Jamie Dubs

vhxtv: IndieWire just launched their 2013 Influencers List and...

Jamie Wilkinson — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:14:00 -0700

IndieWire just launched their 2013 Influencers List and VHX is proudly listed alongside some of our favorite people! It’s great to see the likes of Tim League (Drafthouse), Radius TWC, Parts and Labor, James and Lisanne of Indie Game, Vimeo, Marc Shiller, and Ted Hope, to name just a few.

Check out the full list to get to know other people trying to figure out what the indie film industry looks like today and in the future. Also to see our founders’ special secret bond over…ahem…The Fifth Element.

(via aram)

Jamie Wilkinson — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:13:13 -0700

(via aram)

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Jamie Wilkinson — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 15:08:26 -0700

vhxtv: Direct Distribution is Important for Artists, Audiences,...

Jamie Wilkinson — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 13:27:01 -0700

vhxtv:

Direct Distribution is Important for Artists, Audiences, Everyone

There’s a lot of talk about new ways of watching, streaming, funding, and everything else-ing video.

Which is why we’re so excited to be VHX right now, working in this intersection of video content and technology. Artists are generating an amazing amount of great content. While there are great options for distributing free and ad-supported videos, there are not great options for actually selling your work. We are making a platform to get artists’ work seen, loved, and paid for.

Direct distribution is creators selling directly to their fans.

Instead of using other people’s stores and marketplaces, artists can sell from their own websites. This model points to the kind of close relationship between audience and creator that both parties want - axing the middleman idea that has come to define old structures. We are part of a new developing ecosystem of distribution, offering better, more flexible options to help anyone sell their work to the people who want it.

1. Because, Internet.

With the perpetual advance of bandwidth and plethora of devices to consume content, it’s just plain easy to watch online. We strongly believe that a digital copy of content can and should be superior to its physical ancestor. You can stuff your “digital DVD” with bonus content, subtitles, bundle with other goodies, or even change or release more content over time, free of old school restrictions like region-blocking. Miami Connection - a film that was barely available on VHS when it was made in 1987 - is now easy to watch anytime with hours of bonus content, anywhere in the world.

Additionally, the Internet has enabled makers and their audiences to build real relationships, from #TeamCoco to Taylor Swift to Amanda Palmer. The webs of social networks that have developed over the last decade mean that artists are able to communicate en masse, for free, and connect to the fans that are interested in their work. Dave Grohl uses social media platforms as a way to tell fans about his doc, Sound City, connect them to upcoming concerts, and even answer personal questions. Content discovery is powered by people, and artists can have a direct connection to that process.

2. Direct distribution allows artists less restrictions, more control

Distributing directly to fans online relieves a lot of restrictions. Content does not need to fit into a specific package, like “feature-length film,” to be something that fans want to buy. House of Cards showrunner Beau Willimon explains that content like TV programming must adapt to the desires of a digital audience:

“There’s not even a reason to stick the half hour or hour-long models. You can have an episode that’s 20 minutes, an episode that’s 90 minutes.”

A flexible platform allows artists to sell freeform content they may not have even considered.

Direct distribution also allows artists to command long-term control of the work they generate. They can be as creative with how they release content as they are with how they make it. Mike Birbiglia partnered with IFC to sell Sleepwalk With Me in the United States, but kept many of the international rights and sold his movie directly from his own site everywhere else in the world.

Keeping that control empowers artists to choose the distribution methods that work best. Technology offers precise information about audiences that you simply can’t get elsewhere. The filmmakers behind Stuck tracked their site referrals and focused their resources on what worked, while Indie Game: The Movie used audience and sales data to experiment with the optimal price point. Selling directly is a viable, accountable complement to everything else in the seller’s arsenal of tools, and what they learn from their web traffic can inform the rest of their distribution strategy.

3. And it’s better for fans anyway

Artists have the ability to make more money from their work when we connect them directly to fans. Think of it as the technology piece that’s been missing from their distribution toolbelt.

Every creator that we’ve worked with at VHX is so excited to be able to put their work online in a way that reaches individual fans in a personal way, and in a way that showcases the content:

Minecraft: The Story of Mojang includes a bonus mini doc of the making-of their next big game.

The Invisible Made Visible offers an extra Q&A with the man/myth/legend Ira Glass, plus a custom game for fans to play along with OK Go’s music.

Doin’ It In the Park gave Kickstarter backers early access to the movie.

Dave Grohl includes a personal letter of thanks in each purchase email confirmation of Sound City.

And those are just a few. The freedom of selling directly empowers artists to be creative with their content and creative with how they show the world.

And that couldn’t be better news for us as fans. The nature and quality of video experiences keep evolving, and artists continue to explore ways for audiences to interact with their work online. As an audience, we get to keep supporting creators as they make things we want to watch - your wallet is a powerful way to vote.

We want to make direct distribution easy, so creators can reach fans, audiences can watch great content, and we can all support work we love without wondering where the money is going.

The VHX platform is in action - check out some awesome artists distributing directly to fans. And drop us a line with distribution experiences you have, whether as an artist or content-consumer.

DIY Ugandan action movies, fuck yeah wakaliwood: Wakaliwood’s...

