog distributor VPD (fatter chance) which will take weeks before I hear anything. Still, I've always played David to Goliath when it comes to self-promoting. While it can be a gruesome endeavor soliciting your work, your art, your heart... it's more of a drag to keep it on a shelf at home. I say, get it out there! Take it on the chin! And, more importantly, move on.

Part of my goal with this Fringe DVD release is to have a finished, polished product to show future investors when it comes time to pitch and raise funds for The Sleeping Deep - a script I am very excited about. Thankfully, the story is of great interest to me as well as being commercially viable - two factors that rarely come together in a perfect storm situation. When the time is right I won't have any trouble finding the budget. Really!

Okay. Back to waiting. Waiting. Waiting....

I've hit the 5% mark!

Sales have been slow and I must remember that I haven't even had the Fringe DVDs available for a week yet, but I've made a 5% return in sales. With any luck, once word gets out in some publications, I'll inch that up to 10 or 20% within the month - there's no guarantee.

I prefer when people buy copies using PayPal because the money is out of sight and out of mind. I don't consider it spending money. In fact, it's money that's already spent. Once I get a decent chunk I'll start paying off the DVD project.

Little by little... that's how these things work. Buy your copy here!

When independent filmmaking really means “in dependence” filmmaking~~

I wanted to delineate between camps of thought and open this up for some discussion. Feel free to comment... I'm wondering if the term independent filmmaking is a bit of an oxymoron since the very act of making a movie creates a dynamic where the filmmaker must depend on so many variables coming together by hook and by crook. Maybe the term Seat-of-the-Pants or Counting-On-Others Filmmaking is more appropriate, more telling. We are in dependence of luck, good weather, and the efforts of others.

After all, when we step out and into "indie" territory, we'll always be turning to others around us - friends, family, coworkers, interns, etc - for help. We beg for locations, hunt for free props, ask favors, and when all else fails, cry for help. Since there is typically little to no money on the table, we're constantly squeezing blood from stones, or nickels rather. And with any luck, when people see how obsessed and determined the filmmaker is, they might just donate a costume or some food to fuel the production. Yes! Another hole is plugged in the boat. We can stay afloat… for now.

Perhaps we ask too much of cast and crew? Perhaps there’s a line we cross all too often, marching our soldiers down a road narrow and dark, with no end in sight. Maybe we get lucky and all the troops stick around ‘til the bitter end, stepping up at the last minute in the face of adversity, in the face of a ticking clock, only to rally forth, storm the gates and plow through enemy lines staking claim on hallowed filmmaking ground.

Making movies has got to be the most irrational and chaotic exercise in collective creativity – but for most of us, we couldn’t understand a world without it. When all is said and done, the production days are behind us, the editing is over and the finished product is shrink-wrapped on a shelf – or better yet being projected in a theatre – we are still depending on an audience, on a spectator, on a reaction. Then again, there are those making movies strictly for commercial gain, and that is completely fine. I actually commend those out there making a living and turning a buck with filmmaking. Congrats! But I would have a hard time swapping a personal and emotional connection to the filmmaking process for commercial success. Maybe someday I will have that opportunity to do both – make movies that sell and make personal “story” films. For now, I must rely – depend! – on others to participate in my filmmaking endeavors. But that’s fine with me. I am no rock. I am no island. I prefer company to isolation, dialogue over dissertation, collaboration over despotism… and, yes, salmon over chicken.

I'll be adding posts weekly or if any news is worthy of mentioning. I'd like to be ambitious and say I'll add a post everyday - but I've set those goals in the past only to fall short and eventually lose steam. Stay tuned...

Also-- my intention is to keep this blog focused on self-distribution (if such a thing even exists!) and not about what I had for breakfast or daily gripes. We'll see.

So, the DVD of my indie feature "On the Fringe" is now avaialble. But who exactly cares? Good question. Making movies nowadays is easier than ever with DV technology and even getting it out there for people to see can be as easy as posting an account with www.customflix.com or YouTube. But actually leading people to a site and inspiring them enough to fork over $20 (the price of 2 movie passes) for a little glimpse into your dream/project on DVD... well, that's something entirely different. Making people aware costs millions of marketing dollars and even that doesn't lead to guaranteed sales. So what does? Beats me.

A good number of folks have been asking about the "On the Fringe" DVD for some time now. "When will it be done?" and "Make sure to let me know, I definitely want one." were common inquiries. With any luck these people are still anxious to grab a copy. I've made it simple enough to do. The websites have always been the same. Flicker Pictures and On The Fringe Movie are two easy ways to click and buy. There's also a handy link on TheIndieFilm.net and all the information about the release can be found here at Filmmaking.com. But will this clickable convenience translate into sales? Unfortunately that isn't up to me. It's up to you - the viewer, the consumer, the audience, the fan, the enthusiast, the peer, the filmmaker... yeah, you!

Over the years I have spent a fair amount on buying numerous indie films online to show support and to see what others out there are producing. Will this translate into a quid pro quo dynamic? Does the independent road have two lanes or just one? And if so, are we sharing it with those around us or just hogging the road and blindly beeping our horns at the passing traffic. It has me wondering.

I have tried my best to produce a quality DVD with the skilled authoring guidance of Anthony Torvik. Together, we were aiming for the Criterion Collection level of design and feel - all the while keeping the inherent mood of the movie in mind. I believe we succeeded. You'll have to be the judge and jury I suppose... vote here.

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