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Sunday Synopsis – Abyss gets a Home and Customers Want More Netflix
Sunday, August 11, 2013 at 10:12PM 
The ABYSS movie website and Festival Limbo
Although it’s still a work in progress at this juncture, I managed to get a website up for my short film, “ABYSS.” It (www.abyssthemovie.com) contains the synopsis, a list of cast and crew as well as other information related to the movie. Updates to the website will be posted there as they come in and as time permits. I’ve spent the last few weeks submitting the movie to festivals and am now playing the waiting game as I look to find out where and when (and if) “ABYSS” will be premiering as well as when and where it will have additional screenings.
In an attempt to save time, space and maintain whatever good juju may be in the workings for me and/or the movie, I won’t be mentioning any of the specific festivals until I hear from them with regards to the project’s status. I will say, however, that upwards of $309 in submission fees alone was spent on trying to secure a premiere for this movie – and it still needs a poster, exhibition prints and related materials – most of which I am currently working on getting done now, as the submissions efforts have slowed to a halt for the time being.
New Monday Movie Meme Participants…
I’d like to send a special shout out to Michael Hennessy at A Few Minutes with the Hennessys for joining in on our Monday Movie Madness. He has been participating in the Monday Movie Meme (MMM) for a few weeks now and I especially like how he remains active by not only posting his selections on his own blog while linking back to the MMM post for the week but also introducing the meme to his readers and followers in social media. Michael also blogs about books in the Mystery, Sci-Fi and Suspense/Thriller genres, for all of you book worms. Check him out, say hello and welcome him to our regularly scheduled walks down memory lane on the big screen.
Netflix Has DVDs?
A few days ago, a woman who currently subscribes to the Netflix streaming service asked me if they offered DVDs for rental when she noticed a red envelope that I was holding with their logo on it. That seemed a little odd, given that the streaming service wasn’t in play until the last few years or so and the actual physical DVD discs are what made it possible for Netflix to grow their business in the video rental market.
It’s no secret that Netflix has been trying to push customers in the direction of their online streaming service and move them away from the DVDs altogether – but the conversation that I had with the woman who was asking me questions about their DVD offerings seem to indicate that they are leaving money on the table by leaving their customers in the dark (whether this is being done intentionally or unintentionally by the company's marketing/advertising and promotions offerings obviously varies from customer to customer).
When I told her that she could rent DVDs from Netflix and to do so, she would have to add a DVD package to her streaming package, which would increase her monthly subscription fees, she still seemed interested in trying out their DVD service.
One of her only concerns were something that we can all relate to and understand as consumers – is it expensive? My concern, however, is the fact that there are people who really have no idea that DVD rentals are available from Netflix. On top of that, I am concerned about the fact that people like the woman I spoke with – people who are already paying a subscription fee for one service – have to add a separate package if they want DVDs.
I understand the company’s decision to split their streaming and the DVD services into to separate packages, to cater to the needs and interests of customers who only want one or the other – but what about those who want both? Why leave them out hanging to dry; confused, uninformed and/or having to piece together a rental package that fits their viewing interests by working various parts of the whole movie rental puzzle around until they find something that fits?
I am aware that this works in the grand scheme of things since we have a variety of VOD services that could rival most standard cable TV packages – but I’m talking about the services being offered by one company, under one roof. What is the deal with Netflix? Wouldn’t it be helpful if they offered a third service that combined DVDs and streaming, even if that service was limited to, say, one standard package such as 1-2 discs per month plus unlimited streaming?
What are YOU all up to these days?
Reader Comments (6)
Glad things are progressing with Abyss. Hope you have great results from the festival circuit.
I've had Netflix for a few years now. It started with a combo package then switch to a la carte. Not sure what the deal is or was but I liked having my DVD/streaming combo. I'm streaming only for now.
Congrats on the website Nicole and I never knew how expensive it to make a movie AFTER you film it. Netflix splitting their service is a necessary evil, but it does suck. The online catalog is so small compared to the discs, but they have a monopoly and can do what they want.
Great news about your movie! Took a look at the site and love the layout. I've bookmarked it and will anxiously be awaiting updates to the site. Thanks for keeping us updated on the status of your flick!
Angela,
Thanks a lot for your good vibes on the progress of Abyss. We shall see what pans out with this film festival stuff. The DVD/Streaming combo package provides more bang for your buck IMO because some titles are only available on DVD and vice versa with regards to the streaming; I had that package for a while until they canceled the combos this month, leaving me with just the DVDs and with no other option than doing the a la carte thing by adding streaming on top of the discs that I already rent from them. That's not happening any time soon, so I guess I won't be streaming anything from them.
I wonder if you have found value in your combo days in terms of the mailing/delivery turnaround for the DVDs, in that, you could stream while waiting for new titles to arrive in the mail. Or was there another reason why you like the combo? Do tell...lol.
