How Duo Producers Turned Down Traditional Film Distribution for YouTube and Why?

When they finally finished The Astrid Experience, creative duo Cal Barnes and John That (director, producer, and music supervisor, soundtrack, composer, and actor) had put over four (4) years of hard work into the project, and carried in through the many highs and lows inherent in indie film, including carrying it through Covid-19, which threw an additional year on top of the already taxing post-production hell they found themselves in.

“All of our previous experience as an actor, writer (Cal) and musician, music, producer (John) was in pre-production and production,” Cal said. “We were able to get our project from script to ‘in the can’ in just around 5 months — which is fantastic for an indie feature — shooting went great in 2019 and we had a ton of momentum, then, when the post came, we literally hit a wall. It was like pros going back to elementary school. And it was intensely difficult, then when Covid-19 came along and wiped out the festivals for a year, that pushed us back even more. It was a tough time. Lots of dark days where it felt as if we were dead in the water.”

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But Cal, John, and their brainchild, ‘The Astrid Experience’ were very much alive, and had a red-carpet world premiere of their film at the Laemmle Royal Theatre in Santa Monica, CA on March 23rd, 2023 to a full house. “It was really awesome seeing our film up on the big screen,” Cal said. “We had family and friends come in from all over California and out of state. We had some investors fly in from the east coast. A great, memorable premiere is one of the many factors of filmmaking that makes it all worth it in the end — all the memories.”

During and after the world-premiere, the film got several traditional distribution offers by reputable companies, but Cal and John had different plans

“We got offered one deal in particular where I really liked the company and some of their titles,” Cal continued. “It felt good to be chosen, but we offered low to no MG’s (minimum guarantees), and they wanted our project for seven years with no performance clause that would guarantee any sort of delivery or performance on their end. Seven Years is a long time. A lot can happen in seven years, especially with the career trajectory I believe John and I are on.

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I also knew enough about the current indie film market by talking to other filmmakers to know that nobody has been making any money on their small films with these types of offers. John and I thought, “why sell at the bottom?” The market hasn’t been great, and new technology continues to evolve so rapidly, we want to own the rights to our film when the next big boom for indie filmmaking comes. There will be better ways for indie filmmakers to monetize their films in the future —there has to be — because honestly in the last few years it really can’t get worse. It doesn’t get lower than zero. The only way forward is up.”

And that’s exactly what Cal and John did, opting to pass on their traditional distribution offers in favor of releasing the film on the Official Noblehooks Productions Youtube Channel to the Company’s 2.5 thousand subscribers.

“It was a risk, but I believe it will ultimately pay off in the long game,” Cal commented. “We still own the film outright, and there is nothing stopping us from making a traditional distribution offer at any time in the future. John and I have a lot going on right now. We’re betting on ourselves, and believe that our cool little indie film will only grow in popularity and get more valuable overtime as our careers continue to grow.”

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Cal and John seem pretty confident in the direction they have taken the film, but it sounds like they’re not the only ones that are starting to think outside of the traditional box.

“A lot of filmmakers are starting to wake up the realities of the digital market,” Cal continued. “We’ve gone from Blu Ray sales in the 90’s and 2000’s at $20 a pop, to as little as 1 cent per hour viewed on certain large streamers in the US today. Even if just $5 (25%) of that Blu Ray sale was going to the production company in 2000, that’s a 500X decrease per view in 2023 in contrast, and almost a 100x decrease from the already modest 99 cent iTunes days that followed behind Blu Ray.

It’s really come to a point of criminality driven by absolute greed considering the wealth some of these streaming companies have generated using filmmakers’ art as their primary resource. They’ve made it nearly impossible for 99%+ of indie films to even break even, let alone make a profit with their models. A lot of filmmakers are simply starting to refuse to participate by donating their labor of love to these companies that have no respect for artists, their projects, or their livelihood. They simply want more for their investors, their films, and themselves.”

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When Barnes lays it out like that, it does sound pretty bleak. After all, 1 cent per hour is a penny away from zero, but Barnes says there’s still hope.

“We were inspired to step out of the box and hold on to the rights of our film by other successful filmmakers that have come before us, and spoke up over the last few years about the realities their films were facing financially, even with big festival films with top distributors attached,” Cal commented. “It was unfathomable to me that some of these big, award-winning, well-known indie films were still struggling to break even and make a profit.

It’s just not right, and there are several pioneer indie filmmakers out there that are starting to stand up, innovate, and shift the paradigm. There’s strength in numbers, and it’s through sharing information that filmmakers can educate themselves, band together, and figure out new and improved ways to make the industry work for them again —not just for themselves, but for the life and future of the films they create, and the cast and crew they employ.”

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If nothing else, the producers of ‘The Astrid Experience’ are at least on to something with how they have approached distribution for their film, and for the sake of all filmmakers, and the future of independent film as a whole, I hope they find what they are looking for.

To take it home, Cal leaves us with this—

“Ultimately, it’s the filmmakers’ movie,” Cal stated. “I think we’re all starting to realize that handing it over once it’s finally fully formed after years of blood, sweat, tears, credit card debt, and love to a company that really doesn’t care, probably might not make sense anymore — maybe it never has — but hopefully soon we’ll have the full scope of knowledge and technology to do something about it… perhaps we already do.”

Thanks for spending some time with us! But, like most things in life, it’s not what you have that counts… it’s what you do with it that really matters. P.S. Big thanks to indieactivity.com for the opportunity to share our experience with you!