New Jersey Stage Issue 59 | Page 143

Did you like being part of every aspect of a film?  I do like being involved in every aspect of filmmaking, just not nec- essarily all at once! I have worn a bunch of different hats during my varied experiences. I was very for- tunate to have a dedicated cast and crew for The Samaritans and we all trusted each other. I am not much of a micro-manager and I was really able to focus on one (or two) things at a time. I had to trust the actors to bring something unique every take and the crew of two to get the best sound and picture. I do appreciate having fi- nal say on things. This is really the first film I’ve done where I was the last line of defense. In many ways, I feel like it is really my first film. There is no one to blame here if it doesn’t work but me.  The Samaritans was released on Video on Demand in April.   In today’s world where there NJ STAGE - ISSUE 59 are very few video stores left, is VOD the goal for indies now?  VOD is the norm now. There are so many streaming sites, subscrip- tion services, and gaming systems that offer content. My students consume most of their content that way for sure and it has been quite a learning curve for me as an old-timer who grew up on HBO and VHS. It is also a great to way to gauge how well the movie is tracking with the public since re- views are published in real time. We were excited that The Samari- tans was lucky enough to sign with an agent after a couple New Jersey Festival appearances. We chose the deal offered by Viva Pic- ture and they are handling all our distribution. VOD started April 16, DVD sales at Walmart.com, and eventually we think we will end up on one of the subscription servic- es. As a tiny little movie, we have to try and maximize, but balance two things - visibility and income.  INDEX 143