Upgrading Audio in a 2010 Honda Fit Without Replacing the Factory Radio – Part 1

I recently bought a 2010 Honda Fit Sport. It’s a fun car to drive. It’s a little loud at highway speeds, but I like it quite a bit.

The problem is the 2010 audio system. This is the higher end Fit, but does not have the navigation system. I looked for a used one of those, but could not find one. Just saw a picture of one. This version has both a USB and mini plug aux input for audio. It does not have Bluetooth or much of a screen to communicate much of anything.

It doesn’t sound bad for an 11 year old audio system. But I use bluetooth all the time. Going back to a wired audio connection isn’t ideal.

In previous cars, I would just rip out the stock stereo and replace it with an aftermarket one. This car is a little bit more complex than my older ones.

The dash and radio is more integrated. Instead of a separate radio, which can be easily removed, the center console has this weird oval shaped entertainment area. It has hazard lights, air vents and the climate controls are placed around the edges.

And, it looks like removing it requires more than just popping the bezel off and removing a few screws. Now, Amazon sells complete replacement units. but they are Chinese made radios, with terrible reviews and reliability.

Of course, you can buy an aftermarket stereo kit. In addition to being more complicated than other cars, it makes your dash look odd. You can see an image of the kit below. I’ve decided against it.

So, the first thing I tried was adding Bluetooth. The easiest way to do this, for me, was to use an Amazon Echo Auto device I had. The Echo Auto can connect to a radio through Bluetooth (which I don’t have) and a mini stereo cable. Then you connect your phone to the Echo Auto.

In essence the Echo Auto becomes a Bluetooth bridge between your phone and the stock stereo.

Aftermarket Stereo Kit

Amazon Echo Auto in use.

The Echo Auto comes with an air vent mount, but I wanted it a little lower profile, and didn’t want to block two of the only 4 AC vents in the car. I bought a CD slot mount from Amazon. I also placed a magnetic mount for my phone on the air vent.

Overall this works pretty well. Except the air vent blows right on the Echo microphone. And there are a lot of cables visible.

When I start the car, the Echo powers up, and my phone connects automatically. It can take a few seconds to fully connect. But it’s not bad.

As someone who uses Audible, it’s pretty cool to just start the car, and say, “Alexa, play my audio book” and have it pick right up where I left off. Or play my Amazon music playlists. Or, you can just play audio from your phone and the Bluetooth bridges right into the stock stereo.

So, I’m good? No, of course not.

After the wreck that totaled my Matrix, I had a rental car. For the first time I had access to Apple CarPlay, and I liked it. I liked it a lot. Plug in the phone and all the relevant functions are displayed. Hands free control. Maps navigation.

I want that. But, the only way to get it is through an aftermarket stereo, right? And not a cheap one. It would be a $300ish one.

I started looking at the CarPlay Dongles for Android stereos. I was trying to find out if I could get a cheaper Android aftermarket radio and still use CarPlay. Turns out, you can. You can download an app, hook up a dongle, plug in your iPhone and use CarPlay on an android stereo. Any Android stereo using software version 4.4.2 or later.

But that still means ripping up the dash. I’d rather not.

One morning, I woke up and had this crazy thought… can you use these dongles with any Android device? Could you use it with an Android tablet?

Yep. You can. I’m not the first to wonder about it, and won’t be the first to do it. There are several posts, blogs and videos talking about the process. It’s the same as loading it up on your radio. The challenge is charging the tablet wheel using the dongle.

Here’s what I will need:

Android Tablet- The Kindle Fire, which costs just $50, will work. You can use almost any tablet. But unless you’re going the eBay-from-China route, the Kindle Fire is probably one of the cheapest solutions. I happen to already own a Kindle Fire 7.

Apple CarPlay Dongle- These can be pricey, but I found a wired version from Carlinkit for about $40 on Amazon.

Tablet Car Mount- I’m not sure which of these I will buy. There are several that run between $20 and $30 on Amazon. These mount in the CD slot. I want one that will be solid, and hang lower than an air vent mount.

