1st Edition
Independent Filmmaking and Digital Convergence Transmedia and Beyond
Foreword
SECTION 1 - INDEPENDENT MEDIA AND DIGITAL CONVERGENCE
- Introduction: Independents vs. the Mainstream
- Rise of the Independent Filmmaker
- Technology Changes
- A New Paradigm
- Emerging Models and Practices
- DIY & No Budget Production Models
- Crowdfunding & crowdsourcing
- Cross-Distribution Models
- Web Videos & Online Stars
6. The Big Picture
SECTION 2- STORYTELLING ACROSS MEDIA PLATFORMS
7. New Ways of Storytelling: Transmedia and Cross-media Concepts
8. Project Development
- Defining the Goal
- Narrative Patterns
- World & Tone of the Story: Character Development
- Story Arc and Plot Points
- Elements of the "Transmedia Bible"
9. Project Organization
- Funding & Organization Models
- Audience Building & Engagement
- Media Platforms
10. What Does the Future Hold
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Index
Biography
Vladan Nikolic is an independent filmmaker and associate professor at the School of Media Studies at The New School in New York City. He has made numerous narrative feature films and documentaries, which have screened, won awards and critical acclaim in the United States and internationally. Mr. Nikolic is among the digital filmmaking pioneers, and had taught the first digital filmmaking courses at The New School and at New York University in the ‘90s. In 2009, he directed and produced the feature film Zenith, which was part of a groundbreaking transmedia project. Vladan has worked and consulted on a variety of transmedia projects since, from film-related to educational platforms, and taught classes and seminars on transmedia internationally, including in Shanghai, China, and at the Hong Kong Design Institute.
"Vlad Nikolic brings insight and intelligence to the changing technologies and distribution models for today’s independent storytellers. Borne from his own experience as a filmmaker, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in telling digital stories."
—Paul Hardart, Director of Media Management at The New School
"The development of artistic form is driven by technological innovation, something that pioneer Vlad Nikolic knows intimately. In his timely and expertly researched new book, he skillfully describes the new realities and challenges that so many filmmakers find themselves in - able to create work but struggle to have it seen - and how to break through the roadblocks."
—Paul Cronin, Editor of Alexander Mackendrick's On Film-Making, Werner Herzog's A Guide for the Perplexed and Abbas Kiarostami's Lessons with Kiarostami."As one of the first to use digital video to make a feature film, one of the first to make a transmedia feature film project, and one of the earliest professors teaching digital filmmaking at the New School and New York University, Vladan Nikolic is the ideal person to write about the impact of the digital world on real life filmmaking and filmmakers. With sections on raising money, production, distribution and promotion, among others, this book is the comprehensive overview of independent films in the digital age that we have all been waiting for."
—Jim Stark, Independent Film Producer
