Image Processing Reference
In-Depth Information
need to complete that work, the more you can reasonably make a bid for a job
that has a certain budget and schedule. You may have to hire help to produce
a commissioned work, and you need to be smart about how long you need
that help. If you know how long a particular process takes, like drawing out a
storyboard, then you know how long you need a storyboard artist and you can
multiply that number by the pay rate you offer the storyboard artist. In your
documentation of each film, you should not only consider the visual recording
process, like stills and video, but keep a notebook with brief notes about where
to get certain materials, locations and events that may occur during your
shoot, how long you estimated for an event, and how long it actually took. This
information and visual record keeping can be a wonderful way to present your
independent film work at festivals, lectures, and tours.
Websites and the Internet
Sites like YouTube and Vimeo host most films free of charge, but it is important to
understand the rules of how they work. Once you put something on the net it
virtually becomes public property. I do not mean this literally. You still own the
copyright of your film, although some sites may have some ownership claim as
long as you are using their services. Always read the rules of any service that you
utilize. The other option is to pay for a service that hosts your particular website,
and you can post your own work on your site. Films can be downloadable or not.
You make the choice. I have a personal website that hosts my main pages and
small commercial clips of animation. Some pages have links to noncommercial
work on Vimeo, and I have a link to a free blog service, so I can interact with my
site on a regular basis. There are all sorts of combinations, and you have to find
something that suits your needs and ability.
Short films have few revenue-making venues, but this does not stop
independent animators from producing. If you are interested in making
money on your work, then you need to invest in yourself by producing
original work that becomes a calling card for your particular services. Once
you get your work out into the world (and the Net is great for that kind
of low-cost exposure), people see your work and may approach you with
commissioned work (that is often similar to the original work that you posted
on the Net). It is the offshoots of your original work that make the money, and
the original work serves as an promotional investment. Some artists feel that
posting their work online (especially on their own sites) fosters an interest in
viewers to own a “hard copy” of your film, so DVDs are sold through fee services
like PayPal, which can be linked to your site. If you really want the world to see
your work, then it helps to have short, clever, and inexpensive ideas that you
are willing to produce with little or no payback. Opportunities can arise for
exclusive showings of your work for a fee to you, but usually this does not
happen when your work is on the web. This is why filmmakers try to get into
festivals before posting work on the web. The exposure is limited at these
festivals, so showing your film at more festivals or broadcast venues becomes
more attractive for distributors.
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