OTG Charging and USB Cable- The Kindle Fire will only last a few hours. I need to find a cable that allows me to plug the power cable into the tablet and attach the dongle via USB. This seems to be a challenge for most trying to do this sort of thing. One guy said he had a cable that would not add charge, but would hold charge while plugged in. Driving around town this won’t be an issue, but on long trips it will be come important. I’ve got one in my wish list that claims to be able to charge and pass USB signals at the same time.

In the meantime, the Echo Auto will work until I can get it figured out.

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Make an Impact, Judge a Round of Speech & Debate

TL;DR Summary: Sign up to judge a round at the Piney Woods Derby, a speech & debate tournament happening at Mobberly on Nov. 4-6. It’s fun and there will be prizes. Visit pineywoodsderby.com and click the link under Make an Impact.

I wanted to let you know about an event in Longview where you can have a direct impact on members of future generations. Let me explain.

On Nov. 4-6, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, there will be about 80 Junior High and High School students on competing in a speech & debate tournament. These are Christian homeschool students. You can have a direct impact of these students through your feedback as a judge for a round of speech or debate.

Before you say you’re not qualified, let me assure you that you are exactly who we want to come and judge these students. We use parents, alumni, and people from the community- just like you- to judge rounds. And- we train you in how to do it. Our students are learning to communicate with all audiences. And your feedback lets them know how they can improve, and what they are doing well. These kids are amazing, and they work really hard to compete in tournaments like this one. I don’t think it’s possible for me to oversell how awesome these students are. But don’t take my word for it, check out what others have said about these events: 

https://youtu.be/kxhLxDvzh1E

You could judge a speech round, which might be something these students have written themselves, or may be a funny speech, or a serious speech. You could judge a debate round, where competitors are debating the merits of artificial intelligence policy or modern medical techniques. Or other interesting topics.

And, for every round you judge, you will be entered in a drawing for prizes.

So, you get to have a real impact on a Christian student, you get to hear some amazing speeches or debates, and you could win a gift card or other prize just for judging. Win/Win/Win.

How do you sign up? Visit pineywoodsderby.com. Click the link under Make and Impact, Register to Judge Today. There you will see all the relevant information. It’s a 2-3 hour commitment to get trained, and judge the round. You can judge one round, or as many as you want.

PS: There will also be free snacks.

PPS: Still don’t think you’re qualified? Watch this:

Technical Director

For most of my career I’ve worked in Media or Media & Communications. There are parts of each that I really enjoy.

I work at Mobberly Baptist Church, a large SBC church in ETX. I started out at Mobberly in a video position, then about three years later I moved to a Communications only position. This was the first time I had no media responsibilities.

I’m not a graphic designer, so my tasks focused on project management, and expectation management, as well as web, PR, advertising, brand management, etc. I enjoyed much of what I did in Communications, but when COVID hit I flexed back into some media roles.

I hadn’t realized how much I missed live production. I was reminded how much I missed using video creatively. So, when the Tech Director position looked like it was going to be opening up, I talked with my boss about moving back into media.

Starting in September, I will lead our staff and volunteer teams in the areas of audio, video and lighting production.

My title is Technical Director, which is a true enough description. But there is a lot more creativity involved. I am eager to get back into more video production.

Honey, Vinegar, and Customer Service

I am very excited that Sparklight is laying the infrastructure to provide an alternative to cable internet in our town. I was happy to see the work crews show up on our street. I noticed that our yard was getting bit of extra attention. And, was getting torn up quite a bit.

One afternoon I came home to mounds of dirt… they were installing these large vaults in the ground. There was a tall cabinet sitting off to the side. A significant portion of my front yard was pilled up in big mounds of dirt. Turns out the 8 foot tall by 3 or 4 foot wide “Node” was going in my front yard.

Not near the wooded area by my property line. This Node was going about 20 feet in. As you drove up to my house you would see a massive industrial storage box in front of my home. And, the placement would make backing out of my driveway on a busy street more dangerous.

It would be dangerous, and it would drastically lessen the curb appeal of my home. Literally making my home worth less money. Any attempts to dress the box up would make visibility even worse.

