Video-on-Demand - Industry Tools for the Short Film

More and more these days, short films are not only being digitally recorded or post-produced, but are also being distributed on digital media. At the same time, the development of broadband networks is booming worldwide, enabling rapid transmission of large quantities of data down to the last mile, i.e. to the last end-user. Now, digital films can be distributed in steadily improving audio and video quality over telephone lines or cable networks.

 

These parallel developments converge in Video-on-Demand systems. Further accelerating the process are the financial interests of the network operators, above all the telecoms and Internet providers, who need new services and content to increase traffic in their networks and thus up their profits. New content providers are sprouting up to fill this market niche with digital network-ready products. Among these products is the short film. Video-on-Demand systems need short films in particular for their market launch phase and for pilot projects.

 

There are basically two different ways in which Video-on-Demand is used: for consumer product offers and for providing industry services. Taking precedence here as the engine for development is the consumer market, with the development of professional tools for the industry crawling along behind it, still in its infancy.

 

All of the major technical advances, such as the improvement of network architectures, better compression codes and broadband optimization, concentrate on the needs of end-users. Filmmakers and producers have been left out of the picture in two respects. First, they hardly stand to benefit much from online sales or the Video-on-Demand market. Even though these distribution services are offered to the filmmakers ‘free of charge’, there is usually no money to be made from the value chain between providers and consumers. Second, up until now they have been excluded from direct participation in the channel, as the technical capabilities of Business-to-Business structures designed for the film industry are still quite underdeveloped.

 

What’s more, even though the short film sector is the main supplier for the new VoD systems, there are still no industry solutions available for this field. Only very recently has there been a noticeable step-up in the development of web-based services for the film industry in general. In the last few months alone, a series of applications – including some that are useful for the short film sector – have been presented to the public. Driving this development are primarily the organized short film institutions, i.e. festivals, distributors and short film agencies. In the following, we would like to introduce some of the forerunners and some examples of these new B2B applications.

 

 

AtomFilms – the circuitous route to the film trade

 

AtomFilms is to date the most successful provider of Streaming Video-on-Demand (SVoD). At first glance, it’s hard to believe that AtomFilms is operating a lively film business. AtomFilms is known to consumers above all as a website, popular for its broad selection of diverse short films, all streamed free of charge. Unlike other Internet providers, AtomFilms is not dependent on advertising revenues. The reason for this is that its real business is conducted behind the public Web façade: namely, the sale of short films. The key to the company’s success lies in the extremely clever utilization of its own Web activities as a market research tool. By analysing statistics on visitors to its site and their usage behaviour, AtomFilms obtains detailed data and revealing information on market structure and demands. The system also includes user surveys to determine whether viewers enjoyed a particular film and why, allowing AtomFilms to enter into a dialogue with its customers. Based on this information, for example the popularity of certain films, AtomFilms can then be assured of success when it releases DVDs or VHS tapes on the market. In addition, and this is the second factor for success, this is a great way to sell film rights profitably to distribution partners, who include big global players like Warner Brothers, Blockbuster and Sony. The film business running in the background at the same time represents the only opportunity for filmmakers to participate in the ‘value chain’, because AtomFilms usually pays nothing or next to nothing for the films it mass-releases over the Internet.

 

 

Services just for filmmakers – for example WAB

 

Withoutabox (WAB) is in many ways an exception to the norm. It is the first Internet application conceived and structured expressly to meet the needs of filmmakers. Since summer 2000, Withoutabox has offered filmmakers the opportunity to register their films centrally, online. Once the data on the film has been recorded in a kind of master entry form, the film can be submitted to any number of festivals ‘at the touch of a button’ ("One Form - Once!"). For this paperless registration, WAB provides filter functions and options that help filmmakers find just the right festivals for their films.

In addition to electronic submissions, WAB also lets filmmakers store information on their films centrally in an "Online Press Kit", which can be included with festival submissions if desired. The kit might contain brief texts on the film, polished publications, or image files. Recently, an option was also made available for putting trailers or film clips on the Web. Direct upload is not possible, however, i.e. the film clips must be sent to Withoutabox on a conventional videotape or CD/DVD. In this way, WAB can ensure a minimum quality standard.

