‘Relationship Status’ on Home Video & the Intricacies of Distribution as a Malaysian Indie Filmmaker

Before everyone starts asking “where can I get this?!”, here’s the bad news - this is just a test print I did to see how the covers might be. The good news is, I’m actually awaiting the basic quotes for the printing of the DVD’s which I am hoping (fingers crossed) to release in March, as well as on other formats as well.

Why March? A number of reasons. Firstly, as far as the DVD is concerned, I don’t believe in just releasing a DVD with the movie on it and want to get all the extras done. I also need to finalize some of the possible video-on-demand deals and even then that may not come out in March but later on down the line, depending on how quickly the respective parties can get back to me. And then there’s a bunch that needs to be researched and sorted out with regards to on-line streaming, downloads, etc.

So if you missed the flick or simply want to watch it again or if you’re a budding indie filmmaker who’d like to find out the details on how I’ve been going about trying to get the movie released on home video, do read on.

(As always, this is gonna be one of them lengthy posts, so if you’d rather read a blog featuring three short paragraphs and pics of the blogger smiling with the two finger peace sign, please feel free to add to their growing number of followers.)

DVD: Jam Packed or Single Serving?

I strongly believe I owe a good part of my filmmaking knowledge (what little I have) to the DVD commentaries and extras of films by directors like Robert Rodriguez (seriously, any DVD by him is worth it just for the commentary and the extras. El Mariachi’s DVD is practically a film school course for low budget filmmaking).

The one I’m really looking forward to is the DVD commentary. There’s definitely gonna be one with me and Gavin (Yap) who appears to be really psyched about it, together with anyone else we might get on that one. Then there’ll be a second commentary of just me going through the whole filmmaking process.

I also want to put in a bunch of the making-of footage and of course, how can we forget the blooper reel? There are way too many entertaining bloopers on the making of this movie and they have to make their way on this somehow. There’ll also be a couple of deleted scenes (quite a large chunk of the original script was cut out even though it was shot) and I also want to get the subtitles properly done for both English and Malay.

Now remember, this isn’t a movie with a budget, so a good chunk of this month will be spent translating and typing the subtitles ourselves, either myself or my intern (though let’s face facts - it’ll probably be my intern).

I wanted to put Hokkien subtitles, only to be told it’s not a written language. Ah, well…

The only problem with putting all this stuff onto the DVD is whether to make it a single layer DVD or dual layer. I’d rather go dual layer so that the movie isn’t too compressed but we’ll have to wait and see. I may end up doing a single layer ‘vanilla’ disc of just the movie and the ‘dual layer’ version packed with extras, with different pricing.

Then, a few years down the line, I’ll do the ‘special edition directors cut’ with previously unseen footage, performances replaced via CGI and add a shot where Gavin looks up into the sky with his arms out yelling “NOOOOOOOOOOO…!”

(Yes, I pulled a Star Wars reference. And yes, I probably will go watch Phantom Menace in 3D, against my better judgement).

Since I have a blu-ray burner, I may also sell blu-rays printed on-demand for those who enjoy watching movies in HD. I’ve gotta admit, getting a HD TV has made me want to watch movies in HD more whilst all my old BBC sitcoms look really bad now.

The jokes are still good, though, HD or no HD.

Streaming, Downloads and the Wonders of the Interwebs

At the same time (or perhaps even earlier) as the DVD release, I am hoping to be able to sort out the ways in which you can watch the movie on your PC or mobile device of choice. I say ‘hoping’ because though many on twitter have been asking for it, I wish it was as easy as just putting it up on a server.

The first annoying hurdle is the services available to offer video-on-demand online. The two ways that I’d like to offer the movie on-line is streaming and downloads.

For streaming, there are actually quite a few wonderful services that exist via known web companies such as Amazon and YouTube… but they’re only available for America and Canada which bugs me to no end. I’ve been going through a few others and I’ve managed to find one service that should be ok.

At the moment, though, if I manage to sort out a streaming rental system, it will either be available for Malaysia only or at the most within the South East Asia region. The reason for this is that I’m sending ‘Relationship Status’ out to international festivals at the moment. Whilst I don’t pin much hope in the film getting an international distributor via festivals, it may effect the film from getting shown if it’s already streaming worldwide online.

