Film Distribution Comes To The Internet

Dooferlad writes "thisisnotalovesong.com hosts something of a first - a film that is being distributed over the Internet because independent films are being pushed out of the box office by blockbusters. At a time when everything on seems to be a sequel it would be nice to have something original on the silver screen, but unless you live near the 5 cinemas in the UK where this is been shown you will have to do with your own small screen. The film is being distributed in Windows Media format, either streamed or for download. The code you pay for (2 to 3 UK pounds) allows you to watch as many times as you like. The catch for most of you reading is that it is only for people in the UK. More coverage is available from the BBC."

Comments

UK & Windows Only

[PhoenixK7]

It's UK and Windows only, and it isn't the first independent film to be released on the internet. See here. Took only a few seconds of googling to find it.

The other half of the catch...

[the_pooh_experience]

By now, no one here is surprised, but I can guess that most are outraged... according to the movie website:

- To be running Microsoft Windows XP, 98 SE, Me or 2000
- To have Microsoft Windows Media Player 9 Series installed

The good news is you download the file (not streaming) and can watch it as many times as you want for somewhere under about 4 USD!

So what is the movie about?

[the_pooh_experience]

According to the movie's website

This is not Badlands.
This is not The Blair Witch Project.
This is not Deliverance.
THIS IS NOT A LOVE SONG.

A film by Bille Eltringham

Synopsis
Spike and Heaton are the unlikeliest pair: two loners who have found each other. Taciturn, competent, unreadable, Heaton is someone we are instinctively afraid of. In contrast, his side-kick Spike is manic, child-like, unstoppable: someone we are instinctively afraid for. But when Spike commits a terrible crime, Heaton decides to stand by him - an act of astonishing, almost foolhardy loyalty. There begins a chase across a vast Northern landscape of moors, rivers and dark woods, the increasingly exhausted fugitives being hunted not by the police but by a posse of farmers intent on revenge. As exhaustion and hunger take hold, Heaton injures his leg and the roles are reversed. Suddenly Heaton needs Spike's loyalty. But as the farmers close in, Spike is forced to decide whether to stand by his wounded friend or run for the safety of the city. No ordinary chase film, This is not a Love Song is a love story trapped inside the body of a thriller.

With a fervent desire to break the increasingly uncreative strictures of traditional film making, every stage of This is not a Love Song was approached afresh. Cast before it was written, workshopped with the actors and filmed in only two weeks on a tiny budget, the film champions DV not as film's cheap cousin but as a format with its own unique beauty.

A Footprint Films production in association with Strange Dog in association with The Film Council (UK) & Longfellow Productions (UK)

Crew
Directed by Bille Eltringham
Produced by Mark Blaney
Written by Simon Beaufoy
Executive Producers Kate Ogborn, Simon Beaufoy, Paul Trijbits
Director of Photography Robbie Ryan
Designer Jon Henson
Production Manager Helen Walker
Editor Ewa J. Lind
Casting Director Victoria Beattie
Sound Recordist Rupert Ivey
Original Music Adrian Johnston
Sound Editor Graham Headicar

Cast
Spike - Michael Colgan
Heaton - Kenny Glenaan
Bellamy - David Bradley

Filmed on location over 12 days, July 2001, near Aberfoyle & Glasgow, Scotland.

Festivals to date include:
Rotterdam, Edinburgh, London, Hoff, American Film Institute, Dinard, Belfast...

Re:Interesting idea

[squiggleslash]

One thousand for $1150, which is roughly in line with other estimates I've heard. That's for real DVDs, not DVD-Rs.

Showing at..

[Dynamoo]

Showing at..

• The Other Cinema, 11 Rupert Street, London W1, Tel: 020 77341506
• Watershed, 1 Canons Road, Bristol City Centre, Tel: 0117 9276444
• The Showroom, Sheffield Media & Exhibition Centre, Sheffield City Centre, Tel: 0114 2763534
• Cornerhouse, 70 Oxford Street, Manchester City Centre, Tel: 0161 2287621

Can't find the other one.. but if you're interested in the film, why not go an see it on a lovely big cinema screen rather than a pokey little window on your PC? :)

Transmission Films has done this for a while

[PktLoss]

Transmission Films Is an online independent films distributor that has been around for around a year, with a decent film library.

Re:bandwidth test

[zaxus]

Not first to be released, the first to be simultaneously premeired on the net and in the theater.

Re:Not Legal in EU

[tolan-b]

Sony seem to get away with it with the ps2 ;)
(price difference that is)