It’s finally that time – after seven months of editing, ‘TIME AND PLACE’ is days away from completion. It took a good nine months to write, three to shoot, and a will no doubt be months before I consider it entirely over, once all the promotion is done and festival fates are sealed.
How do I feel now the film is done? The usual nerves about screening it, about letting go (it’s a strange feeling cutting yourself off from a project), but most importantly, excited, as this is arguably the best thing we’ve ever made (and I’m incredibly proud), and we know that all future projects will no doubt be gradual progressions from this point of quality that we have reached.
So, most importantly, what’s happening now? Well we can now officially reveal that the release date for On Demand and DVD sales will be Saturday November 1st. What’s different about our On Demand release? Well we’re trying something a little different this time – audience members will have the choice of how much they pay to see the film. We are a very generous bunch – helping fellow artists year-round, giving 10% of annual profits to charity, and never charging more than we need to when releasing our films to the world. So, for the pay-what-you-want release of ‘TIME AND PLACE’ you have the option of a minimum £1 purchase, with unlimited access to the film online, but also if you wish to support us further you can pay more at point-of-purchase, or even once you’ve seen the film, as we will keep the donation button to hand.
Why decide to do this? Well we aren’t in it for the money frankly. All money that comes to us, that we work really hard for year-round, gets put back in to our next projects, and to be perfectly frank, we don’t see why art (or the ‘success’) should be judged on how much money is made after a project. As far as we’re concerned, as many people as we can reach the better. By lowering the cost and making the film more readily available to all, anyone aware of the project and with access to the internet will be able to see it. We’ll also be encouraging all audience members who love the film to spread the word, to get more people to see it and make them a part of helping people access the film. We’re also keen to do this as we’re confident of the quality of the film. Those who see the film On Demand, will most likely want a physical copy (with some remarkable artwork by Jonny Gillard), further adding to future project budgets, meaning we can continue to make further work.
Piracy isn’t something that bothers us really. As mentioned, we want the film to reach as many people as possible, and if that means making no money from it, then so be it. We’d like to think people want to support the future of our work based on an appreciation of the current work, but again, it’s more a case of wanting the purpose of films, not to be economics, but to be connection with audience, by any means.
