As I noted in an earlier post AMMA (Amateur Movie Makers Association) here in the USA is closing down at the end of December. They have served the movement here for 50 years (with a couple of name changes), run the AMMA annual Festival, published the Monitor newsletter and been a source of support to amateur movie makers. The reasons? Declining membership and a lack of people willing to take on the tasks of managing the organization. Their treasurer had served for 17 years and understandably wanted to move on but no-one was willing to take over.
The Cotswold, a much loved Festival has closed for the lack of people willing to come forward and take on the organization
We at AMPS are trying to redesign the organization to meet the needs of n-c movie makers of the 21st Century but also face the decline of people willing to run the organization although we are minimizing the demands of management.
What is the future of non-commercial movie making? It is too important to be allowed to die on the vine and needs a focus beyond YouTube and similar sites. But where should that focus be? At AMPS we need the input of dedicated n-c movie makers and this forum has a good representation of them. Although we are in the USA I don't think this is a purely American problem.
All comments suggestions and creative ideas are very welcome we want AMPS to serve the community of n-c movie makers both in the USA and beyond. Thanks ned c
Where to from here?
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FILM THURSO
- Posts: 241
- Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2007 1:37 pm
- Location: Thurso
- Contact:
You can rest assured that nc film making will survive all be it in a different form. Perhaps what we are seeing within the field is something similar to the decline of the Studio System. The world has changed (whilst going backwards in many ways) and the nc movie field is or at least feels less in need of club support. I don't want to see clubs die but sadly it seems with each obituary that's the way it's going.
In the 1980s the main stream cinema business in the UK was on life-support and a drip having lost 95% of it's audience- YES NINETY FIVE PERCENT! It was time for major change to bring about a new era. Movie making hadn't stopped as such, just the audience had lost interest.
Similarly movie making in the nc field has not dropped, it has escalated beyond levels ever conceived but the producers having more access to the means to produce have lost interest in the clubs that were needed to support their activities. Most people don't need a club (although losing the IAC would cost us the biggest loss- those copyright licenses) but they do need somewhere to show their films and that's why I would like to see the club circuit become more of an exhibition circuit.
Clubs generally don't make many films in any given year but there is no shortage of films being made by independants in the same area. It makes real sense for clubs to open up to material produced by non-memebrs to create regular programmes to attract nc film-makers into their venues as an paying audience which in turn adds to the club funds.
Amateur theatrical groups do this kind of thing. Our own local group brings in touring theatre and music shows to it's 70 seat venue. Can film clubs not go the same way?
In the 1980s the main stream cinema business in the UK was on life-support and a drip having lost 95% of it's audience- YES NINETY FIVE PERCENT! It was time for major change to bring about a new era. Movie making hadn't stopped as such, just the audience had lost interest.
Similarly movie making in the nc field has not dropped, it has escalated beyond levels ever conceived but the producers having more access to the means to produce have lost interest in the clubs that were needed to support their activities. Most people don't need a club (although losing the IAC would cost us the biggest loss- those copyright licenses) but they do need somewhere to show their films and that's why I would like to see the club circuit become more of an exhibition circuit.
Clubs generally don't make many films in any given year but there is no shortage of films being made by independants in the same area. It makes real sense for clubs to open up to material produced by non-memebrs to create regular programmes to attract nc film-makers into their venues as an paying audience which in turn adds to the club funds.
Amateur theatrical groups do this kind of thing. Our own local group brings in touring theatre and music shows to it's 70 seat venue. Can film clubs not go the same way?
One of the main reasons for being a member of a local club is that it allows the showing of my films...
Why would I produce such masterpieces otherwise?
Let's face it.... the end result needs a forum..... the club fits it exactly.
Youtube and various other sites certainly fit the bill at the present time ...
My precious club has been in existence since 1927... will youtube still be around in 81 years time?
Times are indeed changing and nobody seems to know the direction that our hobby will go... but one thing is for sure...
people will always need people to swap ideas, talk face to face and enjoy the buzz from a good nights entertainment in your local club.
The management of clubs do need to change quite radically..... the use of electronic communication must be taken on aboard and used to its fullest capabilities...
I am sure that if we embrace this new technology we will enjoy many many years to come...
it is certainly not doom and gloom in this neck of the woods, new members, bright ideas and new films to show are a regular event !!!
Why would I produce such masterpieces otherwise?
Let's face it.... the end result needs a forum..... the club fits it exactly.
Youtube and various other sites certainly fit the bill at the present time ...
My precious club has been in existence since 1927... will youtube still be around in 81 years time?
Times are indeed changing and nobody seems to know the direction that our hobby will go... but one thing is for sure...
people will always need people to swap ideas, talk face to face and enjoy the buzz from a good nights entertainment in your local club.
The management of clubs do need to change quite radically..... the use of electronic communication must be taken on aboard and used to its fullest capabilities...
I am sure that if we embrace this new technology we will enjoy many many years to come...
it is certainly not doom and gloom in this neck of the woods, new members, bright ideas and new films to show are a regular event !!!
Stephen
Film making is not a matter of Life and Death
It's much more important than that.
Film making is not a matter of Life and Death
It's much more important than that.
I am asking on behalf of a national organization rather than a local club. What is the role of national organizations in this new world? What is it and how do we meet the needs of both individual, club and small unit film makers?
Local clubs will wax and wane based on the strength of local personal skills and enthusiasm.
ned c
Local clubs will wax and wane based on the strength of local personal skills and enthusiasm.
ned c
I think that Film Thurso has put his finger on an important issue - getting a wider audience for our n-c films. There is the IAC library but that costs money to rent the films in addition to the membership fees.
