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

bandwidth test

[2MuchC0ffeeMan]

what a way to test the bandwidth, post it on /. i wonder if they will survive.

bonus! free advertising!

Re:bandwidth test

[Directrix1]

How the hell is this the first film to be released on the internet? I can point you to a couple bazillion films released on the internet. This is not news.

Re:bandwidth test

[zaxus]

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

Re:bandwidth test

[Jerry]

Nope. They're down.

Makes one wonder how they'll successfully deliver films to customers if they can't stay up under a slashdot load.

Re:bandwidth test

[Wolfrider]

199+ comments, and no-one has posted a BitTorrent link or inquired about one. Slashdot is slipping!

(runs screaming from the room)

Finally...

[angst7]

Now Mel Gibson will have a method of distributing The Passion.

Re:Finally...

[W32.Klez.A]

I think the film'll probably fail regardless of how many people want it to.

Tommorrow's /. Headline:

[grub]

Film Distributed by Internet comes to Kazaa
Posted by michael on Saturday September 06, @10:48AM
from the it's-just-a-matter-of-time dept.

This is not...

[Anonymous Coward]

... a site worth worrying about slashdotting.

It has zero content on the front page. It starts with a useless flash animated menu. When we bring the server to its knees, you will see this:

-o

which is the world's smallest online fiddle playing "My Heart Bleeds For You."

Interesting idea

[squiggleslash]

And I hope it succeeds. I also hope they can sell DVDs, which ought to be one of the easier alternatives and makes the film available to a much wider audience than limiting it people with fast PCs and broadband connections does.

As I understand it, it doesn't cost much more to get DVDs mass duplicated these days than CDs, and DVD-Rs are now $3 if you're forced to resort to such things.

Re:Interesting idea

[Acidic_Diarrhea]

DVD-Rs are not the same thing as a pressed DVD. And while a DVD-R, to burn, would be $3, in order to get a DVD pressed (which is the only acceptable commercial solution - burned products are not products at all) the cost per DVD is lower BUT there's a certain amount of money up front that you have to pay for a run. I don't know what the average minimum run is but it is substantial. Furthermore, DVDs need to be shipped and that introduces more cost to the consumer in which that cost in not going to the creator of the intellectual property. I would much rather have indie films stick to download only and have all my money (at a lower price as well) go to the crew. Also, as this becomes a more popular way to view movies - those without broadband will see the benefit of having broadband. The more people who want broadband, the lower the price becomes and the more broadband is laid.

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.

Re:Interesting idea

[nolife]

DVD pressed (which is the only acceptable commercial solution - burned products are not products at all)

HUH? Downloading seems to be acceptable, pressed DVD seem to be acceptable. DVD-R's are not? By who? There is no difference to the end user except for the color on the bottom of the disk.

Re:Interesting idea

[Acidic_Diarrhea]

DVD-R's are not? By who?

Me. The end user, depending on his or her knowledge, lifetime, and use, will see a difference.

Re:Interesting idea

[squiggleslash]

I'd actually be more inclined to go for the DVD-R myself, not knowing anything else about the DVD other than that. If it's -R (or -RW, or +R, or +RW, etc), you know for certain it's not encrypted or region encoded, and that it'll fit on one DVD-R. Backing it up, converting it to another format, etc, will be a lot easier.

The only downsides are a shorter life (but the fact it's copiable gets around that) and that about 5% of DVD players will not play it.

I can live with those limitations.

Re:Interesting idea

[calethix]

"DVDs need to be shipped and that introduces more cost to the consumer in which that cost in not going to the creator of the intellectual property. I would much rather have indie films stick to download only and have all my money (at a lower price as well) go to the crew."

Where do you live? I'd like to move to a place where the bandwidth needed to distribute movies is free.

Re:Interesting idea

[Acidic_Diarrhea]

I bet you would!

Re:Interesting idea

[squiggleslash]

Actually I am the "another poster". Heh.

As I said, to me it's more important that the DVD is back-up-able and convertable. I recall the complaint against DVDRs was made by someone who felt that streaming video was a valid alternative - I can't see how that can be. Of course, the preferable solution for me would be region free, CSS free, DVDs, with people who attempt to produce and market such things heavily fined or even jailed.

Re:Interesting idea

[nerph]

I don't know where you live, but in my world as demand increases, price goes up not down.

I know what you mean though. As economies of scale kick in the cost of supplying the service decreases thus increasing the supply side of things.

Of course this all assumes that the product is being sold in a competitive market so what the hell do I know?

Re:Interesting idea

[Archfeld]

there is significant difference in quality and overall playability. Pressed media is MUCH better, while dvd-r media is OK, there are all kinds of drives and firmware issues on older machines using dvd-r media vs commercial pressed disks. We see it with during builds all the time...On new hardware this would hardly be an issue I imagine...

Re:Interesting idea

[Lothsahn]

Your argument is false, because you are only considering the short run, not the long run. You have forgotten economies of scale. For instance, to build one car from scratch would cost millions of dollars, but to build a million cars from scratch costs only a few thousand. This is because the research and development costs, and the work required to tool a factory is shared among all the cars, not just placed upon one. That is why there are a small number of large car companies. Yes, as demand goes up, so does price (assuming the supply curve is constant). But that's short run economics. In the long run, once all market factors have settled, the price will be lower if there are economies of scale (efficiencies go up with an increase in production), and I would suspect that there are some very large economies of scale for broadband. However, if there are not economies of scale for broadband, then the price would be constant, or rise with an increase in demand over the long run. I do not believe this would be the case (for many factors).

DRM Laden

[Anonymous Coward]

with no Linux or Mac alternatives

If this is the future of film distribution where MS leads (and to hell with the EU antitrust violations
) then ill stick with stealing movies from hollywood in DVDRip.DIVX format

and congrats for buying the marketing for this flick, film distribution has been on the Internet for at least 4 years (IFILM etc)

Re:DRM Laden

[Anonymous Coward]

I have to say that I really want to see the UK film industry do well. But this is most certainly not the way to do it.

