For the new year, I felt the site could stand some revamping and retooling, to make it easier to navigate and easier to understand. In response to reader requests, editorials and archives can now be readily accessed by the sidebars and, with the help of the fine folks at Google, we have an internal site search engine to make it easier to find those articles you can’t quite remember the names of. However, as I put the finishing touches on these site renovations, I find myself in a contemplative mood as we conclude Year One and begin Year Two.
In the past year, we’ve seen a lot of change in the industry and seen some impressive new filmmakers brings some great films to the front.
At MM, w e've been able to publish and republish truly helpful articles that have allowed you all to make better films, and we've been able to do some in-depth reviews of products from an actual low budget perspective that has been lacking in the industry. We've been able to provide insight and methodology to beginning and experienced filmmakers alike. We've been been able to provide insight for filmmakers from every corner of the globe, from America to Indonesia to China to India to Brittain. We’ve hosted our first four Ultra-Indie Film Weekends, and helped connect a hungry public with some truly innovative films through them. And we’ve managed to get some influential people reading our magazine and looking seriously at some of the new talent featured in our digital pages, which, hopefully, will lead to further opportunities for the filmmakers who submit films to us.
With that said, I look forward to Year Two. We’ve been able to make some contacts with some different distributors, but I would like to see us grow to the point where we can help lock in some good distribution contracts for the best films we critique. I also want to see more content aimed at helping everyone take their filmmaking to the next level. We’ve had some good basic information posted this year, but I want to see some more in-depth information posted. We’re in talks with a variety of sources to get you folks articles on how to edit a successful trailer, how to secure financing, how to color correct footage, how to perform ADR more efficiently, and how to get a better shot at distribution. Famed director, John Badham (War Games, Saturday Night Fever, Point of No Return) has agreed to write an article for our magazine this upcoming year, which should further help provide intelligent insight into the art of filmmaking by a master filmmaker.
Additionally, we will also be working on having some new contests this next year, and some new regional functions—at various locations nationwide, so more folks can come!
Year One has been a good year. But, all in all, I think Year Two is going to be even better!