How about subscribing to a distribution list so that winning films at each of the major n-c Festivals (IAC; UNICA; AMPS others welcome) are circulated. Subscribers could be individuals and clubs. Viewers would be asked to write their comments about the films (optional) which would be published in a bimonthly newsletter distributed only by e-mail. Initially we would circulate DVDs but as the technology improves the films would be available on a member's website.
Ideas/suggestions please
ned
How about subscribing to a distribution list so that winning films at each of the major n-c Festivals (IAC; UNICA; AMPS others welcome) are circulated. Subscribers could be individuals and clubs. Viewers would be asked to write their comments about the films (optional) which would be published in a bimonthly newsletter distributed only by e-mail. Initially we would circulate DVDs but as the technology improves the films would be available on a member's website.
Ideas/suggestions please
ned
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billyfromConsett
- Posts: 489
- Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2007 3:27 pm
- Location: Consett
I send my films to competitions on DVD's; which is the cheapest for me to make and post them. How anybody could (lossless) copy any of them to compile new DVD's is a mystery to me. I've tried to rename certain vob files, but it just doesn't seem to work quite as straightforward as that.
Then comes the actual copying of movies - in terms of costs and time, and also worries about the police being interested in the process. Youtube is a legal grey-area that our top officials don't want to get onto the wrong side of.
The way we make roadshow disks and tapes, and send them to whoever asks from up and down the country does at least ensure that most of us get to see the decent club movies.
But I would say that it does seem a bit laboured and old fashioned.
Broadband is heading towards being able to upload mpeg2 movies that could be downloaded and compiled onto disks world over. But will this be accepted by people with an interest like us to distribute and show our creative efforts?
Then comes the actual copying of movies - in terms of costs and time, and also worries about the police being interested in the process. Youtube is a legal grey-area that our top officials don't want to get onto the wrong side of.
The way we make roadshow disks and tapes, and send them to whoever asks from up and down the country does at least ensure that most of us get to see the decent club movies.
But I would say that it does seem a bit laboured and old fashioned.
Broadband is heading towards being able to upload mpeg2 movies that could be downloaded and compiled onto disks world over. But will this be accepted by people with an interest like us to distribute and show our creative efforts?
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Dave Watterson
- Posts: 1877
- Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 11:11 pm
- Location: Bath, England
- Contact:
Just a small point - we don't make a fuss about it but you do not have to be an IAC member to hire films from the IAC library. Applications from non-members are at the discretion of the librarian.
Through the happy accident of sitting with Val Ellis at breakfast on the AGM weekend, we learned that Council have agreed to return video hire fees from the library to £7.50 rather than £10 a time for each programme. (This raises a separate issue about how far Council is out of touch with the internet age ... no one would have thought to tell us though I bet they sent word to the magazine!)
Like most festivals a condition of entry in BIAFF is that we can make copies for the IAC library ... but no one envisaged a wider circulation of movies when that was written. Some film makers would prefer not to let their work out this way - perhaps because they want to enter it in other competitions and would rather their work seemed "fresh" than "familiar".
As for YouTube ... that organisation has a deal with the main music copyright holders whereby they pay a lump sum to cover the use of shop-bought music on YouTube. (Provided the movie is not for sale or used as advertising.) That agreement does not cover other organisations - not even, I think, Google Video which is owned by the same company!
The position on "royalty free" music varies according to the music supplier. Some allow their work to be used on the web, others do not.
These are relative niggles in the bigger picture I know, I just wanted to set the record straight.
Dave
Through the happy accident of sitting with Val Ellis at breakfast on the AGM weekend, we learned that Council have agreed to return video hire fees from the library to £7.50 rather than £10 a time for each programme. (This raises a separate issue about how far Council is out of touch with the internet age ... no one would have thought to tell us though I bet they sent word to the magazine!)
Like most festivals a condition of entry in BIAFF is that we can make copies for the IAC library ... but no one envisaged a wider circulation of movies when that was written. Some film makers would prefer not to let their work out this way - perhaps because they want to enter it in other competitions and would rather their work seemed "fresh" than "familiar".
As for YouTube ... that organisation has a deal with the main music copyright holders whereby they pay a lump sum to cover the use of shop-bought music on YouTube. (Provided the movie is not for sale or used as advertising.) That agreement does not cover other organisations - not even, I think, Google Video which is owned by the same company!
The position on "royalty free" music varies according to the music supplier. Some allow their work to be used on the web, others do not.
These are relative niggles in the bigger picture I know, I just wanted to set the record straight.
Dave
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billyfromConsett
- Posts: 489
- Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2007 3:27 pm
- Location: Consett
If Youtube has a deal with music publishers etc well that must be recent. The last time I looked into it, Youtube had no such right, and authors of music were still demanding their tracks be pulled.
Can you link a news item about this? It still seems to be a problem - recent news bits - http://www.flickr.com/photos/popkid/2940985329/
though they do have an agreement with the Jananese http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/200 ... 6000c.html
Can you link a news item about this? It still seems to be a problem - recent news bits - http://www.flickr.com/photos/popkid/2940985329/
though they do have an agreement with the Jananese http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/200 ... 6000c.html
I had to REMOVE my YMCA because the copyright holders in America didn`t want it on there. **%$@@$! But i`ve seen compleate footage of tv shows, bits of films and all sorts on there. They do state (I think) that all stuff is put up at your own risk, and be free of Copyright..
Be good.....
Stingman
Be good.....
Stingman
Ian Gardner
Film Maker
Film Maker