Sorry, citizens of America and the rest of the world, but look at it this way - we don’t get to use Netflix, Amazon video-on-demand, YouTube movie rentals, not even the iTunes store for movies and TV shows - so now you kinda get the idea as to how frustrating it is. I wanted to rent ‘Hobo With A Shotgun’ and ‘Red State’ desperately, but had to watch from the sidelines, weeping like a little bitch.

Besides, once it’s made the rounds internationally if it doesn’t get picked up by anyone I’ll take off the region-limitations, so you’ll probably get to watch it later in the year.

All seven of you.

For downloads, it’s the opposite problem - there are too many services out there that offer pay-for-digital-downloads services and the tricky part right now is figuring out which ones are legit, which ones are decent and whether or not I should be using a free or paid service. I don’t want to put something up then have to alter the payment system again.

I also want to make sure it’s as simple as possible for Malaysians to pay on-line to stream/download the movie. Not everyone has Unifi set up and not everyone pays for things on-line and when they do, it’s usually via bank transfer. Strangely, that’s the trickiest part when it comes to the on-line payments for digital downloads. Hopefully, I’ll figure out a way.

The second hurdle that needs to be dealt with is whether or not I’ll be allowed to put it up on-line in the first place. The reason I say this is because I want to be able to sell some of the home video rights to a video-on-demand channel or television network so we’ll have to see what the deal is.

Some of you may say “screw trying to sell the rights! You’re supposed to be indie, dammit!” Yes, this is an indie, no-budget flick. It’s so no-budget, that nobody got paid. Not a cent, nada. The box-office will cover most of the cost of making the flick and releasing it, but I want to be able to make at least one decent home video deal with the rights so that I can give the actors and crew a little somethin’-somethin’ for their efforts. I wanna hire these people again and as much as they’ll all tell you how much they liked making the movie, I know for a fact they’d also like to be able to put food on the table. It’s the least I can do and God knows they deserve more than just a “thank you”.

Plus, let’s not bullshit here - I’d like to be able to put food on the table too.

Make no mistake, though, I want to get this movie out on-line desperately, and it’s gonna be one of the deal-breakers when I go through the offers (if any) for the home video rights. Getting the DVD and some form of internet viewing, be it streaming or downloads, released as soon as possible is very important to me so unless they offer huge wads of cash for perpetual rights I’m going to try and hold on to that as much as I can.

Of course, that all depends on whether or not there will be any offers for the home video rights to begin with, which brings me on to my next point…

Video on Demand and the Curious Case of Astro First

A lot of people have been asking whether the movie will be on Astro First. Some are even flat out demanding it. Now, I would love to get it on Astro First so that you guys can watch it in a way that is easy for you and something you’re accustomed to, but it is here where I have to make a confession.

I don’t know how to get the movie onto Astro First.

I really, really don’t. I wouldn’t know who to call, how to go about it, none of that. I’ve also heard from some people that the deal for indie filmmakers isn’t that great and like I said earlier, I don’t want to sell off the rights if it’s not worth it or if the terms and conditions make it difficult for me to do all the other stuff I want to do with the flick.

I think a lot of people also don’t realize how ‘indie’ this film is - the release is pretty much handled by me, my PM, my AD and my intern, and only when they have the time to help me. There’s also my producer who’s overseas sorting out which festivals to send it to, but that’s it. So believe me when I say I don’t have a clue as to how to get it on Astro First and if anyone out there reading this can hook me up and vouch for the deal I’ll jump on it like a kangaroo on a bouncy castle, but until then I sadly don’t know how to go about it.

(UPDATE: I actually just had a meeting today with someone who’s working with Astro on a show and may be able to hook me up with contact deets. Fingers crossed, humans…)

I do, however, know how to get it onto HyppTV (the Unifi IPTV package) because I got ‘Ciplak’ on it, and I’m currently pursuing that. There’s also a few other possible calls I’ll be making for other possible home video sales so we’ll see how that goes.

The tricky thing about all this, though, is the ‘exclusivity’ that a lot of these deals demand when it comes to home video rights. Some may ask for exclusivity within the same format, others will ask that the film not be shown on any other format for a set duration, some ask that it be delayed on other formats. Some may even ask for international exclusivity.