They cater for blind, deaf, and even people with mere 56k connections but they don't cater for anyone who doesn't use Microsoft. Not only that but there's a caption saying that this film will only play in the UK! Sheesh, talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

This must be one of the most hipporcritical and disgraceful displays I have ever seen. "This is not Hollywood" my ar*e!

Quiet frankly, if the British Film Industry thinks this is the future then they may as well all go home now!

Re:DRM Laden

[Afty0r]

They cater for blind, deaf, and even people with mere 56k connections but they don't cater for anyone who doesn't use Microsoft.

People who are blind or deaf did not choose to be so, many people on 56k connections do not have a faster alternative, on the other hand anyone who wants to can buy a Microsoft Operating System if they have a PC.

Try complaining on behalf of people who do not own a PC, as they cannot currently access it all.

Re:DRM Laden

[Geekboy(Wizard)]

*PLONK* I use a mac, you insensitive clod!

(And I *still* don't use a commercial OS)

Re:DRM Laden

[meringuoid]

People who are blind or deaf did not choose to be so, many people on 56k connections do not have a faster alternative, on the other hand anyone who wants to can buy a Microsoft Operating System if they have a PC. Try complaining on behalf of people who do not own a PC, as they cannot currently access it all.

Anyone who wants to can buy a PC. Having a Mac is your own choice.

Re:DRM Laden

[NanoGator]

"If this is the future of film distribution where MS leads (and to hell with the EU antitrust violations) then ill stick with stealing movies from hollywood in DVDRip.DIVX format"

Seems to me you should be helping the Open Source Community to develop a better alternative that works in Windows.

Come to think of it, where is the OSS Community on this topic?

Lisa, Miss Hoover, movies.

[pheared]

Indie Film Maker: Uhh, Industry? I don't think I can play your game. I think it's wrong.
Industry: Okay Indie Film Maker, I respect your moral objection.
[Presses the "Independent Thought Alarm" button under her desk.]

Get reel/real!

[z-kungfu]

They need to ditribute this in multiple formats if they want a chance in hell of making this work. It seems that the same people that go to see indy movies are the same people using linux and Mac. So they need to make it available to us.

Re:Get reel/real!

[grub]

Not necessary, at least not right off the bat. Recall that iTunes is Mac only and is raking in the cash. Catering to the Windows-only crowd is a very safe bet.. as distasteful as that may be.

Re:Get reel/real!

[Acidic_Diarrhea]

The same people who are using Linux and Mac are watching indie movies? Wow - that's quite a generalization. Of course this should be distributed in a format that can be played under a multitude of operating systems but if this is the company's first foray, catering to Windows-only (although as another poster pointed out, mplayer can play these files) is not a bad business strategy. Frankly, I'm not sure how you know that most people using Linux and Mac watch indie movies more than the public at large. Perhaps your friends who run Linux or Mac watch indie movies but as any basic statistics book will teach you - examples do not statistics make.

Re:Get reel/real!

[p4ul13]

It would be interesting if Apple was to develop an iTunes-like delivery system for movies. Heck, it seems they already have the code, but just need to tweak it to add DRM to quicktime or something like that. Could be neat....

Re:Get reel/real!

[smd4985]

I really doubt that. If the only people going to see Indie films are those using Linux or Mac, their target market is quite small and they have small chance for success. As much as I hate to see people tailoring their applications towards windows, they have to do it to give themselves a fighting chance.

Re:Get reel/real!

[blackmonday]

Perhaps you need to get real. What a shame, only 99% of computer users will be able to view the film. Mac users click here. As an avid OS X-er and wannabe film maker, this is probably the easiest way to distribute an indie movie. The encoder is free, and you have a massive audience. Politically correct around here? No. An intelligent choice for a broke movie director? Fuck yeah.

Re:Get reel/real!

[13Echo]

Linux and UNIX users can view the film. Its players have no problem with the WMV file format.

My problem is that they state that you need to be based in the UK to view the film. I don't live in the UK. What's the hang-up here? Is it because of the payment system that they are using?

It's not Linux that is my problem, it's that they aren't treating the Internet like the global village that it really is.

Re:Get reel/real!

[meme_police]

Some punk you are supporting such an unpunk format.

Re:Get reel/real!

[NanoGator]

"They need to ditribute this in multiple formats if they want a chance in hell of making this work. It seems that the same people that go to see indy movies are the same people using linux and Mac."

Uh right. The subject of the movie will attract the audience, not who clicks buttons on the computer. By far, most people are running Windows, and there's enough broadband for this to work.

This movie could potentially be successful, but if it's not, it's because the movie's not worth watching. Putting it on Windows is not the mistake here.

Re:Get reel/real!

[Drakkar]

How does it feel being left out for something not available in your country? Too many times there's something cool announced here on /. and to learn later that it's available for the US only. There's a world outside of your country you know.

Re:Get reel/real!

[lewp]

There's a world outside of your country you know.

Yeah, there is. At least until we invade it next week.

*pours gasoline all over karma*

Re:Get reel/real!

[13Echo]

Why do you assume that I live in the US? I merely think that it's a shame that it's only available in the UK. I could live in Asia, for all you know.

Re:Get reel/real!

[erth]

Just release it in Quicktime and everyone can watch :)

Windows only?

[VEGx]

For a sec I was excited, then went numb... If it's Window$ only, it can die as far as I'm concerned.

Re:Windows only?

[KDan]

Funnily enough, I think you'll probably find that the feeling is reciprocal coming from them - ie you can die, as far as they're concerned.

Not that I'm saying that it's a good thing that it's windows-only - I don't think it is. But just giving you a little free tour in the not-even-close-to-infinite-just-kinda-earth-sized perspective vortex.

Daniel

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.

Re:UK & Windows Only

[Zemran]

Do you have a point or are you just jealous?