Maurice,
Thank you very much for the website cheers. There is a lot of expenses that goes into a movie after it's made due to marketing and distribution costs...it's across the board for Hollywood films too but on the indie side, our expenses can easily balloon out of control if we don't get a handle on them early on and have a budget allocated for certain stages (production, post-production, festivals, travel, etc.); with festivals, there are so many variables involved such as submission fees, exhibition prints, publicity materials, travel, lodging, transportation and in some cases (usually for features), PR staff and other representatives. It's crazy but that's the not-so-fun "business" side of show business, I suppose, that comes with the territory.
Care to elaborate on the Netflix's division of DVDs and streaming being a necessary evil? I can understand it on their end...for the most part, but I'm not sure if it benefits their customers. The small streaming catalog you mentioned is one of the reasons, I think, that customers are better served being offered at least one combo option but it seems like Netflix is giving customers the short end of the stick in the case of the splitting of their DVD/streaming services. I think I read somewhere that Redbox is rolling out a streaming option; if it gains traction, I wouldn't be surprised if that company shakes up Netflix's monopoly in the home video rental game. Time will tell.
Herman,
Thanks for checking out the website for ABYSS. If there is certain content that you would like to see over there, let me know. The updates have been planned to be done once per week until I see what comes of my festival submissions but I plan to step up the frequency or content over the course of the next month. I'm also curious to know your thoughts on the Netflix a la carte move, doing away with their combo packages.
Hi Nicole,
Congratulations on completing your film and submitting it to festivals. I am curious about how you selected which festivals to submit to, and the process you used for it - had you used withoutabox.com or a similar service to ease the burden?
For Netflix, they have to be looking at the behemoth Amazon which is just gearing up for battle with their own original content. Apple, of course, is the giant for selling music and shows, but it has stayed out of producing, leaving that to others. Amazon and Netflix, though, are creating their own content. Netflix aims to be considered The New HBO by enlisting high profile writers, directors and actors for a handful of Netflix original series. Amazon, on the other hand, is spreading things out broadly, getting some recognizable names involved with some of the shows they are producing, but also creating a relatively benign opportunity for writers, both new and established, to create a huge pool of potential material. More importantly, instead of trying to emulate a cable network, they are aiming to break into the ranks of the Big Six major studios, which is really enormous news, when you think of it, since it only happens once in... well, it never happens, really.
To the point of DVDs vs online streaming, Netflix will remain the go-to service for DVDs through mail, but they are working hard on improving the margins for streaming, because aside from the logistics of handling & shipping and diminishing percentage of customers who want DVDs, the big difference is that once the disc is shipped out, they get no more value from that rental. With digital viewings, though, they get access to a panoply of data - what day and time you watched it, on what device, did you pause or rewind it (if so, when), did you binge view shows, what did you rate it, was it from other recommended list, and it is checked against a list of other criteria they have concocted for data analysis. Yes, the DVD rentals have a better margin, but the number of subscribers are steadily decreasing (from 10M in mid-2012 to 7.5M in mid-2013), and you can be sure Netflix is regularly revisiting the cost-benefit of their physical media business.
Well, time to get a few things done before the new episode of Breaking Bad. Have a good week.
Michael
Michael,
Thank you for the cheers on the "ABYSS" festival process and completion. Withoutabox makes it easy to submit to multiple festivals without having to fill in the same information over and again but I've found that some festivals don't use Withoutabox for their submissions so I have to go through either a paper form process or an online submissions process that is setup in-house for those particular festivals. As a result, the service and/or website that I use for each submission varies.
While original content does give Netflix an edge to compete with Amazon, I am not certain if original content alone will help them sustain on their streaming service exclusively, given the availability of VOD offerings from Redbox (which partners with Verizon). The disdain and dismissal of the DVD format as a viable product that Netflix has been so outspoken about doesn't take their customers' interests and needs into account with regards to home video rentals. I think that Netflix is doing itself a disservice by heavily pushing their streaming onto their current customers as well as new customers and keeping their DVD subscription plans sorta under wraps, where customer knowledge about what is available is concerned.
If Netflix doesn't want to deal with DVDs, it would be better for them to just stop offering that service altogether and leave that market to Blockbuster and Redbox, two companies that seem to have no problem with offering both streaming and DVDs. Netflix, on the other hand, continues to "hide" their DVD subscription plans from their promotional campaigns and even from the homepage of their website for web searchers. If customers have to look and search through links and pages, etc. just to shop for a DVD plan, that is annoying.
I don't see Netflix joining the ranks of the Big Six as far as market share in original content is concerned, because even though Netflix has produced some popular programs, it's streaming library remains very limited in both the amount and in the variety of titles offered to subscribers. Any customer paying $7-$16 per month for a streaming plan should have the option to watch a new movie like "Django Unchained" AND an old movie such as "Clueless" if they desire....especially if they are not being offered a streaming/DVD combo package. Otherwise, it's a disrespect to the customer's dollars, as subscribers are not getting the most bang for their buck.
Can you tell me where you found the mid-year data on the 2012 vs 2013 subscribers that Netflix had for DVDs? I would love to check that out.
Oh yeah "Breaking Bad" is a crazy popular show; I don't watch it tho, lol. I only saw one episode but I can understand the appeal of the series :)