Why Indie Directors Give Movies Away Free Online

Posted on January 5, 2010 in Internet, Selling Your Film | No Comments

This article by Monisha Rajesh of Time.com illustrates how many indie filmmakers are sidestepping traditional distribution and finding larger audiences and larger profits by giving away their film for free online. So, how do you make money by giving something away for free? Well, read on….

…When Finnish filmmaker Timo Vuorensola came up with the idea for his movie Star Wreck, a parody of Star Trek, he knew that looking for conventional distribution would be futile. An amateur, science-fiction comedy with a miniscule budget — and in Finnish, to boot — would hardly be attractive to mainstream studios. So Vuorensola took matters into his own hands: he used a Finnish social networking site to build up an online fan base who contributed to the storyline, made props and even offered their acting skills. In return for the help, Vuorensola released Star Wreck in 2005 online for free. Seven hundred thousand copies were downloaded in the first week alone; to date, the total has now reached 9 million.

— Time | Read The Full Article