They had not bothered to talk to me about this. Had I not gone over to see what was happening, I would have just come home one day to find the thing in the yard. So, what to do? I can be angry, I have sufficient reason. There are several other locations the box could go. The engineers didn’t consider how this placement would affect us. The just drove their excavator onto my property and started digging. Their indifference would impact us long after they have moved in to another yard.

Have you ever heard that quip about how it’s easier to catch flies with honey than vinegar?

The thing about Utility Easements and right of way and stuff, the homeowner doesn’t have a lot of options. You can file injunctions and things, get lawyers involved, but that’s expensive and there’s no assurance of winning. And once you go down that road, there’s no going back. I decided to be friendly, understanding and ask for these guys to help me.

I asked a few questions about why the Node was placed there. Asked to talk to the site supervisor. He came over and we talked about the layout, and asked if it was set in stone or could be changed. He called his supervisor. The supervisor said they had to so what the engineers said. But he would talk to them, and see what could be done. The whole time we kept things light. It certainly wasn’t the fault of these men, they were doing their jobs.

A few minutes later the supervisor showed up and then the engineers. I greeted them, explained my concerns. I didn’t yell, or complain. Just asked if there was anything they could do. I told them I would be very grateful for their help. They assured me they would look at moving the Node, if it was possible. But needed to look at easements and see what could be done.

Saturday morning, the crew was back, and moving the Node to the other side of the road, by the brushy area near the trail by our home. I expected them to maybe move the Node back to the property line, still on my lawn but not in the middle of it. They had found a better solution than I hoped for.

The engineers and crew went far above my expectations. And beyond what they had to do. I doubt the outcome would have been the same if I had approached them with anger.

Amazon Video Direct Slams Gates on Indie Documentaries and Shorts

Amazon Video Direct has been changing. It used to be a wide open platform, where anyone who could meet their tech requirements was guaranteed to find a spot on Amazon Video. You content could be seen by their millions of customers. It likely wouldn’t, but the algorithm did a decent job of showing your content to people, and you can directly market your films on the site, yourself.

Over the last couple of years AVD has been tightening the creative reins. They’ve been rejecting poor-er quality films. But, if you had a well produced movie, you could still get on board. Recently they’ve added using their S3 storage for titles. And begun kicking tiles off of Prime (SVOD) based on their murky CER ratings.

And this week, the bell tolled for niche market documentaries and short films. The submission page reads (On Feb. 17, 2021):

“All content submitted through Prime Video Direct is made available at the sole discretion of Amazon. At this time, we’re no longer accepting unsolicited licensing submissions via Prime Video Direct for non-fiction and short form content. We’ll notify you if these categories become available for consideration.”

So, if your documentary isn’t solicited by them, you cannot get it on the service. In other words, to get your documentary on Amazon you have to use an aggregator and hope it’s selected or a distributor who will work to get it selected. Just like Netflix and other streaming outlets.

Self distributing a movie just got harder for doc filmmakers. There used to be a few places without gatekeepers to get your film out, and recoup some of the cost of making it. AVD just slammed the gates shut on indie docs and short films.

How to Refute an Argument

You may or may not know that I have been coaching a group of (mostly) new Lincoln Douglas debaters in our newly formed speech & debate club. Side Note– This activity is one of the best you can get your kids involved in. They learn how to research, communicate, recognize good arguments and bad ones, and how to disagree without hating the person they disagree with. Find a club, join it.

One of the things we are working on is refutations. To refute an argument you have to look at its parts and point out the weaknesses. I think this process can be massively helpful in the world.

An argument, if well constructed, will have 3 parts: Claim, warrant and impact.

1. Claim- It’s a declaration. It frames the rest of the argument, and helps shape the overall discussion. There’s normally an assertion tied to a subject.
2. Warrant- This is the reason we should accept the claim. It’s evidence, logic, inference. 
3. Impact- This is why it’s important. 

An argument should have all 3 of these present, though some could be implied.
To refute an argument you must find weaknesses in the parts.

