Thinking: Alternate Distribution for Filmmakers

This idea did not in anyway start with the intention of distribution. In my 20s there were a group of 12 of us, who shared a whatsapp group and every thursday, we had a standing appointment to decide and watch the interesting movie for the week.

Over the years as life happens and folks got married, moved, priorities shifted, that ritual that almost lasted a decade fell apart.

During the pandemic, given that most of us had a VR headset, we reconnected and started watching movies together - we'd setup a shared stream and would have a google chat going on the side, so that we can hear each other while the movie played.

VR has been surprisingly good to recreate that theatrical atmosphere - but the worst bit is sitting in a virtual cinema as the only person. Dimming the lights out (within the virtual environment so that you don't see the empty chairs) and having a video call where we can hear each other on one of the ears, kinda felt a bit like the gang was back together.

Even if it hasn't been as much, we have done this on and off since the pandemic and we enjoy it. It helps us stay connected with something that was our shared ritual - movies. And as of late it has expanded to shows as well.

I recently met a filmmaker friend and was showing them this and they asked why we arent thinking about rolling this out as a platform. And that got some gears turning.

Given that I love films, and also have a background in software meant we can think about building a dedicated VR app that doesn't involve setting up a separate video call for the audio. So we built one and have been testing it and love it.

We are now opening it up. Indie filmmakers face a mountain of issues making a film - and distribution (like Stephen Follow's recent article shows) is another big mountain to climb. And most folks would just get overwhelmed by that. And given that filmmakers are building audiences through instagram / youtube, having an avenue where they can monetize their audience directly (by ticketing) and not having to do a roadshow for years across the entire country to recoup their money back, seemed like a problem worth solving.

You can check it out at www.contraband.watch - its only been a week and we have quite an active community that has signed up and is engaged. If you are a filmmaker (or have a friend who is one) who'd like to leverage this / test it out, let me know. If you are someone who has a VR and likes watching movies, join the tribe?

Related reading:

Why this seems to be at the right time:

1. Stephen Follows a prominent data guy in the film and entertainment space, breaks down the numbers behind filmmakers trying to find distribution : https://stephenfollows.com/p/costs-of-self-distribute-and-promote-indie-film

2. There was a post earlier this week by Aaron who has made a film named withdrawal and is doing a roadshow across the country trying to get screenings and the fees that makes it unviable for him to get his film to market : https://substack.com/home/post/p-198129278

3. Coincidentally with Nolan's big movie that has come out - there are only 41 theatres in the world that has actually show the film as it was meant to be watched in the 70mm format. (US - 26, Canada - 7, UK - 3, EU - 4, Australia - 1). In a VR you can create that theatrical experience with no issues and that opens up a whole new market - and there are 20mn Quest headsets out there.