Re:UK & Windows Only

[MikeHunt69]

Yes, but it's the first independent, low budget and full length film (The other one had a budget of 1.9Mil & was only 32min)

Re:UK & Windows Only

[glesga_kiss]

I'm having problems with the beeb website at the moment, so I cannot follow your link.

However, legitimate film distribution over the net has been around for many years. Atomfilms and Shockwave have have had short films and I'm sure the odd feature film on their website for at least five years. Jeez, the first time I ever saw Cartman getting an anal probe was on Shockwave.com, six months before the first series of South Park aired in the UK. I highly recommend Atomfilms site, lot's of good films to watch, free last time I checked.

What may be unique to the article's film, or the Cleese one you reference, is that it may be the first one that you have to pay for. But even then, Ardmaan's "Wallace and Grommit - Cracking Contraptions" was available only online, and you had to pay for it. That was about a year ago, IIRC.

I just got some broadband

[kacp]

...and I'd love to put it to some use. I'd pay and download this, even if it's something I don't fully like. I figure supporting this distobution would be the best way to show the industry that it would actually work. ...too bad I'm in the States. There other legal distobutions centers for indie movies out there online?

Re:I just got some broadband

[Jerf]

I'd pay and download this, even if it's something I don't fully like. I figure supporting this distobution would be the best way to show the industry that it would actually work.

You really shouldn't do that. You'll make the first sales look big, convincing the producer to dump more money into it and produce a bigger/more expensive product next time, probably on loans obtained based on initial performance, but you won't be around to buy the next one. The product will do that much worse.

If you hadn't artifically propped up the first movie, it would have tanked, and the producer would have moved on.

Now, your contribution is small so modify this message to speak in (small) probabilities instead of absolutes. (Reading truly well-qualified probability-based arguments is mentally tiring, which is probably why people don't bother to understand them and tend to mentally convert them back to absolutes. Please go the other way for this message.)

It's best not to tweak the market mechanism; they need the honest feedback. Inaccurate feedback can be costly.

not quote...

[Savatte]

independent films are being pushed out of the box office by blockbusters

Close, but true independent films are being pushed out of the way to make room for independent (low budget) films aiming to be blockbusters. It's not that art houses are going to be showing Bad Boys II or Freddy vs Jason, but that they would rather show My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Bend It Like Beckham over Gerry and The Secret Lives Of Dentists.

Re:not quote...

[MikeHunt69]

What is a 'true' independent film? One thats shot on S16mm for under 10k? Id much prefer a good story, well told to a film that passes inexperience in shooting, lighting and acting off as 'art'.

Re:not quote...

[bobbis.u]

So what are you saying? That in order to be a "true independent" film, it has to be a box office failure?

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!

They want to be underdogs

[fleener]

Only available in the UK? It seems like independent films want to be seen by as few people as possible, relishing their underdog status. I guess it wouldn't be an 'art film' if it went mainstream.

An internet debut announced around the world, yet only available to those living on the island. Woo hoo!

Re:They want to be underdogs

[p4ul13]

It might be that they're limiting the distrobution to the UK at this time in the hopes that they'll gain enough attention to get some actual screen showings in the states and other countries. Most hollywood films are released to the US and then their worldwide distrobution is largely affected by their performance here.

Re:They want to be underdogs

[Dicky]

An internet debut announced around the world, yet only available to those living on the island.

Um... I've seen this advertised/discussed in exactly 3 places now: the BBC (yes, the British Broadcasting Corporation), the GLLUG mailing list (that's the Greater London LUG) and here. Of them, I would only consider the BBC one to be an 'official' announcement and they are a British corporation, aiming at a British audience, paid for by the British tax-payer.

The amount of content on this site which is only available or in any way relevent to residents of the US is phenomenal. And that's largely okay, since this is effectively a US site. But you and others who are complaining that this is only available in the UK are only seeing a small example of what we see all the time.

In a more practical sense, I can think of at least three major reasons for the limitation:

• Another US/UK inbalance thing - we pay for bandwidth both ways because we have to pay for the privilege of talking to you guys. Streaming a movie could get really expensive really fast.
• This is an experiment - they are hoping to generate enough noise and support from this to get a US distribution deal.
• Um... forgot the third one. Argh. There was something to go in here. Really.

Re:They want to be underdogs

[hyphz]

The BBC has always been paid for by the taxpayer. In the UK, to watch TV you have to buy a license (!), which contributes towards the BBC.

This is also why the BBC has no advertising (except for adverts for itself) and thus runs programs and films all through without a break.

Re:They want to be underdogs

[efflux]

Ummm... no. Apparrently this kind of tax is called hypothecation.

It's cheaper to buy a DVD (even if I lived in UK)

[dcordeiro]

You see, even if it is only 3or 4 euros/dollars for the "token", you have to pay for the download time/bytes.

So, for some that have 56K/ISDN or a broadband connection with traffic limit (my isp makes me pay 50euros month for 2G and 2euros plus for every 100M), it's always cheaper to buy the damn thing.
Same applies to download/buy linux distributions.

But hey... you can always download it at work :P

You Make It Sound Like This Is New.....

[Serapth]

a film that is being distributed over the Internet because independent films are being pushed out of the box office by blockbusters

I hate to burst your bubble, but Indy flicks have *never* done well at theatres. Hell... half the big chains of theatres are owned by the major production companies... ( like Cinema City, Cineplex Odeon, etc... ).

Also, if you read the site... the film took a whopping *12*!!! days to film... um... unless you have a damned good photographer, and a butt load of luck, you just cant film a quality picture in 12 days. This looks more like an attempt to sell a movie, with the production efforts less then a "made for TV" movie, ever the internet... yawn...

As a side note, I would actually argue that indy flicks are doing a bit better for cinema coverage...

Crouching Tiger
Blair Witch 1,2,3,42,etc...
Shine
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

I would say we are seeing more independant films in the theatres then ever... as to being mostly sequels... well... its summer blockbuster time... traditionally, we see the big budget sequels this time of year. Also, when you look at the fact Freddy Vs Jason was the highest grossing film for what, 3 weeks... you know how craptastic the competition is!!!

