Workshop
2:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Session B:
Monetizing Movies on the Net - Exploring Pay-Per-View, DVD, Subscription & Other Pay Concepts
If the thesis, that one thousand new feature and short films are going to be produced in the coming year due to new, enhanced digital technology, it would be prudent if the industry also had a plan of how this product is going to find a commercial entry point. At this time, pay-per-view on the Internet is a far from proven method of distribution, but there are many new ideas in play for monetizing the new content. After samplings on the Internet, DVDs can be ordered and instantly pressed. Perhaps new monthly subscription fee based systems are the way. No one knows for sure, because we are at the start of something brand new, but in this session, we will try out the new ideas on each other. The future is before us and it should be fun.
Fred Johnson,
Olivier Zitoun, founder & CEO, Eveo
Frederic V. Bien, Vice President, BigStar Entertainment
Harry Gantz, President, Crushed Planet
S.D. Katz, Partner, Pitch Inc., Editor, PitchTV
David Gould, CEO, imix.com
Babak Forutanour, founder, ReelUniverse.com
Dion Algeri, co-founder & Executive Vice Presiden, Shortbuzz.com
Anishiya Taneja, Director of Distribution, BuyIndies.com
Paul J. Turcotte, President, MegaChannels.com, Moderator
Robert Algeri, President and Co-founder, Shortbuzz.com: Robert Algeri is the President of Shortbuzz.com, LLC and is a lifelong entrepreneur. Prior to founding Shortbuzz.com LLC, Robert was a feature film producer and worked in varying capacities on films such as Home for the Holidays, Addicted to Love, and Slums of Beverly Hills. Robert’s specialty is organizing and managing large numbers of people in logistically complex situations. His skills have been especially useful in defining a workflow process that can handle thousands of video clips. Robert is also responsible for securing financing and establishing marketing partnerships. His ties to the entertainment industry have been instrumental in opening doors with major media companies concerning a joint venture partnership for Shortbuzz.com. Robert graduated from Muhlenberg College in 1993.
David Gould, chairman and CEO of imix.com, embodies the entreprene
ur who translates an idea into a rapidly growing company. His vision of imix.com's mission -- to provide a unique online marketing service to both the consumer and the record industry -- began with a dream and his passion for music. Like many of us, Gould enjoyed making personalized cassette tapes from his collection of CDs and albums. His concept for iimix.com was the recognition of the intense positive emotions that he and friends experiencedwhen enjoying music that they had specifically selected for the moment. "Wouldn't it be great if we could capture and bottle this experience," he suggested to co-conspirator Nicolas Darveau-Garneau at the end of one evening's listening session, "and do it with the superior quality of a CD?" The two MBA classmates from the Harvard School of Business Administration had the experience and business acumen to transform his dream into reality. During the mid 1980's, Gould managed the aircraft finance department at Irving Leasing Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Irving Trust Company. At Irving, he coordinated all departmental activities to facilitate the packaging and arranging of aircraft and airline related financing. During his five years at Irving, Gould successfully closed nearly $2 billion worth of such transactions. In 1989 Mr. Gould and two colleagues started their own finance company, The Apogee Finance Group, specializing in packaging and arranging asset-based financing. As one of Apogee's managing Directors, Mr. Gould oversaw many aspects of running a start-up company, experience that has been invaluable in securing a firm financial foundation for Custom Revolutions. Apogee employed 12 people, amassed over $200 million on total assets and was
profitable for every year of its existence. As CEO, Mr. Gould's primary role is to coordinate the overall activities of Custom Revolutions, including the management of key relationships with investors, record labels and suppliers.