Jamie Wilkinson — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 08:45:51 -0700

DIY Ugandan action movies, fuck yeah

wakaliwood:

Wakaliwood’s replica of Rambo’s M60 machine gun. It’s welded scrap metal and car parts. Note the bullets are carved from wood.

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Jamie Wilkinson — Thu, 23 May 2013 13:18:00 -0700

Frozen trees

Jamie Wilkinson — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:06:00 -0700

Frozen trees

Every time someone signs up for VHX Presents, a spacecat gets...

Jamie Wilkinson — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:40:00 -0700

Every time someone signs up for VHX Presents, a spacecat gets its wings.

Lichtenberg Figures: The Fractal Patterns of Lightning Strike...

Jamie Wilkinson — Thu, 09 May 2013 10:41:00 -0700

Lichtenberg Figures: The Fractal Patterns of Lightning Strike Scars

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Jamie Wilkinson — Tue, 07 May 2013 11:15:34 -0700

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Jamie Wilkinson — Tue, 07 May 2013 11:09:11 -0700

yewknee: vhxtv: The number of hours we’ve collectively...

Jamie Wilkinson — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 10:47:15 -0700

yewknee:

vhxtv:

The number of hours we’ve collectively ~~wasted~~ enthusiastically spent playing any variation of Tetris is overwhelming. Which is why we are so pleased to announce the worldwide DRM-free release of ECSTASY OF ORDER: THE TETRIS MASTERS, a documentary film about the search for the world’s greatest Tetris player.

We can’t tell you if any one of us qualified for the champion title, but we can tell you that the first 100 people to use the code “longbardrought” will get the film and all the special features for just $5!

Two things. 1) I love our VHX Tetris logo! 2) This movie is surprisingly compelling. Thor will win your heart, I promise.

That $5 coupon deal is legit - watch this movie!

lainnafader: My photos from F.A.T. Lab’s FAT GOLD: Five Years...

Jamie Wilkinson — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 21:08:40 -0700

lainnafader:

My photos from F.A.T. Lab’s FAT GOLD: Five Years of Free Art & Technology opening at Eyebeam Art + Technology, 4/1/13.

“Release early, often and with rap music. This is Notorious R&D.” —F.A.T. Lab
Celebrating more than five years of thug life, pop culture, and R&D, the renegade art organization known as the Free Art & Technology Lab, or F.A.T. Lab, is going GOLD. F.A.T. GOLD, that is. From April 1–20 Eyebeam Art & Technology Center will present the acclaimed work of F.A.T. Lab. Organized by Lindsay Howard, Eyebeam Curatorial Fellow, the exhibition invites the public to experience and engage with the collective’s groundbreaking projects.

F.A.T. GOLD brings together an international group of twenty-five collaborators comprised of artists, hackers, engineers, musicians, and graffiti writers, many of whom have been involved with the organization as residents, fellows, or collaborators, for a week-long residency at Eyebeam. The influential group—who’ve collectively and independently received prestigious honors such as the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award, Japan Media Arts Award, Transmediale Award, Prix Ars Electronica, Emmy Award, and TIME Magazine’s “World’s Most Influential Person”—will be onsite daily during the week of April 1, participating in panels, hackathons, and collaborative pieces.

So basically this show is everything I love, all in one gallery space. Couldn’t be happier.

KATSU & FAT v PAULA COOPER (by Kyle McDonald)

Jamie Wilkinson — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 15:02:46 -0700

KATSU & FAT v PAULA COOPER (by Kyle McDonald)

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Jamie Wilkinson — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:14:00 -0700

FAT GOLD: 5 years of Free Art & Technology opens tonight...

Jamie Wilkinson — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:07:00 -0700

FAT GOLD: 5 years of Free Art & Technology opens tonight 6-9pm

PBS Idea Channel: Will Kickstarter Replace...

Jamie Wilkinson — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 10:48:00 -0700

PBS Idea Channel: Will Kickstarter Replace Hollywood?

“Kickstarter is a system for making movies which people want to watch and be invested in and be a part of.”

Great video from Know Your Meme alumnus Mike Rugnetta. Anyone cynical about “blockbuster” crowdfunding projects needs to watch this and consider what the VMars-starter foretells about the role of the Hollywood studio.

I love seeing creators (both big and small) learning how to rally their audiences online, and would be shocked if this were the last Kickstarter launched by Rob Thomas or Kristen Bell.

Great numbers on the project too: $65 average donation vs. the typical $25 average. 60,000 backers, 50% of them new Kickstarter users (and 22% of new KS users fund other projects. Blockbusters only further drive the network effects)

We’ve just launched a new VHX PRESENTS mailing list where...

Jamie Wilkinson — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:57:00 -0700

We’ve just launched a new VHX PRESENTS mailing list where we’ll be sending out announcements and promotions for our new releases (2-3 emails per month).

Sign up because (a) great content (b) an instant coupon for 20-50% off a movie of your choosing, and, most importantly, (c) a choice animated easter egg by @caseypugh.

VHX:

We ♥ our filmmakers. Want to stay informed of our future release? Sign up for our newsletter. After signing up, be sure you say hello to our cat.

Google Glass Apple Eyes

Jamie Wilkinson — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 15:57:00 -0800

~~Google Glass~~ Apple Eyes

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Jamie Wilkinson — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 11:00:00 -0800