Chapter 84: Low Quality Production

As the night deepened, the streets remained busy. North America, the world's largest film market, is filled with enthusiastic movie fans. Their tastes vary widely, and many enjoy watching interesting indie productions at film festivals.

Most of these films showcased at the festival are rarely seen again afterward.

Not only do they rarely make it to theaters, but the chances of them being turned into videotapes or DVDs are very low.

Then there are the film company buyers. Every year, a few small productions at the Sundance Film Festival achieve good market returns.

"It looks like that guy from Artisan Entertainment."

Ahead at the roadside screening area, Tony pointed to one of the few dozen viewers and said, "We saw him in the hotel lobby earlier. His name is Billy, right?"

Michael Davenport also noticed him. He glanced at the shaky images on the small screen and said to Tony, "Let's go take a look."

The two walked to a spot directly facing the screen. Billy saw Michael and smiled; Michael returned the gesture.

They weren't familiar enough to speak.

"What a crappy film."

A viewer to Michael's left complained, "The shaking is making me dizzy."

He called to his companion, "Let's go."

The companion shook her head, "The quality is too poor."

The two turned and left without hesitation.

Michael ignored this, folding his arms and rubbing his chin, watching the dreadful footage on the screen with interest.

The video quality was indeed poor, and the shaking was significant.

With his trained eye, it wasn't hard to see that this was shot with a cheap DV camera, handheld, without any professional equipment like a Steadicam.

After watching for a while, Michael turned his attention to the people screening the film.

There were only two men at this roadside screening spot, both in their thirties. One was a white man wearing glasses, the other a Latino mix.

"This is terrible..."

Many people complained about the film, and soon it was just Michael, Tony, and Billy from Artisan Entertainment left.

Tony whispered, "We should leave too. This isn't a film, just a low-quality DV recording."

Michael shook his head, "No rush, let's wait a bit."

He continued watching, noticing differences from what he remembered. Many scenes were out of order, and there were too many flaws. Something felt off.

Then Michael realized it was the editing! The editing must have been redone after the film landed with a film company in the past.

"You guys here?" someone asked as they approached Michael and Billy. After looking around, they said, "Found something interesting?"

It was Grey Enrick from Lionsgate. Passing by, he saw Michael and Billy watching the same film and was drawn over by his instincts as a buyer.

Billy glanced at Grey, shrugged, and said, "Nothing interesting here, just marveling at how low the festival's standards have fallen, allowing such amateur DV recordings to be screened."

Michael agreed, "The details reflect the whole picture. The films I've seen have been disappointing, and the festival isn't what it used to be."

Grey Enrick didn't believe his peers and, after a smile, focused on the small screen. The camera shook violently, and the coarse, poor-quality images made him dizzy.

He glanced at his two colleagues, realizing they weren't lying. This wasn't a real film. His family recordings were better.

Indeed, the Sundance Film Festival seemed to have no standards anymore, allowing any rubbish to be showcased.

Billy Hoffert discreetly observed Michael and Grey. Seeing them both shaking their heads, he didn't say much but glanced more at the two men screening the film.

The DV recording was awful, but it gave him a strange feeling, making him think it might have some hidden value, though he couldn't pinpoint what it was.

The small screen suddenly went black; the old projector had failed.

"Sorry," the white man with glasses apologized, "The projector broke. I apologize."

He didn't attempt to fix it but approached them.

While screening, he had been quietly observing, sensing that these last few viewers were film buyers.

He couldn't keep this film under wraps. He had taken the film to many companies, but none had shown any interest. Coming to Sundance was a last-ditch effort.

If the film went unnoticed at the festival, it would have to be shelved.

"I'm Daniel Malick, the director of this film," the man introduced himself, handing his business card to Michael, Grey, and Billy. "We have another screening tomorrow. I'll try to rent a new projector. If you're interested, call me, and I'll inform you of the time."

Billy took the card casually, "Thanks."

Grey, though unimpressed by the film, maintained his professional courtesy as a buyer, just as he had with Michael initially. He took the card politely and said, "It's an interesting film."

Finally, Daniel handed the card to Michael, who took it, glanced at it, and said, "Interesting film."

It was a disingenuous comment. Even Billy and Grey could sense it, and Tony wanted to roll his eyes. Could it be more perfunctory?

Michael pocketed the card and pulled Tony along, "Let's go."

Tony nodded, "No more crappy films. If you're taking me to see movies, find something visually pleasing."

As they walked away, Michael said, "The shaking made me dizzy too. I've had enough. Let's go to sleep."

These words reached Daniel Malick clearly, and he smiled wryly. Was it a mistake to invest in this film?

Grey shook his head too. This film had no value. Strictly speaking, it wasn't even a film.

Seeing Grey Enrick leave, Billy hesitated and left as well.

There seemed to be hidden value in the film, but logic told him it wouldn't sell even as a videotape on the market.

He decided to wait for the director's next screening and see.

Such films had a 99% chance of being a bust for the makers.

Besides, with such poor visuals and shaky camera work, and no storyline, what was the point of buying it? To release it as a videotape?

As a seasoned film buyer, he couldn't justify buying a market-less videotape film at Sundance.

Back at the hotel room, Tony changed clothes and invited Michael to the hotel bar.

"Maybe we'll run into a starlet," Tony said to Michael.

Michael took out the business card, then his phone, and gestured to Tony, "You go ahead, I have work to do."

Seeing Michael dialing the number on the card, Tony's jaw dropped in shock, "No way, Michael, you're interested in that crappy film? You want to buy that DV recording? Can that even be called a film?"

Michael raised a finger to his lips for silence and dialed the number.

Tony stared at Michael in disbelief, scratching his head. Even the most poorly made German adult films he'd seen were better than that DV recording.

Michael ignored Tony, patiently waiting for the call to connect.

"This is Daniel Malick. How can I help you?"

Hearing the voice, Michael dropped the pretense, "Hello, Director Daniel Malick, I'm Michael Davenport, a film buyer from Seashore Entertainment. I watched your film tonight and would like to discuss it with you."

The voice on the other end was filled with surprise, "Ah...ah! Okay! When? Now?"

Michael didn't want to seem too eager, as that would be disadvantageous, "Tomorrow at 9 AM. I'll be at the Park City Hotel cafe."

"Okay! Okay!" The excitement was palpable, "I'll be there on time!"