Re:You Make It Sound Like This Is New.....

[Talia Starhawke]

As a side note, I would actually argue that indy flicks are doing a bit better for cinema coverage...

Blair Witch 1,2,3,42,etc...

Not that any of the Blair Witch movies deserved major cinema coverage...

Re:You Make It Sound Like This Is New.....

[Serapth]

I agree 310% on that... Blair witch was horrid, I still dont understand a) the hype or b) the fact it actually scared people.

Re:You Make It Sound Like This Is New.....

[mrtroy]

Lock stock is an impressive movie.

And i guarantee it wasnt made in 12 days

Make a movie worth buying on DVD...and people will buy it. Regardless if they can get it for free on the internet or not.

Re:You Make It Sound Like This Is New.....

[quigonn]

Then watch it alone, in the night, with all lights in your flat turned off, and you are going to be scared. Trust me. "Blair Witch Project" was the first movie to scare me under these circumstances.

Re:You Make It Sound Like This Is New.....

[Serapth]

No... no it wasnt... but it was an indy flick. Im talking about this movie though... not Lock Stock

Actually, Lock Stock and Snatch are too of my favorite flicks... im not saying all Indys suck... just this one :)

Re:You Make It Sound Like This Is New.....

[Serapth]

Actually, since I got a full 5.1 surround sound stereo... almost anything can scare me now... in the dark with surround sound cranked... yikes. Hell, the video game Silent Hill almost made me piss my pants twice ...

That said... even with a nice home theatre setup, cranked and in total darkness... Blair witch wouldnt scare me... I would be too distracted thinking up new and more obscene ways to kill they annoying bitch in that movie!!!

Re:You Make It Sound Like This Is New.....

[hyphz]

Ummm... this search is kinda duffo, I think.

As has already been mentioned, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon was made by Sony.

Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was made by Handmade Films, a long established company which was also responsible for The Life Of Brian and Time Bandits.

Blair Witch? *Made* by small companies, but *distributed* by Artisan Entertainment, a huge firm with over 224 films to their name.

Shine? Heh. Buena Vista International. Yep, they're indie alright, I mean, they're only Disney. (Huh.)

Careful now!

[Talia Starhawke]

Screen those downloads so you don't end up getting a renamed copy of Gigli.

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:only available for windows...

[maharg]

I believe xine and mplayer (to name but two) can play WMV ?

wait a minute...

[lockholm]

Hey! They're not the first - I made an internet video and plastered it to the internet for money long ago! Just like them, we thought out every aspect of filmmaking afresh and casted before writing the story! what, porn doesn't count? ...

Followed the next day by:

[TopShelf]

Jack Valenti Declares War on UK
Posted by grub on Sunday September 07, @3:07AM
from the SCO-school-of-customer-service dept.

Great concept

[stratjakt]

It took about 5 seconds of the trailer to realize that this isn't merely an "indy film", but an amateur film done by a couple college kids with a handycam.

And if the UK Film Council as analgous to the National Film Board of Canada, then I'm sure the movie is just some tripe to justify ridiculous "promotion of the arts" grants.

But, this is what we need. Actual CONTENT on the internet. Broadband is still expensive, and on the decline, because people realize there's no need for it. Put legal movies, TV shows, etc, promote the hell out of them.

I've wondered if this would ever work; Comcast is big on their new video-on-demand thing, but why cant they set up a few fat-ass servers local to each station, cram them full of media, and let consumers download the stuff.

They could relax bandwidth caps on "locally downloaded" stuff. It's cheap for them, since there's no edge-bandwidth being used, and a great feature for the end-users and a great way to push cable internet over DSL. In a nutshell, this is what video-on-demand is, only it requires a special little box to use. They could take it much further though, cache popular stuff from download.com, or the latest game demos and previews. Only cost to them is a decent server farm with lots of storage.

Just a thought if any cable internet operators are listening.

Re:Great concept

[GreenCrackBaby]

"It took about 5 seconds of the trailer to realize that this isn't merely an "indy film", but an amateur film done by a couple college kids with a handycam."

To quote the article: "It's very low--budget, it's made with really just a cast of two people, it's almost like a two hander, it was designed very specifically for this end."

This is not a film by college kids, but by the same guy that made The Full Monty, and apparently one of the actors also is cast in the Harry Potter movies.

Regardless, I agree that this is exactly what we need. Content like this can only add value to the net, and has the potential to undermine the movie and music businesses as more and more people realise that they can make their money without the **AA's involvement.

Re:Great concept

[stratjakt]

When I looked up that Bille Minginbam (or whatever his/her name is) on imdb I didn't see The Full Monty in the filmography, only a couple made-for-UK-TV movies.

IMMS

[Councilor Hart]

Hopefully it doesn't end here.
I live in Europe and I have to download most TV-series from kazaa. It's the only thing that keeps virtual pc around.
Why do I download them?
1) I like to see them.
2) They are not (yet) available. I don't want to be 2 or 3 years behind USA.
3) I only watch that what is worth watching, and thus worth downloading. I don't spend that much time on worthless TV-junk anymore.

However, I don't download movies. The quality sucks. I go to apple trailer site and to movie reviews sites, and a lot to the theaters. Actually I have been going more lately. I prefer to view less movies in the theatre then more (rented or downloaded) movies a smal screen with lousy sound quality.

Now, au contraire to popular /. thinking, I recognise the hard work put in, and that it deserves rewarding.
I could buy the DVD, if they are even available. But I find that wasted money if you only watch it once. Actually I bought the LOTR extended edition and I only saw it once so far.

So I am waiting for something like IMovie Movie Store (ref: ITMS), with the same rights as for ITMS and the same price-range or lower.

I hope it ain't whishfull thinking. Afterall most of the world is still waiting for ITMS.

Get this: I don't want to steal. But I don't want to get ripped of either.
Some movies and TV-series are worth having on DVD. But most are mindless entertainment, that isn't worth paying much.

