A question I’ve been struggling with as our feature film “Attack of the GORILLA!” goes into general release (check it out at http://www.vimeo.com/ondemand/attackgorilla )…whether or not to do a DVD and Blu Ray release.
Several people have told me they will buy a copy when it’s released in one of those formats, which is an encouraging plus side to the debate. So if we don’t release the film in those formats, we’re leaving money on the table, right? Well OK….I’ll admit right now that I love my Blu Ray player. Watching movies on it is a fantastic experience and they truly do look and sound better than I ever could have imagined. Still…Blu Ray is a format that never really took off, except with movie geeks like myself. When the format debuted a few short years ago, discs were going for $30 or so each…now older movies can be found at Target for $5. In truth, the only reason I bought a Blu Ray player in the first place was because I knew the format wasn’t going anywhere and when it did crash, I’d be able to scoop up an amazing HD movie collection for practically nothing.
As for DVD, sure, it’s still the physical media format of choice…but that’s not saying much. While looking at distributors, many told us that they had turned to such venues as online distribution and video on demand simply because their fellow DVD marketeers and distributors were gone or going out of business.
Let’s look at Roger Corman, King of the B-Movie (or, as he’s known in these quarters, “The God Who Walks Among Us”). Corman started distributing films decades ago in drive-ins, then theatres. When that started to die as a profit centre, he jumped into home video during the early-80′s VHS revolution. When that started to die as a format, direct-to-DVD became the norm. Now? He makes movies for the sci-fi channel like “Sharknado” and “Sharktopus”…’cause that’s where the money is.
Personally, I like physical media. Always have. Used to love buying vinyl record albums when I was a kid. Now I enjoy getting a new Blu Ray with cool packaging, artwork, maybe a little booklet inside…I would LOVE to see “Attack of the GORILLA!” released on Blu Ray and DVD. But is there a market for it?
You tell me. Would YOU be interested in buying a copy on DVD or Blu Ray?
Several people have told me they will buy a copy when it’s released in one of those formats, which is an encouraging plus side to the debate. So if we don’t release the film in those formats, we’re leaving money on the table, right? Well OK….I’ll admit right now that I love my Blu Ray player. Watching movies on it is a fantastic experience and they truly do look and sound better than I ever could have imagined. Still…Blu Ray is a format that never really took off, except with movie geeks like myself. When the format debuted a few short years ago, discs were going for $30 or so each…now older movies can be found at Target for $5. In truth, the only reason I bought a Blu Ray player in the first place was because I knew the format wasn’t going anywhere and when it did crash, I’d be able to scoop up an amazing HD movie collection for practically nothing.
As for DVD, sure, it’s still the physical media format of choice…but that’s not saying much. While looking at distributors, many told us that they had turned to such venues as online distribution and video on demand simply because their fellow DVD marketeers and distributors were gone or going out of business.
Let’s look at Roger Corman, King of the B-Movie (or, as he’s known in these quarters, “The God Who Walks Among Us”). Corman started distributing films decades ago in drive-ins, then theatres. When that started to die as a profit centre, he jumped into home video during the early-80′s VHS revolution. When that started to die as a format, direct-to-DVD became the norm. Now? He makes movies for the sci-fi channel like “Sharknado” and “Sharktopus”…’cause that’s where the money is.
Personally, I like physical media. Always have. Used to love buying vinyl record albums when I was a kid. Now I enjoy getting a new Blu Ray with cool packaging, artwork, maybe a little booklet inside…I would LOVE to see “Attack of the GORILLA!” released on Blu Ray and DVD. But is there a market for it?
You tell me. Would YOU be interested in buying a copy on DVD or Blu Ray?