CONFERENCE at NFT1, BFI Southbank

A day of keynotes, presentations and round tables by leading digital visionaries that was followed by an evening drinks reception at the Marriott Hotel, County Hall. Through a variety of case studies, experts spoke candidly about the challenges they faced, the opportunities available and the discoveries they made.

09.15 – 10.00
REGISTRATION, COFFEE & TEA

10:00 – 10.15
WELCOME & INTRODUCTION
LIZ ROSENTHAL, Director, Power to the Pixel

10.15 – 10.55
SHOULD WE? COULD WE? WOULD WE? – FILMS IN THE AGE OF CROSS-MEDIA PRODUCTION
Why should we think about more than one media platform? Could we gain financially and artistically? Would we progress our practice and industry if we do?
CHRISTY DENA, Cross-media Specialist (AUS)

10.55 – 11.15
FRACTURED AUDIENCES
As technology shifts, audiences are evolving at a startling rate. Who are they, where are they, and what are they doing? How does the media producer keep up with and define their consumption habits and behaviour in order to create compelling interaction and relevant awareness for their work?
ALEX JOHNSON, Digital Strategist and Experience Planner (UK/US)

11.15 – 11.30
BREAK

11.30- 13.00
THE NEW EXHIBITORS
Presentations and Roundtable discussions

With the rapid growth of new on-demand, online services and film and video social networking sites, who amongst them are effectively serving independent films and rights holders in significant new ways?

This session brings together leading online innovators from around the world who are dedicated to increasing access to independent films, often unavailable through traditional distribution channels and the bigger online players.

Speakers will answer the following questions; How are independent focused services dealing directly with filmmakers and rights holders? Is content curated predominantly by audiences or by in-house programmers. What kinds of deals are being done? Are they on an exclusive or non-exclusive basis? With a whole new generation of viewers becoming used to free online media, will audiences pay for download-to-own and rental, or is a free-to-view ad driven model more likely? What kinds of revenues are being generated and how are they being split? Whilst everyone is busy aggregating content on to portals, who is effectively mobilising and aggregating audiences in new ways, guiding them to discover new films?

BRIAN NEWMAN, President, Tribeca Film Institute (US)
CAY WESNIGK, Founder, Onlinefilm.org (GERM)
SARA POLLACK, Manager Film & Animation, YouTube (US)
FABIO LIMA, Founder, MovieMobz (BRA)
MICHAEL GUBBINS, Editor, Screen International(UK)

13.00 – 14.00
LUNCH

14.00 – 14.30
THE NEW CROSS-PLATFORM FINANCIERS: AUDIENCES, SPONSORS AND BRANDS
Presales, MGs and advances are becoming a thing of the past for independent films. Who will the new financiers of independent films be? This session looks at the power of the audience in crowd-sourcing, the power of brands and of sponsors in financing new work.
SLAVA RUBIN, Co-Founder, IndieGoGo (US)
ADAM ERLEBACHER, Co-Founder, PlaceVine (US)

14.30 – 15.00
DISTRIBUTION CASE STUDY: WE ARE THE STRANGE
M DOT STRANGE, Filmmaker

15.00 – 15.30
DISTRIBUTION CASE STUDY: STAR WRECK: IN THE PIRKINNING
TIMO VUORENSOLA, Filmmaker

15.30 – 15.45
BREAK

15.45 – 16.15
DISTRIBUTION CASE STUDY: STEAL THIS FILM
JAMIE KING, Filmmaker

16.15 – 16.45 A NEW MODEL FOR DISCOVERY AND DISTRIBUTION: FROM HERE TO AWESOME
For years, the independent film industry has created an unspoken competitive spirit among filmmakers. Competition for festival slots and buyers’ attention has left many filmmakers bitter at the success of others. As the traditional deals fade away, filmmakers now find themselves at a crossroads as new collaborative models emerge. The production side of filmmaking has been democratised, now it is time to open the discovery and distribution processes. A step in that direction is From Here to Awesome. FHTA is an R&D lab of sorts, an open source project that is focused on experimenting with new business models, creating open tools and standards and making recommendations for best practices.
LANCE WEILER, Filmmaker

16.45 – 17.05
COLLABORATION – A CASE STUDY
ARIN CRUMLEY, Filmmaker

17.05- 17.30
AUDIENCE TAKES CONTROL
An opportunity for the audience to ask questions to M dot Strange, Timo Vuorensola, Jamie King, Lance Weiler & Arin Crumley.

17.30 – 20.30
POWER TO THE PIXEL DRINKS PARTY at the Marriott Hotel, County Hall

20.30 – 22.30
SCREENING at The Studio Cinema, BFI Southbank
FROM HERE TO AWESOME Prize Winners screening and Q & A
I F*cking Hate You (9 mins) by writer/director Zak Forsman
In Search Of (106 mins) by writer/director Zeke Zelker