Yeah!

[renelicious]

Hey I finally get to complain because some is NOT avalaible in the US.

DAMN IT! Its not fair, we always get left out with stupid UK only stuff!

Excellent!

[91degrees]

I'll download it and burn to CD to watch on my TV. Oh... It's not available in MPEG. Ah sod it, I'll ignore it then.

Re:Excellent!

[91degrees]

Really?

I've got a 28" widescreen TV, a comfy sofa and a decent sound system. It's on a different floor from my PC.

Re:It's cheaper to buy a DVD (even if I lived in U

[lederhosen]

There is an advantage when downloading.
You can have you debian sid updated
every day, and *that* would be a problem
without the net.

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? :)

Re:Showing at..

[Nexus Seven]

I saw "Pulp Fiction" at the Cornerhouse in Manchester.
All I can remember was the complete lack of air conditioning. Mmm toasty.

Good for promoting DVD sales

[MarkWatson]

I believe that independent film producers could make a decent amount of money by doing the following:

• Make low res Quicktime and MPEG versions of their movies available for free download and viewing.
• Bundle collections of their movies on a single DVD and sell it inexpensively.

This could cut out the middleman so the film producers might make enough money to support their art.

After finally getting broadband at the beginning of this year, I really enjoyed the Sundance online film festival (for those of us who did not make it to the actual festival).

I would have liked to be able to buy low cost DVDs of the Sundance movies - wish they had been available.

-Mark

Though the day after that:

[AkaXakA]

Kazaa distributes Film over Internet
Posted by michael on Saturday September 08, 11:48PM
from the good-thing-i-remembered dept.

This is something NEW?

[StewedSquirrel]

The irony here is that in most other areas of society, companies (those with money) LEAD THE CHARGE in moving technology to new areas where it has never gone before.

The entertainment industry, however; is stuck playing a piss-poor attempt of "catch up" to the nerds sitting in their bedrooms casually typing code for the sheer fun of it.

What does that say about corporate motivation to pursue new and efficient methods of distribution. We're moving into an era in every industry (not just software and entertainment), where companies have realized that it is CHEAPER and EASIER to pay off the government and fund a legal team than it is to pay some good engineers and forward-thinkers to develop new ides.

Instead of pushing new ideas forward on their own merit, they're trying to legislate to make OLD ideas stick around so they can sit back and watch the money flow without having to expend any effort.

Sad, sad state.

The worst part is that the politicians LOVE it because of the amount of money flowing into their coffers.

Bleh.

Stewey

New? It seems a bit old to me...

[jonathan_the_ninja]

Just the other day I was about to download the Return of the King, but there was a very large queue.

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.

What's the point?

[BlankTim]

Are they trying to make some type of stand against "The Media Business"?
Great idea.

Too bad they had to play the same stupid trick the big studios play with DVD's
Limited distribution locations and formats.

Thanks for playing! Try again some other time!

Details on IMDB a year ago

[Peachy]

See details here on IMDB. It's got a quite an early review, given back in November 2002, on there. One of the reviews says "The film is shot with what looks like a video camera and then blown up for the screen. The results are dire.". Sounds like a duffer.

Re:Playing in Linux

[BlankTim]

As does Windows Media Player:mac

www.mactopia.com

The perils of centralised distribution....

[hughk]

I really love the idea of being able to spend about $5-6 on a film which I then own and can rewatch. I think the idea of being able to get the independents is even better, bypassing the vertically integerated distribution system that only chooses what they think are blockbusters.

The problem is distribution. I don't know how big this film is, but a good quality movie rip can easily be between 700MB to 1.4GB of data in XViD format, more if in another form like SVCD. P2P works because of the cooperative downloads and uploads which gives several hundred sources for some films. I don't know the file sizes for the new system, but getting a large file out to a lot of people over a shorting period of time is painful (ask RedHat about ISOs, for example).

If someone is downloading, they can also almost simultaneously upload, meaning that large files propagate in a few days amongst thousands of people relatively efficiently.

What is interesting is that not everyone deletes the downloads so thez can act as a kind of 'memory', distributing storage cost across the P2P system. Between the systems connected to a P2P system, the collective capacity dwarfs anything that a single business can offer.

Ok, we have established that centralised distribution of very large files doesn't really work. P2P for very large files does work (particularly the more capable ones that allow files to be segmented with one being made available for upload as soon as it is downloaded) and it is a suprising efficient way of distribution.

The problem is how to make P2P movie distribution into a business proposition. Perhaps compensate P2P users who offer movies for upload as well as just downloading. The problem is that the 'anti-leach' mechanism on many P2P networks is broken.

I love movies, especially some of the smaller independent stuff, however getting to see it at a local arthouse isn't easy as they frequently have very short programme runs.

The last point is that I don't want any of this 'UK-only' or 'US-only' rubbish. I know this is also connected with the rights, which are still country based, but nowadays it is outmoded to limit Internet based distribution in this way.

trailer

[Hard_Code]

Did anybody understand the trailer? I for one was not left with any idea of what the movie was about. Some guys in a car screaming. Some people get thrown into a barn. Somebody shoots a shotgun. Somebody pushes a boulder. Techno music throughout. What the hell is this about, why would I want to watch it, and what does it have to do (or not to do) with a love song?? I'm not really impressed by the i'm-more-clever-and-hip-than-you trailers that don't give any indication of wtf a movie is about. Especially if they are trying to gain a following in an alternative distribution channel.

Re:only available for windows...

[znaps]

I think I know why your karma is low...

But But But....

[magoolsu]

This might be a stupid question, but isn't the quality of the movie going to be pretty crappy? Even on a good internet connection it still takes a long time to download decent quality movies. Why not wait and get the movie on dvd for the same price and a much better qaulity movie.

I could see so many ways this could go bad.

I love my wife!

Re:But But But....

[NanoGator]

"Why not wait and get the movie on dvd for the same price and a much better qaulity movie. "

Why pay more for the movie if it sucks? It's not a special effects movie, the visual quality increase wouldn't be worth paying $20 or so. A few minutes into the movie, you won't even notice the quality.

