IndieFlix

I hope this latest blog finds you all well. Yesterday was one heck of a day, as we launched April Showers on DVD and iTunes. Before I get into that I want to fill you in on Monday night’s special engagement screenings that took place in Los Angeles and Colorado. Starting with Los Angeles, the screening was a huge success as the film played to a near capacity crowd (the front row was largely empty) at The Bridge Cinema De Lux in Marina Del Rey. The reaction was hugely positive and I was able to speak to a number of guests following the screening. As I understand it, a number of folks remained in the lobby discussing the film for a full hour afterwards, which I didn’t get a chance to witness for I was entertaining a number of guests outside; unaware of the gathering. So, first and foremost I want to say thank you to everyone who came out and showed their support for the film in LA. I wasn’t at the Colorado screening but have been told that it went well and that there was a good crowd that was able to make the Monday evening time. Anybody hailing from Colorado who would like to chime in on the screening please feel free to do so for I am curious to hear your reactions.

So, yesterday morning saw the official release of April Showers on iTunes and DVD via IndieFlix.com. I have a couple of notes/updates regarding both formats but I’ll start with the most exciting news first. As of about 1:00pm yesterday afternoon April Showers was the #1 Independent Download from iTunes, which is amazing and left me speechless. For anyone who knows me or has spent more than five minutes with me knows that speechless is hard for me to do, so thank you everyone for making that possible. I hope that we can keep that title and grow from here, perhaps land ourselves in the top 10 overall. I’m not asking you to go out and download April Showers 10 times or more, just keep doing what you’re doing in helping us get the word out to people who may or may not know about what we’re up to yet. Regardless of the outcome(s) I am in awe of this whole process and everyone’s dedication to this project, we’ve really become the ‘little indie that could’.

Yesterday, at launch, April Showers was not listed in the top 100 overall sales list on iTunes movies, by mid day we had cracked the top 100 overall list and as of this morning we’re ranked number 37. We’re still #1 in the independent downloads and #11 in the overall drama category, carrying an overall user generated rating of four and a half stars.

Now, with regards to the DVD, like I said in yesterday’s post they are beginning to ship from our west coast location so some of you may have longer waits than others but they are going out this week and you should receive them in short order. We’ve been getting a lot of questions regarding what is on the DVD in terms of features etc. Well, the DVD that is shipping this week will include the film, a full-length feature commentary, both trailers and a poster slideshow.

The Blu-ray that will be released in early June will include the film, behind the scenes footage, deleted scenes, multiple commentaries, over 100 production photos, poster slide show, trailers and more. Due to the larger storage capacity of Blu-ray discs we’re able to put more on the disc while still keeping costs low, also the video on the Blu-ray disc will be superior to that on the DVD and closer to the quality audiences saw in theaters.

We’re working on expanding April Showers’ distribution on DVD, Blu-ray and beyond via other means such as NetFlix, Amazon, Target stores etc and will let you know when it happens, however, if you want to get your copy now or sooner than later you can purchase them through this website/IndieFlix.com or via iTunes.

Lastly, I want to talk about the soundtrack for a moment if I may. I’m not sure how many of you know or are aware how AmazonMP3 works since it’s somewhat new. Well, if you’re at all familiar with iTunes then AmazonMP3 will function exactly the same, it will even upload directly to your iTunes player or what ever your default player is on your computer. The files are DRM Free meaning they can be transferred freely between computers, portable players etc and are at a higher bit rate (better quality) than many of iTunes’ own files. The soundtrack will be available on iTunes very soon, but we wanted to give AmazonMP3 a try for I thought it was kind of a cool service and could save you guys a little bit of money since the entire album goes for $7.99 via Amazon where as iTunes, I believe, will be charging $9.99. If you have an Amazon account making your AmazonMP3 purchase is a single click away. I do want to be clear though, the April Showers score will not be offered as a standalone disc in stores. It is download only through one of our numerous outlets. If you want a physical disc you’ll have to download the album and burn it to a CD-R, which isn’t terribly difficult. We’re keeping the soundtrack download only because we want to cut down on waste, keep the price low, as well as take advantage of the latest portable music technology that so many have embraced in this ever changing digital landscape.

Well, that’s all I have for updates now, but there is more coming I promise you. So until next time, take care and stay tuned…

Andrew