Steve Katz is a partner and writer/director with Pitch, Inc. a New York-based content development and production studio. He is well-known for his work at Curious Pictures, (the folks that gave you Pee Wee's Playhouse) where he created and directed Curious Digital, a highly influential computer graphics animation studio for character animation and effects. During his four years at CP, Steve introduced the first desktop-based editing and compositing system capable of finishing complex national spots without resorting to traditional post-production, ultimately producing more than 25 projects a year in a 9,000 sq. ft. facility. Curious Digital is the second largest animation house in the New York area and their innovative use of technology has been the subject of numerous magazine and newspaper articles. Steve was also represented by Curious Pictures as a director (reel available). His invention, Cyclops®, is currently manufactured by Digital Input Designs and allows directors to manipulate virtual cameras with unprecedented fluidity and control. Steve's design for the assassination sequence for Clear and Present Danger was widely regarded as the most advanced previsualization at the time and has been widely featured in trade publications and on a special segment of Entertainment Tonight. As a director, Steve's work has been featured on Saturday Night Live and his commercial work for national advertisers appears on air throughout the year. In 1997, Steve served as the animation director for Robert Wilson and Philip Glass, the foremost avant garde theater team of the last two decades, on Monsters of Grace the first full 3D digital opera (in twin 70mm).
Michele LaMura pioneered the development of NewEnglandFilm.com, an online community for independent filmmaking in New England. Since 1997, she has led newenglandfilm.com to profitability and established it as a leading online resource for the regional industry reaching over 12,000 visitors/month. Her entrepreneurial successes have been lauded in leading press outlets such as Inc. Magazine, National Public Radio, and The Boston Globe. In late 1999, she founded another independent film internet start-up called BuyIndies.com, an online community for buying & selling independent films. BuyIndies.com revolutionizes distribution by enabling indie filmmakers to reach a worldwide audience and offer a powerful and secure ecommerce system for selling their films. The site launched on January 15, 2000 with approximately 45,000 titles in its catalog. She has personally overseen the launch of over 20 independent film-related web sites for clients and is recognized as a leading expert in defining the future of independent film on the Internet. Clients include Harvard Film Archive, Boston Film Video Foundation, Center for Independent Documentary, among others. Known for her web content expertise, she has consulted beyond the film industry to companies such as Akamai Technologies, WildWeb, Lucent Technologies and The New England Journal of Medicine. Prior to her entry into the web world, Michele worked in both the independent and Hollywood film industry in various capacities as a screenwriter, director, producer, and script reader. She received a Bachelor of Arts from Boston College and a Masters of Fine Arts from Emerson College. Michele has spoken at a variety of panels and seminars for Boston Film Video Foundation, AIVF salons, Rhode Island Film Forum, among others. Check out either http://www.buyindies.com or http://www.nefilm.com for more info.
Paul J. Turcotte is the President of MegaChannels.com, a global Internet-based broadcasting company. In this capacity, Mr. Turcotte will oversee all aspects of MegaChannels.com’s operations to position the company as a superior Internet broadcaster of entertainment content. Mr. Turcotte reports directly to David Gust, Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Turcotte has a highly regarded track record in publishing, sales and leadership for both start-up and established national consumer magazines. He joins MegaChannels.com from Ziff-Davis, Inc., where he was Vice President and Publishing Director of Yahoo! Internet Life magazine, the world’s leading Internet-based publication. Since the magazine’s inception, Mr. Turcotte lead the start-up efforts and is credited with growing advertising sales to over $28 million, making Yahoo! Internet Life profitable. During his tenure, Yahoo! Internet Life received several industry accolades, including its distinction as one of the five best magazines of 1998 by Advertising Age, one of the "Top 10" magazines in 1997 and 1998 by Advertising Week and most recently, Magazine Marketer of the Year by Media Industry News. Mr. Turcotte was the Founder and Executive Producer of the Yahoo! Internet Life On-Line Music Awards and the first-ever Yahoo! Internet Life On-Line Film Festival. In November 1999, he launched eShopper magazine, now published quarterly. Mr. Turcotte’s extensive publishing career includes high-level positions with Vanity Fair magazine, Times Mirror Magazines and Playboy Enterprises.Mr. Turcotte is a graduate of Michigan State University and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Advertising.
Anishiya Taneja, Director of Distribution, BuyIndies.com: Anishiya Taneja was most recently Associate Director of Development and Public Relations at Boston Film and Video Foundation, the largest media arts non-profit in New England. She has over 5 years experience in the television industry, working on programs for Fox Networks, BBC, MTV, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The History Channel. She has helped organize the New England Film and Video Festival for the last two years and the Indigenous Women of the World Film Festival hosted by Cultural Survival.