Re:free distribution, too good?

[javatips]

Setting the region restrictions if very straingh forward. They just have to check that the address registered with the credit card is in the UK. It's even possible that the country restrictions is due to the contract they have with the credit card validation company which will charge them less money to validate only "local" credit cards.

Crouching Tiger is "Indy?"

[Valdrax]

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was no "indy" film. The film studio that made the movie was Sony Pictures Classics, one of the largest and best funded film houses in Asia and a part of the same Sony that is a member of the MPAA. A mere glance at the film should tell you that this was a high-budget feature backed by a large company. Just because something's not made by Hollyhood doesn't mean that it's "indy."

Re:Crouching Tiger is "Indy?"

[Serapth]

My bad, I should have researched that example before posting... I had a wierd feeling about it while I was typing it. I thought Sony picked the rights up to it, after it was released in the asian markets... my mistake.

WM9 projected in a movie theater...

[turnstyle]

A little while ago I was lucky enough to go to the screening for "Standing In The Shadows Of Motown" at the Apollo Theater here in NYC.

It was sponsored in part by Microsoft as a vehicle to show off WM9 for theater use.

I must say it was pretty impressive -- the whole movie was projected from one DVD disk (though not the standard DVD compression) through hi-res projectors. It looked great -- the only time I really noticed was on the credits -- thin white text on a black background brings out the compression artifacts.

The cost of a DVD vs. a huge reel of film is substantial -- but the question, in part, is whether theaters will install the pricey projectors...

Not Legal in EU

[DOsinga]

I very much doubt whether this is legal in the EU. With the internal market directive, you can't really sell something to people from one EU country and not to another (or even charge differently depending on the country).

- -
Help draw the world map of our collective minds.

Re:Not Legal in EU

[Ezelhaar]

I agree with comment and I think the draw the world map project is really great.

Re:Not Legal in EU

[tolan-b]

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

Re:Not Legal in EU

[DOsinga]

Well, not really. They can charge different prices in the UK and Germany, but not different prices to people from the UK and Germany. Also, if they sell the PS2 in Germany for less than in Austria, they cannot stop anybody from cross importing the stuff.

- - - -
Help draw the world map of our collective minds.

uhhh, no.

[Anonymous Coward]

At a time when everything on seems to be a sequel it would be nice to have something original on the silver screen, ....

Judging from what I saw on the trailer, the film doesn't look like a sequel to any existing film -- looks just like another amateurish independent feature shot on mini-DV. Personally I don't need another BlairWitch to come along. I rather go atomfilms and watch shorts.

WM9 projected in a movie theater...

[turnstyle]

A little while ago I was lucky enough to go to the screening for "Standing In The Shadows Of Motown" at the Apollo Theater here in NYC.

It was sponsored in part by Microsoft as a vehicle to show off WM9 for theater use.

I must say it was pretty impressive -- the whole movie was projected from one DVD disk (though not the standard DVD compression) through hi-res projectors. It looked great -- the only time I really noticed was on the credits -- thin white text on a black background brings out the compression artifacts.

The cost of a DVD vs. a huge reel of film is substantial -- but the question, in part, is whether theaters will install the pricey projectors...

Not so

[segment]

Independent films aren't being pushed out of the box office. The problems with indy lies in distribution. Just because you see more mainstream films in the theaters doesn't mean hollywood is shafting indy filmmakers, it just means that bigger fish have more money to promote their film and get it out to the public.

IndieDVD, an artist-friendly alliance of independent filmmakers, assembles collections of independent film, animation and video to distribute on compilation DVDs as well as full-length feature films. We strive to include special DVD features and effects that enhance the viewing experience and are unavailable in traditional viewing formats like VHS. These may include such special features as director's commentary, additional camera angles and alternate endings.

Took me one minute to find a distributor for DVD so I wouldn't know what would be the problem or the complaint. Sure it's not information on releasing to the theaters, but I didn't put effort into looking too much since I'm at work so I find the statement about not finding distribution a nit too harsh, maybe someone isn't lookintg hard enough.

Re:Not so

[jester]

I'd agree that the distribution is the problem, yet in the UK virtually all cinemas are owned by the major hollywood labels and hence it isnt rocket science to realise what they will do in their cinemas ... show their own films, regardless of whatever distribution. The only current way for a UK film to make it to the box office is to have a significantly high enough profile to get shown at a handful of cinemas.

In other European countries they have the IMHO better idea of having a law that states that a percentage of all films shown in cinemas MUST be from that country. I forget the percentage in Spain, but it is the order of 50%, and as a result the public get the opportunity to see home-grown films, and in their own language. The hollywood films still get shown ,but have significantly shorter runs due to the laws. If only the UK would consider a law of this ilk

Re:It's cheaper to buy a DVD (even if I lived in U

[Anonymous Coward]

UK broadband isn't charged per megabyte or whatever, yet.

So if you lived in the UK, it wouldn't be cheaper to buy the DVD, assuming you had broadband.

O/T - Your sig

[dubstop]

How did you manage to not have the domain for the url in square brackets?

quality

[razorshine]

hi guys, I have seen the digital film.. the 300mb file is amazing quality - looked great on a full screen 21" monitor. if you want a review of the film there is one on the bbc somewhere

My review of This is Not a Love Song

[ccnull]

Not a bad movie at all -- should definitely have gotten a bigger release.

filmcritic.com review here

Re:only available for windows...

[VEGx]

I can't blame you, coz it's /. but I want to yell at you... using words like "read" and "fsck" and "article"... well, web pages, not article. True, there is a WMP for Mac OS X, but it's v.7 as far as I know... and the site says it has to be v.9... And even if that were not a problem... it DOES say: "You will need... "-To be running Microsoft Windows XP, 98 SE, ME, or 2000" So, either they LIE and you can watching on a Mac, or you are wrong and it's mono-platform release...

