week 15.

1. Despite its use of improvisation, how is Gummo different from “execution dependent” screenplays such as Stranger than Paradise?
Despite the improvisation employed in Gummo, it is not an execution dependent screenplay. Unlike Stranger than Paradise, when you read the script to Gummo it flows and makes sense. A producer can read the script to Gummo and understand the film, making it not as big of a risk as something as execution dependent as Stranger than Paradise, and therefore more likely to get made.

2. What are the current platforms and delivery systems for digital distribution?
Digital distribution has become wide spread and works on many platforms. Online, movie and music files can be downloaded as protected files from iTunes or streamed from NetFlix or Amazon. There are also features standard now with dish/direct tv boxes and video game consoles that allow you to connect to the internet and rent movies off the provider's database which feed directly onto your tv.

3. What were the advantages and disadvantages of releasing Ed Burns’s Purple Violets on i-Tunes?
The advantage of releasing Purple Violets on iTunes is that is reaches a much broader audience than an art house release. You can rent the movie for $2.99 or buy it for $9.99, which is much more convenient than it probably would have been to try to get this film had it had an independent dvd release.
The biggest disadvantage of buying movies on iTunes, in my opinion, is that it doesn't include any bonus features. You miss out on any behind the scenes footage, deleted scenes or special stuff the director wants to include. Also, you can burn it to a dvd, but only to play on other computers - the only way to play an iTunes movie on a tv is to have an appleTV connected to your computer.

4. What is a digital media aggregator, and what is its equivalent in the traditional home video chain between the filmmaker and the consumer?
A digital media aggregator is the video distributing agent of the digital world. They represent films to attract the interest of bigger distribution companies, such as iTunes.

5. What is the Digital Cinema Initiative (DCI), and why is it important for both the studios and independent filmmakers?
The Digital Cinema Initiative is responsible for paving the way to digital cinema. Their responsibilities include updating older theatres and installing digital projectors and screens. It is important for the studios because switching to digital cinema will keep them at the cutting edge of technology and it is important for the independents because it can help their product look better and draw more audience.