When I got started, if your film got into Sundance, it meant
people would see it in America, and maybe the world. I used to be confident
that my partners and I could get two or more major distribution slots a year.
Now that control and scarcity don’t define the Entertainment Economy, but
superabundance & access do, how does that change things for creators? There
are 45,000 films generated globally annually, and the largest consumption
market in the world – the US – currently consumes only 1% of the output.
Recognizing that, are you changing the way you work, changing what you create?
How? Why? Or why not?
In regard to the stories I’m
interested in telling – no. In the way I
tell them, yes, slightly. With that in
mind we have to be more conscious of our budgets. With more choices and platforms, things are
more easily digested and therefore more disposable. There are very few ‘classic’ films made
nowadays (and if they are, they are coming from oversees). It is harder and harder to recoup your
budget, so the way we make films must change. Also, it pays to tell your story
over a few mediums (this stupid word ‘transmedia’ comes to mind). I just happened to love comics/graphic
novels, so was getting into this field anyway – but I think I could be doing a
much better job branching off and telling more stories within that same world (Harbor Moon comes to mind, as does REM – my second graphic novel and what
will be my first feature film). Just
telling the same story in a different medium is boring. What excites me, and what I wish I caught
onto sooner, is using each medium to tell a different story within that world.
I am a big believer in the importance of social media in many
aspects of the film process. Are you on social media and do you use it in
your work? Why or why not?
I am on social media.
- I keep a blog (you’re probably reading it right now: ryancolucci.blogspot.com)
- Twitter @spokelane
- Facebook: Spoke Lane Entertainment
- Digg: citydoglax
- LinkedIn: info@spokelane.com
I use my Ryan Colucci facebook
account for actual friends and family. I
don’t do business on there. Same goes for my personal twitter account
@ryancolucci, where I post more personal updates.
I think social media is a great way
to stay connected to your audience (or if you are the audience – filmmakers you
respect), and more importantly stay current with what they are doing. I get more of my news from Twitter feeds than
anywhere else nowadays. The key is being
selective with who you follow so your feed doesn’t get overrun with
nonsense. That said, if you follow me at
@spokelane – I will follow you back. I’m
good like that.
When I got started there were two screens: the movie screen
and the television screen. Now there are
also computers, tablets, and phones. And screens are everywhere: the home, the
bus stop, the elevator, the taxi cab. As a creator how does this effect the
stories you tell and how you tell them?
I find this exciting. Of course, I think that as a whole – I would
love to have been coming up in a time when movies were actually made on film
and appreciated, rather than digested and forgotten. But I think having all of these ‘screens’
opens the world of storytelling up. I’m
not a big fan of the term transmedia, but I love what it stands for. I have always been captivated by the world of
Star Wars, how it started as three films and quickly grew to encompass books,
comics, toys, video games and animated series – all telling different stories
within that universe. There are so many
projects I think benefit from that – I think the danger is believing that every
project can benefit from that kind of storytelling.
I guess my one gripe with all of
these screens, and ease of access is how easily forgotten digested media is.
And with that comes a lack of production value.
Because it is cheaper to spit these things out – knowing they have a
short shelf life. I wish we would care
more about how things looked overall.
It’s not just about telling a story sometimes – it’s about providing
people with a visual experience.
If there is one or more thing you think would make the film
industry better, what would it be?
Regulate managers like agencies are
regulated. They are, I believe, the
cause of a lot of problems within the ‘system’.
It would also make agents actually do their job (trying to secure work
for their clients), rather than just being a screening service.
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