This is not something to be ridiculed

[Attaturk]

Hang on a second, this is /. isn't it? I see a fair few responses looking to poke fun at the movie makers but shouldn't this be something we praise? Well let's take a look:

Pros:

• An independant movie maker cutting out the MPAA-friendly 'Hollywood scene' altogether.
• Direct distribution.
• Low fee for download - about a fifth of the price of a cinema ticket.
• Different quality levels available and the ability to store the movie and rewatch it.
• The movie is also available on DVD and in the cinema so the consumer has plenty of options on what they pay for and what they get.
• Some nice taglines: "This is not Hollywood", "This is not conventional", "This is not the end of cinema" etc.
• Written by the guy that wrote The Full Monty.

Cons:

• "UK-only" online release
• DRM-tastic you can't watch it on any other PC than the one you downloaded it on. Until you've cracked it naturally. You've effectively paid your money to 'rent' the movie on that machine (in fairness the download fee is about the same as a 2 night DVD/VHS movie rental, which you have to return).
• M$ Windows only
• M$ Windows Media Player 9 only
• Limited availability online - they're taking it offline on Sept 19th (subject to change), which means they've got a two week hype window for a movie that we'd have otherwise never heard of.
• "This is not the Blair Witch Project" should read "We want to be a flash-in-the-pan Internet phenomenon like the BWP.
• Biggest cast member seems to be a bit-part from Harry Potter.
• Flash used as basis for website not as enhancements to it.
• Franki and Jonny may need to calm down a little and explore some other web technologies. ;-)

Oh and the director is virtually unknown but has achieved the respect of some of those that have seen his work.

In short this looks like a truly great idea hijacked by a bunch of overzealous marketing types that now see the Blair Witch symbol as more potent icon than the dollar symbol. As a result it's now just a-n-other overhyped budget movie release.

Re:This is not something to be ridiculed

[NanoGator]

"DRM-tastic you can't watch it on any other PC than the one you downloaded it on. Until you've cracked it naturally. You've effectively paid your money to 'rent' the movie on that machine (in fairness the download fee is about the same as a 2 night DVD/VHS movie rental, which you have to return)."

The movie's only $4. That's far cheaper than a one-time/I-better-schedule-around-it movie at a theater.

I don't know why you guys are picking on them about that, at least they're not time-bombing it. Lighten up.

Re:only available for windows...

[tolan-b]

I'm not sure that xine and mplayer support the drm features of WMP, unless they're built into the codec.

You could always visit Toronto

[FreedomOfSpea-MMNnnf]

Our International Film Festival has way smaller movies than this dude's... and bigger ones too, sadly the biggest draws are the "soon to be blockbusters" Hollywood flicks. Film fests offer a great place to showcase indy films, but I gotta agree that the net is going to revolutionize the way films are distributed and marketed and eventually purchased by the highest bidder (e-bay maybe even...)

Not a first -- 8 years late

[danguyf]

"Knowing and sometimes sweetly funny, director/co-writer Daisy von Scherler Mayer's [1995] debut ['Party Girl', starring Parker Posey,] made online history by being the first feature film to be sneak-previewed in its entirety (albeit in short, jerky segments) on the Internet."

source

downtime

[razorshine]

hi guys, some guys think its funny to do a DOS attack on the servers - we are obviously trying to deal with this but unfortunately its not limited to a few people. Sorry for the downtime, Riaz Head of Tech, First Media

Re:downtime

[razorshine]

just trying to keep you guys updated..

Too bad...

[danger42]

Too bad Filthy's not here to see this.

Sniff.

Re:Too bad...

[MatthewB79]

Is he really dead? I thought he was just on vacation or something. Maybe being lazy?

before downloading read this review of the film

[Anonymous Coward]

Rarely has a title been so appropriate. The British film This Is Not A Love Song proves to be such an excruciating experience.

Just after picking up his buddy Spike (Michael Colgan) who's been released from jail, Heaton (Kenneth Glenaan) runs out of gas in the English countryside. Looking for gas-and more-on a nearby farm, they struggle with a farmer and in the process Spike kills his daughter with a shotgun. Chased by angry locals who have decided to take justice into their own hands, they will try to reach the closest city to escape the angry mob.

Director Billie Eltringham's work suffers from a total absence of originality and substance, her film looking like the bastard son of Trainspotting and Deliverance. Spike, a carbon copy of a Trainspotting character, is a dumb hooligan walking around with a boombox while Heaton is the badly shaved big brother figure who looks after him. The Rambo-like premise is obviously only a pretext to offer a succession of moments between the two characters. Unfortunately neither of the characters interesting nor are the dialogues witty or funny. While following the flat interaction and boring adventures of this duo we don't care about, one only hopes for the "mean farmers" to catch them soon so that our pain will finally be over.

Messy direction and plot holes provide additional obstacles, not to the partners-in-crime, but to the audience. Billie Eltringham's style oscillates between amateur digital filmmaking and unnecessary kinetic shots. The director is sometimes so busy playing with her camera like a maniac that she annihilates the impact of the scenes. Thus, we never get to understand how Spike could have killed the girl, even if he said it was an accident, because Eltringham was making big circles with the camera. In addition, the film is shot in the usual grainy de-saturated colors used to emphasize crisis in British social dramas, which totally undermines the beauty of the British countryside. As for the characters, we learn that Heathon served in the army (of course!), which allows a couple of out-of-the-blue Rambo-type tricks in the forest. In another scene, Heaton uses yellow plastic bags to make ponchos--a perfect camouflage, unless it's humor!

For those unfamiliar with P.I.L.'s anthem, "This Is Not A Love Song", the single is played as a recurrent theme throughout the movie; while trying to create some irony, it results in a lack of subtlety. In the end, we are left with the fact that Spike is dumb and a coward, what we knew from the beginning, and the feeling of having been robbed of the cost of a movie ticket by these two thugs.

Fred Thom

http://www.plume-noire.com/movies/reviews/thisisno talovesong.html

Re:before downloading read this review of the film

[too_bad]

Not bad for 3 pounds Eh ?

