Full-length movies going online by Michael Geist, Toronto Star (Dec 8)
There is a shift taking place to longer-form video. Comcast figures on video watching in July 2008 showed an average of viewing time of 2.9 minutes - but that is sure to change.
Michel Geist mentions several films that are available for download or streamed viewing.
Geist himself released "Why Copyright? Canadian Voices on Copyright Law", a 47-minute documentary on copyright reform." ... "Finding ways to distribute films may have once posed a significant barrier, but that is clearly no longer the case. Why Copyright? was posted to online video sites such as YouTube and Blip.tv, which offer free streaming distribution. Another version was posted to Dot-Sub, a video-streaming site that enables viewers to create subtitles in other languages. Further versions were made available via BitTorrent, allowing people to download the entire DVD of the film."
Other examples are Michael Moore's Slacker Uprising (Blip.tv) and the Finnish parody, Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning, at Google Video.
Conclusion: "These experiments point to the potential for taking films from the big screen to the computer screen. Combining free Internet streaming or downloading with a commercial model that may include DVD sales, merchandise sales, broadcast license fees and advertising revenues hold the promise of generating wider audiences and providing a financial payback for creators."
Posted by Gwen at December 8, 2008 03:44 PM