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Burke says the company wants to attain a certain quality of film associated with the company name. AtomFilms markets short-form entertainment for Web TV, DVD and VHS. It licenses the rights to pieces in order to market and sell them to different outlets. Currently, their office in Los Angeles is working with animation on the Web, an art form that works very well on-line, according to Burke. "Censorship and regulation is still in free reign," says Burke in response to a question from the audience about what they choose to accept. "It would be up to our own sensibilities. We've shown some pretty racy stuff, but if it's solid filmmaking, it's okay." Meistrich says the Internet changes the "barriers of entry" that filmmakers have in trying to get their work out there. At present, he says, distribution companies often act as a significant barrier of entry for struggling filmmakers. He says where television might provide 20 outlets with 35 people airing their content, the Internet allows for the possibility of gaining a billion viewers. "I'm not a believer that everyone who makes a film should have their film seen," he says. "I'm not an encourager of 'everyone should pick up a camera and make a film.'" He says the Internet is giving artists an outlet that allows them more control over their product and how to market it. "In the end, I think the Internet is one more distribution venue," says Carl Goodwin of the Museum of the Moving Image, which co-sponsored the seminar. "The most interesting thing about putting film on the Web are the creative possibilities." In addition to the many companies being launched to jump on the digital film wave, traditional television networks, such as the Independent Film Channel and BNN TV, are looking to expand their programming by combining the technology of the Web to enhance their distribution, marketing and ideas. Late last year, BNN launched Camera Planet, an addition to their Web site that will allow viewers to do what they've always done - allow viewers to make their own documentaries -- on the Web. With the advent of broadband, a pipe that will allow video on demand by streaming video into a home in a matter of seconds, the possibilities increase. "Sometimes the sound can be better than TV," says Joseph Cantwell, executive vice president of the Independent Film Channel. "Broadband is the closest way on the Web to show your film the way you want it to be seen." Doug Block, a documentary filmmaker, whose film, "HomePage," was the first to be shown on iFilm says the impact that digital film will have on documentaries is tremendous. "The Web is a really exciting opportunity because of the possibility of linking to the characters in the films and finding the audience, director and community relating to the subject matter in a way that we've never been able to do before," Block says. "The Internet allows the audience to thread a path instead of having the director impose a structure, leading to exciting new ways to tell a story." Panelists emphasized consumer control, the on-demand aspect of the Internet, greater interactivity between artist and patron and more creative possibilities. "It will creep into our everyday existence," says Cantwell. "Once people know it's there, they will use it." |
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