Needless to say, I’ll be going through a lot of paperwork this coming month. We’ll see how that goes. I just hope that I’ll be able to release it in the other formats - DVD and on-line - as soon as possible.

I wish all the home video sales weren’t delayed compared to other movies, but those other movies are being put out by people who have staff whereas I managed to burn myself out mentally and physically by the time the movie was on its second week. Hopefully by the next film I’ll have minions to do my biding but until then it’s me and my peeps, which isn’t to say that I regret it. Working with my friends is the whole point of all this and I’m insanely grateful for all the help I’ve gotten in releasing this film because without all the support I probably would have had a heart attack two days before the press preview.

I Have A Dream. A Dream… of an E-Store

If you’ve read this far you must really want the DVD or want to download the flick and are probably asking how you’re going to buy the damn thing in the first place. Will the DVD be in shops, for example.

Well, the answer to that is a tricky one but at the moment the answer is probably no.

The process of getting a DVD in stores doesn’t just require printing the DVD and re-submitting to the censorship board. You also need those stickers to stick on the back of the DVD’s to prove it’s original and you need a distributor and I’m not sure at the moment whether or not they’ll take an indie flick like this without some studio backing. Of course, this is from what little I know and perhaps there’s a way for me to go about it (still researching at the moment) but in all likelihood the movie will probably be sold on-line from an e-store I’ll be setting up.

I’ve been wanting to set up and e-store for quite a while and perhaps now would be the best time do so. There’s ‘Relationship Status’ that I want to sell, obviously, and then there’s ‘Ciplak’ and my short film anthology ‘Fast, Cheap and Dirty’. All the research I’ve been doing right now hasn’t been just for the movie, but for all the stuff I’ve been doing.

You see, a while back I was on this ‘cari makan’ shoot for a TV show that was meant to interview people from many different backgrounds that young Malaysian citizens could aspire to be. Unfortunately, the organizational skills of the producers of the show was a complete shambles and I left after one episode without even trying to get the money for whatever work I had already done because I quite simply wanted to get out of that job ASAP.

However, I did manage to interview an artist named Yusoff Gajah, an absolutely wonderful man and a pleasure to shoot, and one of the things he brought up was that as an artist you can’t just be an artist for art’s sake, you need to put food on the table, and that was always the central dilemma of any artist. As a painter, you can’t just pin all your hopes on selling your one masterpiece for huge amounts of money. At the same time, an artist can’t always paint-on-demand, art requires inspiration to make true works of art.

So what do you do? Paint murals and illustrations on the side? Get a day job? It was one of the questions Yusoff brought up as an artist and his answer was that one has to figure out how to monetize one’s art.

So let’s say he’s done a new piece on canvas. That piece is valued at quite a high price. Can’t afford it? Well, you can buy a large canvas print. Can’t afford that? How about a smaller print on poster paper. Still too expensive? Not to worry - there’s even smaller prints, postcards, maybe even a t-shirt. Every price range is accounted for so that if you like the piece there’s no way you can’t take it home with you in some kind of form unless you’re flat out broke.

This stuck with me for some time. It especially resonated with me when I was shooting him because he figured out how to live off his own art whereas I was shooting a TV series I didn’t believe in with a useless production company because I needed the money to live and to save up for the equipment I needed to make the movies I wanted to make.

Right now, the time feels right to ‘monetize my art’ (though I doubt that a film which references a number of euphemisms for masturbation could be considered ‘art’ in any way, shape or form) and it ties in with my plans for the next few years, to concentrate on making my own crap as opposed to working on other people’s crap. I’m hoping I’ll have enough money to not just print the items I want to sell but to also do up some merchandise. Apart from one ‘cari makan’ job in February (albeit a potentially cool one), that’ll be my main focus - figuring out the e-store and releasing all this stuff on home video by March.

Hopefully it doesn’t get delayed and hopefully it’ll work. Hopefully enough of you guys out there dig the movie and some of the past stuff I’ve done to make this viable. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, I don’t know about you guys but I’m quite excited. Stay tuned, humans.