You can attack a claim. Maybe the claim doesn’t apply to the overall discussion. Maybe it’s just a statement by itself, without a warrant. Does the assertion relate to the subject of the claim?

You often find the most meat for refutation when examining the warrant. What is the reasoning, is it sound? If there is evidence- is it solid, is the interpretation sound, is there contradicting evidence? Does the reasoning apply to the claim? 

You can attack the impact. Does the argument outweigh others? How much of a difference does this argument make to the issue? An argument may be true, but outweighed by other factors, which are also true. 

As you are reading things on the internet, listening to media, talking with your friends and neighbors, the more you practice thinking about arguments critically, the more quickly you can discern what’s true and what’s less than true. 

The Supreme Court, Science and the First Amendment

Today the Supreme Court of The United Stated (SCOTUS) issued a splintered opinion on a case that pits California’s government against a church in CA. Here’s the basics of what the case was about:

CA is pretty much in lockdown. Like many places across the country, they shutdown when COVID-19 hit and we didn’t know what was going on with it. We did not know how deadly it was, how easily transmissible it was, etc… So, the country pretty much shut down for a while. These stay at home, close your businesses that are not essential rules were applied across the board.

Fast forward to now. CA is lifting some restriction. They are allowing places of business to open back up, with limited capacity. They have made some glaring exceptions to some rules for entertainment industry activities. But churches were included in the must remain closed, no indoor activity group.

So, South Bay United Pentecostal Church sued Gavin Newsom, the Governor of CA. The church argued that to restrict them when other businesses are open is wrong, and they should not be treated differently. The state said they are treated differently because they do different things- gather inside in groups from multiple families, stay there for a long time, and sing or chant.

SCOTUS released their splintered opinion on this case. The gist is this, churches can open up to the capacity limits of other businesses, but cannot sing or chant- at all. There’s quite a bit of discussion on which justice said what in these opinions. I want to focus on the fundamental ruling, and where I think SCOTUS approached it all wrong.

Justice Kagan wrote the dissent, and her first two sentences sets this up: “Justices of this Court are not scientists. Nor do we know much about public health policy.”

But the court made its decision based on science, not the Constitution.

No one is denying that governments can issue stay at home orders. The issue is whether churches can be treated differently than other secular groups. To me, this is clear: if you single out a church for restriction, but allow other, similar activity to occur, you are in violation of the 1st amendment, which stops government from making rules that prohibit the free exercise of religion.

It’s one thing to say there is a public health hazard and everyone must do the same thing. It’s another to say that movie studios and recording venues can sing with precautions, but churches cannot follow the same precautions and sing in worship.

Now, a couple of the Justices (Barret and Kavanaugh) hinted that they would have allowed (might still allow) singing if they can show, in court, there is a different standard applied. But the applicant for relief did not prove this. If this were proven, they may be open to change, but that’s only 4 justices, with Alito as probably 5th after a 30 day period he favored. The failure to show this disparity falls on the lawyers for the church.

Of course, these opinions are based on what they think science has said. They are not looking at the Constitution first. Instead, they look to see if science can justify the difference in behavior. Keep in mind, CA’s position is that church’s should be closed, indoors. These justices are allowing them to open up some, but not all, because of their understanding of science and virus transmission.

Is it smart for churches to gather and sit close, and sing without masks? No.

Is it the government’s job to protect my health or protect my rights more? CA says health, and 6 or 7 SCOTUS Justices agree, though they may disagree with how CA interprets the science.

Churches and people who attend should be as free to worship, gather, sing, etc… as any other business in the governed area. A church may choose to follow stricter guidelines, as many do across the nation- but it’s their choice. If any business can be opened, the church should be as free as they are. To do otherwise, as the government, is to prohibit the free exercise of religion. That is a violation of the First Amendment.

As Justice Kagan said, they are inserting themselves into places where experts should advise. SCOTUS should simply rule that churches must be afforded the same rules as any other secular place of business. Instead, we have unqualified scientists disagreeing about how to prevent transmission of COVID.