Hence, Withoutabox is still only halfway to becoming a true virtual film market, which it would be if the services were also available to buyers, or if the films were accessible online at the festival film markets. Founded by filmmakers, the company remains true to its philosophy of solely acting as intermediary between filmmakers and festivals. Although Withoutabox has done well in the USA, it has not really been able to gain a foothold yet outside its home country. (For more on Withoutabox, see Topic 12/2002).

 

A similar European initiative, albeit not really comparable to WAB in terms of range, convenience and versatility, has been started by "Sauve qui peut le court métrage". The organizers of the Clermont-Ferrand short film festival are now offering an online registration platform at www.shortfilmdepot.com. Originally developed for submissions to its own festival, shortfilmdepot.com ("the ultimate shortfilm registration system") is based on a uniform registration form for all participating festivals. For the technical realization of this scheme, the operators are collaborating with the French company Boostup, which already set up the electronic film market at Clermont-Ferrand and Cannes.

 

 

Distributor-oriented services – for example the KurzFilmAgentur Hamburg

 

Most of the international film distribution and sales agencies put their catalogues online long ago. As a rule, these Internet catalogues offer only text information, accompanied at the most by images. Rarely, there are also film clips available, for example at Lux Online (London) or the Video Data Bank (Chicago).

Quite late in the game, but nonetheless with very convenient search options and an integrated ordering service, the KurzFilmAgentur Hamburg now has also put its distribution online in the form of a database. With more than 300 entries, the catalogue primarily addresses the distributor’s customers – making it a true industry solution. Cinemas can search for short films to show before their features, by entering keywords, theme, film style, genre or running time. The selected films can then be ordered directly online. A special feature is the option for users to personally design and print a poster announcing each film. There are also stills to use for publicity work. At this time, clips are available for only a few films.

 

 

Festival-centred services – for example Reelport

 

A few years ago, the major international short film festivals began to make their film submissions available in the form of a video library for ‘offline’ viewing by professional visitors attending the festivals. Since the film information was collected in databases anyway, the next logical step was to also grant online access. The International Short Film Festival Oberhausen was a pioneer in this field, publishing its market catalogue on a password-protected section of its website at an early date. Today, some 40,000 titles are registered there. The Clermont-Ferrand festival also offers this service, with an equal number of entries. Since no film clips can be viewed and, apart from research, no additional services are offered – such as direct contact with the rights owners – these are basically online versions of the printed catalogues.

 

An entirely new route is being pursued by Reelport - a MEDIA-sponsored pilot project of the European festivals. Reelport is both a digital submission platform and a virtual film market catalogue in one. In future, Reelport will also fulfil e-Cinema functions. Established by the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, this most wide-ranging of the industry platforms for short film to date has enlisted the co-operation of the Göteborg Film Festival, the Tampere and Vila do Conde short film festivals, as well as the Festival Signes de nuit and Exground Wiesbaden.

 

On Reelport, filmmakers from all over the world can register their works and submit them to several festivals. As on Withoutabox and shortfilmdepot.com, the filmmaker also fills out a master entry form. However, the entry screen on Reelport is multilingual (currently available in 6 languages).

 

The most problematic aspect technically for all online submission platforms is the interface with the systems used by the respective festivals. In the past, this led many festivals to hesitate to join a collective scheme, instead developing their own online entry forms. On Reelport, data is transferred via a Web interface that enables users to select both the film registrations and data fields individually online and then download them as an XML file. How this data is then processed and stored in the festival’s own database – for example, using an import script – is up to each festival to decide.

 

The major difference from the other submission platforms is that with Reelport, the film itself is stored along with the registration. Filmmakers or producers can upload their films onto the server directly from their desktop. Therefore, not only the entry form is transmitted, but the film itself is right there online for immediate viewing by the festivals. The video and audio quality of the submitted digital films ultimately depends on the technical skills and care taken by the filmmakers and submitters. With sufficient resolution, films uploaded in this way can also serve as the version that will actually be screened at the festival cinema.

 

In operation only since 2004, Reelport has already passed its first test in actual festival practice. For this year’s Oberhausen festival, 750 short films were submitted via Reelport, viewed by the selection committee and made available during the festival at the film market for viewing on monitors. One of the films transmitted via Reelport was even shown on the big screen in one of the competition programmes.

