The company behind the popular IndiePix Internet distribution service of independent films has launched a new online studio for indie filmmakers.
IndiePix decided to create the service, it said, because its editorial team is receiving around 10 projects per week from filmmakers around the country. The new site, Indiepixstudios.com, will offer indie filmmakers and directors a new forum community, distribution tips from established filmmakers, and other benefits. More importantly, the site will allow filmmakers to track sales and other financial information involving their video. The ability to track sales online any time will provide more accurate sales numbers than waiting for a quarterly sales report.
With regard to the social networking aspect, filmmakers will be able to create profiles open to the public, but can also make more in-depth profiles specifically for fellow filmmakers and movie industry executives. They will also be able to contribute to the site's newsfeed, which helps blend interactive features available to the IndiePix producers and making it available for everyone.
IndiePix President and Executive Producer Bob Alexander mentioned that current distribution models simply do not work for a lot of the filmmakers the company works with, and that he hopes an online studio will help offer them additional tools to prepare their work for distribution. More than 10,000 independent films are presented during film festivals and private screenings, but only a fraction of them are shown to regular consumers at a movie theater, DVD release, or television broadcast.
The site is expected to launch with full capabilities in late 2009.
The independent film market remains a rather volatile industry, with the recent sale of Sundance Channel to IFC, ThinkFilm's financial crisis, and Warner Independent and Picturehouse throwing in the towel. IndiePix hopes its online studio will be able to help filmmakers have at least one stable platform for it to use until things in the indie film market settle down.
Although there are several different online tools for independent filmmakers, this new site appears to be one of the more complete packages where a little bit of everything is included. Most studios in IndiePix's genre choose to keep their production tools and executive staff away from the filmmakers, but IndiePix instead will share its resources with independent workers.
Since the company helps distribute money for filmmakers to finish their projects, the studio will also open up and select certain projects to help produce.