There's still a catch

[ProfessionalCookie]

The catch for most of you reading is that it is only for people in the UK.

The real catch is it's Windows Media Player Format.

Re:It's cheaper to buy a DVD (even if I lived in U

[Huge Pi Removal]

At the Watershed here in Bristol, we've just shown it. For free. On a nice big screen. Quality was pretty good. We're showing it twice a day for the rest of the weekend.

(Hehe, just watching the BBC report: the reporter used an Apple Mac to view it. Fake! Fake! You'll see me briefly if you go and watch the 6 o'clock bulletin online - report is 24 minutes ish in :) )

Gone Already!

[reality-bytes]

Well, they're down now.

This appears to be as a result of a combined DoS attack by the MPAA and BMI along the slashdot effect.

Its a real pain, it's not often I feel like getting the plastic out of my wallet!

this reminds me of Pattern Recognition

[WhiteDragon]

Pattern Recognition by William Gibson is a very cool use of this idea. An unknown source has "leaked" fragments of a mysterious film onto the Internet, causing an almost cult following.

BUZZ, wrong, try again.

[Kappelmeister]

You are confusing the production entity of a movie and the distributor.

Crouching Tiger was produced by Good Machine International, which (until it was bought out last year to become Focus Features, the indie "arm" of a studio) was an 800 pound gorilla of East Coast indie production. James Schamus -- one of my film professors here at Columbia -- raised financing from smaller companies and private investors worldwide. (Schamus and director Ang Lee discuss the complicated financing on the DVD, in the scenes near the end of the movie in the cave.)

Sony Pictures Classics purchased the film for distribution. They invested money in making duplicate prints, sending them to theaters, and the like. (I'm not totally sure of what the division of labor was, but that's an educated guess.) That does not rob the film of "indie" status. If it did, there would be almost no indie movies at all, since self-distributing your film is a Herculean task almost no one tries to do. What is a threshold for "indie" for you anyway? Was Good Machine small enough or should it have been made by two guys and a Arriflex? (no vituperation intended.)

Personally, I think that the main benefit of the 'net will not be in home-user distribution. Rather, there will be a proliferation of art houses that use satellites to download digitally distributed movies for little distribution cost.

Those prints I mentioned cost a lot. Thousands of dollars to copy the film once and send it to one theater. Smaller distributors make only a few prints and then cycle them around the country, beating them up royally. Big distributors make it up in the economy of scale, but for small ones, those costs could mean a world of difference. Since an exhibitor would also save the cost of getting people to handle and change the reels, it could have four different indies play on a screen over the course of a single day.

That's the promise we should be looking at, in my opinion. Home Internet delivery robs viewers of the whole social aspect of moviegoing, as well as a HUGE amount of quality. Imagine buying a DVD that gave you a 320x200, 15fps image with 22Khz mono sound, not to say those are the specs for this particular movie being premiered.

Re:A thought occurs to me...

[NanoGator]

"..Are we supposed to be excited that we can "watch it as many times as we want" because it's infected with DRM, and we can only copy it as many times as *they* want?"

I got news for ya buddy, the other movie sites have a "pay $4 to watch it within 24 hours" policy. This is a step above the previous attempts. If it's successful, then it'll force other struggling movie sites to change their policy.

I understand and agree with what you're saying, but you have to understand the PoV that the parent poster was coming from.

Re: it's that they aren't treating the Internet li

[Nucleon500]

Now I can understand not caring about (somewhat) open formats because it doesn't affect you personally. I can understand it may not profitable. I consider it giving up just a little freedom, but you're free to do that. But why are you so vehemently opposed to other people promoting open standards? Why don't you shuddup!

Free movie

[efflux]

What's stopping someone from just going here: http://http.firstmedia.speedera.net/http.firstmedi a/filmcouncil/4564654154698/tinals-103587012200315 124783255.wmv and saving the movie? Play it in a player that doesn't care about DRM. Of course, you can't do this in ie since it'll try to launch Windows Media player. Right now http grabber is downloading about 293 megs... so I think there's nothing stopping me....

"This is not working"

[Attaturk]

Sorry to reply to my own post but apparently we've killed it already.

From their site:

"This is not working. We are currently experiencing a temporary technical problem in the delivery of the film," said the message.

"Our team is working on the delay and the film will be back online as soon as possible.

"This is a world first - thank you for bearing with us."

They had all my sympathies until the mentioned that "world first" line again.

The Junkies

[daffmeister]

In a similar vein check out The Junkies, a half-hour sitcom pilot revolving around three junkies which was not picked up by any of the UK stations.

Despite the low budget (GBP 3500) it's very good.

Didn't quite work

[t_allardyce]

Seems it didnt survive the slashdotting, Internet film launch stalled. Oh well, i can always go down to the river and see that guy sitting in a glass box...

Re:Tommorrow's /. Headline:GI Joe

[be-fan]

Can anyone tell me what this dialouge is from?

kid1: "You there cooking?"
kid2: "Yeah dude."
kid1: "Ewww, Ahhhh."
kid2: "BAAAABAAABAAABAAABAAA, BAABAABAABBAABA!"
dude: "Pork chop sandwiches.
Ohhh, shit. Get the fuck out! What are
you doing, go get the fuck out of here
you stupid idiot! Fuck we're all dead.
Get the fuck out!"
dude: "My god did that smell good!"
kid2: "Detect it, did you no going in you tell
me do things I done runnin."

If you can, then you know the comedy of this bit. For those of you who don't know this, then solve this code and you shall find the answer:

HJ KPF

Note: this is a simple code, just rotate the
alphabet.

Hint: Military cartoon.

Awesome idea!

[robd003]

Awesome idea, I just hope that when more film companies catch on they'll use a format thats multi-platform. (cough) DiVX (cough)

UK only and can't watch it on dvd player

[wolverine1999]

It's bad enough it's uk only and not just that,
you can't convert it for viewing on a DVD player.