[Photo by Ian Hutchinson on Unsplash]

7 Ways to Make Social Media Better in 2021

Millions use social media on a regular basis. During 2020 and the COVID Pandemic, people have used it even more. And the flaws of social media have been showing. Misinformation, accusations of censorship, comment wars and more have made using social media a worse experience than ever before.

Here are 7 things you can do to help make social media better in 2021:

1. Don’t share posts you don’t know are true (even if you hope they are true).

Understand that confirmation bias is real, and we all have it. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Reality is almost never simple, and a meme that matches your wildest dreams is probably not completely true. A picture of someone else’s social media post is not proof or evidence. Do a little bit of research and make sure what you are posting is true.

2. Follow people with different viewpoints.

One of the ways social media encourages echo chambers is it reinforces what you interact with. If you only interact with one perspective, eventually you see less of other perspectives. If no one challenges your viewpoint, it’s easy to adopt false information as true. Break out of the echo chamber.

3. Don’t use social media for purely political purposes.

Be social. Remember when social media was fun? When you were catching up with old friends? Enjoying pics from family? Social media doesn’t have to be about politics. Use these platforms to enhance your relationships, instead of arguing.

4. Don’t read the comments.

Seriously, make a concerted effort to not get involved. Have you ever known of anyone to change their mind about religion or politics because of a comment war? I know, it’s hard. Especially when people are so wrong. But don’t join every comment thread. Make an effort to reduce the amount of arguments you have online. You will be happier.

5. Develop thicker skin.

Not every post is directed at you. There is no need to comment on every post you disagree with. Just scroll past.

6. Blood is thicker than water and friendship is thicker than ideas.

It’s sad that some ideas can come between friends and family. It’s completely possible to hold opposing ideas, and be friends. Just look at the late SCOTUS Justices Scalia and Ginsburg. They were on completely opposite ends of the spectrum, but were good friends. People are more than the sum of their political ideas. We can, and should, care about more than what political party someone is in, or whether they support the same causes we do.

7. Reduce the amount of time you spend on social media.

Doom Scrolling is real. And if you’ve allowed yourself to be entombed in a Social Media echo chamber, the world can seem bleak. Like the world is against you. But that’s not reality. Social Media, by it’s very nature, simplify’s ideas for easier sharing.

Read a book, read a news paper, watch a documentary, watch a news report. Don’t use Social Media as your main window to the world. In addition, call a friend or family member. Text them. Go on a walk. Interact with people and world outside of social media. You will be happier and healthier this year.

Misinformation on Facebook is Its Own Fault

I originally posted this on my Facebook feed. I understand the irony in posting complaints about FB’s algorithms on a feed that is controlled by that same algorithm.

Facebook has created the misinformation problem it has, but won’t take real steps to fix it.

Facebook helped create the environment that fed into the echo chambers that spread misinformation. Their current attempts to fix this are doomed to failure and could have unintended consequences. And they will not fix the root cause of the issue because it would hurt them financially.

Facebook desperately wants to squash misinformation. Their current method is to flag any post on certain subjects with a warning and link to what Facebook thinks is accurate information. There is no review of the posts which are tagged. Write any post, fact or false, with certain keywords and the warnings come up.

This has the consequence of classifying both true and untrue content together. Every post about these subjects is suspect. But Facebook will make sure to tell us all the truth.

An open platform should not set themselves up as the arbiter of what is true and correct. Aside from the fact they can be wrong, this can end up with two unwanted results.

First, there are those who want FB to be regulated. This move to try to self-regulate content sends a signal that content on these open platforms should be regulated. As objectionable as it is to have FB tell me what is true, imagine some sub committee made of up government employees or, worse, partisans appointed by what ever party happens to be in charge telling you what is true or false.

The second undesired result is that FB becomes a publisher not a platform. The natural next step beyond telling users what is true is to actively stop users from seeing what is false.

FB becomes a publisher, and is liable for what is allowed on its channel. And that goes beyond political speech. All sorts of copyright issues come into play. IP owners may not sue a 20 year old for posting their property without permission, but there’s money to be made in suing the publisher who posts it.