 

Reelport is thus more than just a submission platform. The aim of the pilot project is to make the entire festival participation process digital in the course of the next two years, from submission to cinema projection.

 

The resulting film database will then form the basis for an online film market (not yet in operation). If the rights owners agree, the professional public – in particular film buyers – can be granted password-protected access to this market. Since Reelport is an IP service on the Internet, it can be accessed anywhere there is a PC with Internet connection. All users need is a conventional browser and free open source VLC media player.

 

Plans are to open up the online film market to programme suppliers as well, such as distributors, film schools or film dealers, so that they will be able to offer their repertoire on the worldwide Web. Reelport is thus opening up completely new sales channels for short film, unbound by time or place, and could end up evolving into a genuine virtual film market.

(Note: Reelport version 2 will be launched end July, with a new design and expanded structure. URL: http://www.reelport.com)

 

 

Film market services - virtual film markets

 

A few virtual film markets and B2B solutions have recently become available for the programme trade among global players in the film and media business. These networks are usually not based on the public Internet.

 

Instead, the completely digital system implemented by French company SmartJog for the film market organizer Reed MIDEM (Cannes), for example, uses private satellite networks for data transmission. Unlike systems based on central servers on the decentralized Internet, SmartJog uses special decentralized client servers at every input und output point. This considerably more expensive variation not only allows for high-capacity realtime broadband connections, but also for direct links between programme suppliers and buyers. Hence, buyers can log in with a certain programme supplier and request that the programme catalogue be sent to them directly via the data line. The same system can also be used to conclude contracts and then deliver the programmes directly ‘to the buyer’s door’ in broadcast quality. SmartJog was used publicly for the first time at MIPDOC 2005 in Cannes. The viewing booths were connected with the SmartJog servers and directly linked with the decentralized programme suppliers, from whose catalogues the buyers could select programmes and then bring them up onto the monitor for viewing.

 

Such luxuriously equipped e-Film Market systems would surely be overkill for the short film trade. But on a more modest level, there will soon be electronic film markets for short films as well. In addition to Reelport, several other projects are already in the pipeline.

 

In a co-operative effort between the Clermont-Ferrand short film festival und the Short Film Corner in Cannes, the French company Boostup was enlisted to work on this kind of virtual film market system. One of the advantages of Boostup’s system in comparison to other architectures is that the streaming video server can serve various output ports. such as PCs, set-top boxes and a terminal developed in-house and christened the "Boobox". The Boostup video system is already in use by some of the French festivals, although only on a local and offline basis. Since the co-operation between Clermont-Ferrand and Cannes was terminated this spring, it remains to be seen what impact this will have on the development of France’s own online film market.

 

A further initiative has been announced by Filmkontakt Nord. This non-profit agency founded by independent short film and documentary makers from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, with headquarters in Copenhagen, is planning a virtual film market with video streaming service for film festivals and buyers, to be named "Buyers’ Corner". The basis for the service is formed by the group’s own video library and film database of Scandinavian short films and documentaries. Buyers’ Corner is expected to be online by year-end.

(See also our portrait of Filmkontakt Nord, Topic 03/2003)

 

 

Conclusions

 

Up until now, all of the initiatives for Business-to-Business applications in the short film field have been strongly aligned along the needs of their respective clientele or providers. Each has a different focus and offers very specific services – without providing for any reciprocity or even compatibility. Submission-only platforms are probably doomed to fail if they do not manage to carve out a monopoly within their sector – either geographically or by focusing on a specific target group. The same goes for Video-on-Demand systems, which cannot be economically viable if they put all their stock in distributing short films over the Internet. The smart combination of VoD with film-market elements, on the other hand, has a chance of succeeding. There is a danger, however, that demand for short films on the VoD market will drop once technology makes it possible to stream longer formats in good quality. The optimal solution from the point of view of short-film makers does not yet exist: a jointly operated virtual film market. What’s missing here is the corresponding organizational structure, such as an association or co-operative that does not cater to special interests. We can confidently predict, though, that the near future will bring several virtual film markets with various strengths, operating side-by-side. All that’s missing now are the hordes of short-film buyers. :-)

 

Reinhard W. Wolf