The biggest question for many filmmakers working outside of the studio system (and more recently, even for those working within it) has been how to distribute their film and have it make money. Traditionally, getting your film full box office distribution has been a challenge if you are an indie. More recently, Video On Demand (VOD) has been offering a way to close the gap.

What Video on Demand allows the filmmaker to do is “rent” streams of their video to the viewer. This is occasionally done on their own site, but more often on a site like Jaman, IndieFlix, or others like them. The VOD concept includes the DVR and PVR systems available through most television (cable or satellite) providers now, as well as TiVo, AppleTV, Boxee, Pay-Per-View and other delivery methods already found in many homes. This keeps more of the profit in the filmmaker’s pocket, instead of hemorrhaging money back to a bloated system. With more and more people getting their movie fix online, this is a fast and cost effective way to get your film seen.

Keep in mind, however, that VOD doesn’t allow the viewer to own the movie outright for future viewing. It acts as a streamed rental system. This is fine if your audience is made up of people who don’t feel a need to own the creative content they buy, who prefer streaming. These people may also prefer to listen to music through sites like Pandora, Last.FM and Grooveshark also, and gravitate toward downloadable ebooks instead of audio books and print. That’s only half of the equation, however; and other distribution and sales methods may work better than VOD for the people who like to own their content files outright. It’s best to have a multi level strategy.

When an independent filmmaker decides to include VOD as part of their over all strategy, it helps to research the percentages carefully. Not all VOD sites and systems are created equally. With so many to choose from, it pays to find out precisely what the cut to the company will be to avoid being gouged. The whole point of VOD as an option is to free yourself from the mercy of the studio and make money, not to simply enslave yourself to a new master: high fees.

Don’t let the vast array of options and the need to do your homework before choosing the right VOD vehicle (or vehicles) for your film scare you off! Already there are festivals and outlets popping up to help you navigate the challenge, like the From Here To Awesome Festival. These are designed to take your film, help you get it seen, and help you make money doing it, on a large scale. The From Here to Awesome Festival was created by the people who made the film Four Eyed Monsters, which achieved both limited theatrical release and managed to turn a bit of profit, as well as winning the Undiscovered Gems 2006 Showcase and receiving monies to be used in development of a television show, all using a DIY distribution system, thus proving that the right combination of VOD and other methods can take an indie film far.

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Stay tuned for part two on reaching an audience who wants to own your content, not just rent it.

The first task of any independent filmmaker is making sure that everyone on the cast and crew has access to the right information to make the film happen. This includes access to the schedule, the script and script changes, location information, edits and more. A good document sharing plan and file sharing platform can make the difference between an efficient film process and a film that goes hard.

We know that Macs really are a fantastic tool – we are an all Mac company here at Film POP! after all. We also know that not everyone can afford a Mac, so while iDisk is a great solution to many of these issues, it excludes some of your cast and crew who may be using a PC. You want to make sure to include everyone. To that end, most of the recommended collaboration tools are “in the cloud” and free or low cost.

The primary tool we recommend is a file sharing application called Dropbox. This allows you to keep up to 2GB of files synched between your computer and as many others as you invite, using synchronization through the cloud. Up to 2GB is completely free, no many how many users you give access to the folder for the project, but you can pay for additional storage if you need it. Only invited users can see the folder and its contents.

One of the reasons we like Dropbox is that it doesn’t limit you to a certain type of file. This means you can upload all of the aspects of your film, from images and sound to video, documents and more. It automatically syncs changes to the folder with your folder every time you open the program as well, eliminating the need to remember that task, and freeing you for more important things. You can then see changes to the folder by clicking on the “Recently Changed” viewing item. You can get Dropbox for free by clicking here.

The next tool is one you may already be using: Google‘s Docs, GMail and Calendar. Access to Google Docs and Calendar is free for everyone and only requires you to have a (free) Gmail address. Keep in mind, you do not have to use the email for anything other than account confirmation. You can go into the GMail settings and forward any mail to your existing POP3 account (you can also go in and use GMail to check your existing POP3 account if you decide you prefer its interface).

Google’s Calendar is useful as it synchronizes between multiple calendars in a group of people. This means you can color code your film deadlines and dates in a color everyone can associate with the film, then sync everything together, keeping everyone in the loop. It also synchronizes to iCal with a few settings tweaks (or with third party software if you prefer) if you have a mixed Mac/PC group working on the film. It also allows you to invite people to various meetings and events using email.

Google Doc’s is handy for collaborating in near real time if you need to make changes to a Press Release on the fly, or create a Presentation for a potential investor. IT also allows you to create and share spreadsheets if you run an open ledger for the film, and a variety of other things that enable you to communicate if not everyone has a program like Microsoft Office for Mac and PC.

Without a Box is a great freemium tool for filmmakers who want to submit to various festivals. It allows you to not only get a snapshot of which festivals may be valuable to your film, but also to sell DVDs and auto list on iTunes and Amazon, promote and stream on IMDB, screen at partner festivals to the service, and more. It’s worth looking at for the concise festival information alone, in our opinion.

There are many other great tools for independent filmmakers. We’ll be covering more throughout the year for you. If you have a favorite free or freemium tool not listed, let us know!

Have you gotten your membership and submitted your Emerging Narrative (2009 Summer Lab, Hand Picked Only), USA or International based No-Borders (Submission) or Spotlight on Docs (Submission) yet? If not, you should consider doing so. It’s an invaluable experience.

Notes from the IFW web site:

Recent Emerging Narrative Lab Alumni Filmmakers Include: 2008 Venice Film Festival’s Zero Bridge, 2008 Gotham Award Nominee and Slamdance Grand Jury Prize-winner The New Year Parade, 2008 Sundance’s Half Life, and SXSW 2009′s Sorry, Thanks and St. Nick.

Recent No Borders Projects Include: Courtney Hunt’s Frozen River, Cherie Nowlan’s Introducing the Dwights, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden’s Half Nelson, Joshua Marston’s Maria Full of Grace, Miranda July’s Me and You and Everyone We Know, Sam Garbarski’s Irena Palm and Eran Riklis’ Lemon Tree, The Syrian Bride.

Recent Spotlight on Docs Projects Include: Scott Hamilton Kennedy’s The Garden, Caroline Suh’s Frontrunners, Cynthia Wade’s Freeheld, Aaron Woolf’s King Corn, Kazuhiro Soda’s Campaign, Benson Lee’s Planet B-Boy, Marlo Poras’ Run Granny Run, Marilyn Agrelo and Amy Sewell’s Mad Hot Ballroom, Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg’s The Trials of Darryl Hunt, and Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert’s A Lion in the House

Find out more about guidelines, what to expect and submissions or lab participation by clicking the Indpendent Film Week Project Forum link, here.