The biggest problem is that these attempts to stop the spread of misinformation and false information attack a symptom of a problem Facebook created and amplified with its own algorithms.

FB created news feeds which “feed” our own confirmation biases and create echo chambers for misinformation. The way to fix that is not for FB to tell me what is fact or fiction, but to change the algorithms to show a wider range of ideas. That addresses a core issue with the platforms in general.

People form common interest ties. They post common interest content. FB sees that you interact with that content and those friends and pages. They show you more of that content. Facebook bragged about this change a few years ago. They are showing us more of what we like and less of what we don’t.

FB would say this makes your experience on the platform better. It also make FB more profitable.

Companies buy exposure on my newsfeed from FB. These companies enjoy a very targeted approach to buying this space on my feed. If Facebook can narrow the types of posts, which represent the sort of interests I have, they can offer a better deal to advertisers. If I see posts and information across 100 interest areas, and interact with a broader range of people and pages, companies have to spend more, across a broader range, to get me to buy their stuff. If FB can lower that range to 75 or 50 areas of interest, their ad placements become more effective. Companies buy more ads and FB makes more money.

They have been doing this for years. Here’s how this practice led to the rapid sharing of what people think is problematic information. The medium inherently causes transmission issues.

Social media’s inherent requirement to distill complex, nuanced content down to simpler ideas comes into play. The “TL: DR” -too long, didn’t read- response was created because reading long and complex information online is hard. (Thanks for read this long and complex content in the internet)FB needs us to keep scrolling, so we can see more ads. So they prioritize images and videos, and downplay text. Any post or comment over a few sentences gets shortened with a “see more” link, so you can quickly scroll past it.

The result is complex issues reduced to memes and emotional entreaties. Now add the FB algorithm.

So person A has their friend group. A political meme gets shared from a page. Several people share it in that group. FB’s computers take note that content from that page was popular in this group of people. Meanwhile, another meme which didn’t fit into the group’s biases was seen and the group did not share it. FB notes that content was not popular.

Now, when that first page posts something, the algorithm doesn’t know whether it’s true or not. It just shows the content to the group. Meanwhile, content showing a contrary opinion from the 2nd source is not shown to them.

This goes on for literally years. Information that the group likes and that affirms their biases is reinforced to FB as what should be in their feed. Contrary information is reduced. Because FB shows us what we like, we eventually end up in an echo chamber. Ideas we welcome get reshared and commented on and liked. Ideas we don’t like, get seen less often.

Now election time comes. FB’s algorithm cannot distinguish fact from fiction. So it shares both true and false information with the group. And since FB has learned that contrary opinions don’t get the attention, they cut them out of the feed.

One day a piece of untrue information is shared. It fits what the group has previously interacted with, so the algorithm shows the group. No contrary information is provided. Person A sees that lots of their friends have shared the info. And since it fits into a preferred bias, and little to no opposing views are shared, person A believes it. And shares it, too.

Cut to today. We’ve got rampant misinformation and questionable sources being shared on Facebook. How do we fix it?

Facebook labels anything in the subject as potentially false and provides links to what FB thinks is true. This is bad policy.

To really fix it, FB has to stop tailoring newsfeeds the way it does. They need to broaden what is shown to users. Any page or person I have shown any interest in, by liking for friending them, should have the same opportunity to show up on my feed as those I regularly like or comment on.

This will impact the advertising dollars FB uses to operate. And that is why we see ham handed bandaids like what is happening now, instead of real change in the root causes of the issue.

Now, this isn’t all FB’s fault. We will still have confirmation bias and a tendency to resist what we don’t agree with. But FB can help by not reinforcing those tendencies. What they are doing now is wrong headed and will end badly.

Streaming for Indie Filmmakers in 2020

It stinks.

On Monday, Regal announced it would be indefinitely closing US and UK theaters.

I also heard from Christian Cinema that one of my titles- arguably my best work- was immediately removed from their catalog because it didn’t meet their small viewership threshold.

And I got an email satisfaction survey from Amazon Prime Video Direct.
All on the same day. This just reminded me how terrible the market is for indie filmmakers right now.

As more major theaters close, and more studios release major movies to streaming first, indie filmmakers watch an already crowded market of independent work get shoved to a second tier. There’s no way a movie with a budget of under $20k can compete with a studio film with name actors and actual advertising money.  The only thing we used to have going for us was that when people wanted to stream things, they could choose older movies and shows or indie content. Now, they can choose new content from major studios.

That brings me to Christian Cinema. A few years ago I put my series on there. It wasn’t the most amazing series ever produced, but it was a niche product and I was a small fish in a small pond. A couple of months later, Christian Cinema added a ton of family friendly, but not specifically Christian content. Suddenly my small pond was pretty big.

When I submitted my documentary to Christian Cinema, I asked about partnering with them on some promotion. My doc film is different than anything else on their platform and still fit their audience very well. They would not even answer the question.

My doc film was available on pages and pages of “documentary” content. The only highlight it got was from my efforts. And frankly, it was easier for people to use Amazon or Vimeo on Demand. So it never saw a lot of sales or rentals on that platform.

Fast forward two years, and amazingly my old series has seen purchases while the documentary did not meet their minimum threshold. So, it’s gone. Like surprise- open an email, last line says it’s gone as of today. Gone. I know that’s in the contract, but I guess I expected some notice, instead of a by-the-way-we-deleted-it email. It’s disheartening to see something you spent 2 years working on get so few views it gets pulled from the “small pond” you put it on.

That leaves Amazon and a couple of places Film Hub is placing the movie. And Amazon pretty much stinks with regard to confusing policies and low royalties. I guess they can because they are Amazon, and their algorithm works, sort of. 

To be honest, no one knows about the movie. I mean, local people know, but no one knows. My meager marketing efforts never reached a tipping point with awareness of the film. I can spend money on social media ads and see views of the film, but with royalties being so low I could never earn more than I was spending. I spent a lot of time trying to find a magical formula for ad spending vs earning, and never figured it out. Maybe I just needed a lot more capital to start with, maybe it’s not scalable? How can no-budget films break through the noise to be seen?

The barrier to entry for indie filmmakers is low. That’s a two edged sword. One the one edge, anyone with a smart phone can make and distribute a film. On the other, no matter how bad it is, anyone with a smartphone can distribute a movie. How can your work get noticed in the sea of content?

I was approached by a marketing firm recently. After the 3rd email, I responded. Their program is this- pay them $800 up front and 30% of revenue and they will market the film. So I did the math on how many revenue shared $1 rentals it would take to recoup $800. When I asked if he could promise I would see that money back… the conversation stopped. I also asked if he had watched the movie… he apparently had not. I might (might) have been tempted to use their company if he had a real passion for the project, instead of just using google to search for indie content and cold emailing them.

There was a time in Indie Christian filmmaking, when just getting a DVD of a movie into brick and mortar stores guaranteed thousand of sales. I heard people say that “You just have to keep the budget under $200k, because that’s about what you will bring in.” Things have changed so much. I definitely missed that window. 

I tried to break the system for Christian TV series, and saw great openness to broadcast the program, but very, very little ability or willingness to pay for the program. I’ve now tried working within the broken indie, self-distribution system. I’ve been smart enough to not spend money I could not afford on production, and fortunate enough to break even or not end up more than a few hundred dollars underwater on a project. But I cannot make a living the way I have approached filmmaking. I describe myself as a part-time filmmaker, but normal part time jobs pay something. 

So, after all that downer talk, why would anyone keep making movies?
Well, it’s not to get rich. The only reason to keep making content is because you are passionate about the content you are making. 

That’s it. The market is terrible, you’re likely not going to even make your money back. So only produce what you are passionate about. From concept to eventually being removed from streaming platforms, it’s your passion for the project that will carry you through and on to the next one.

[By the way, the documentary is available for free with Prime membership on Amazon now. You can watch with your membership and Amazon will give me about one dime. But at least people will be watching it.]