How to beat Hollywood productions and make a name for yourself

[Eugenia Loli-Queru]

I was thinking the other day about Sanctuary ( http://www.osnews.com/story.php/18033 ), the first serious web-only TV series. And I thought, why Indie film makers haven't done the same thing? I am not talking about creating cr*p like LonelyGirl15 or Prom Queen, but real low-budget series that feel like TV series. Indie film makers can embrace the web and USE it to their advantage, which is something that Hollywood won't do for many more years to come because they are slow adapting in new business realities. This is where Indie filmmakers can really shine because they would embrace these new realities and adapt to them better and faster than anyone else!

The idea is this:
- - You find a sponsor, an advertiser -- or more than one. Without at least one, you should not even start -- except if you like taking risks or if you have money to burn.
- - You create 6 minute webisodes. About 5 minutes for the actual webisode, two 15-second commercials for your sponsor (at the beginning and 3rd minute of the show), 5 seconds mini-commercial acknowledgment of your sponsor at the end of the show, and the rest is about the credit titles (and showing the link where to buy the commercial-free high-res version of the video). By keeping the webisodes at 6 minutes, you are guaranteed to have the attention of the short-spanning viewers of the Internet. Internet viewers don't sit in front of a computer for an hour to watch stuff, everything goes fast on the net. The industry must shape their business around this fact.
- - You shoot on weekends (if that's cheaper), and you edit the series during the week. On the last 2 days of the week you prepare for the next shoot. Of course, depending how well the advertisers are paying you can shoot the whole thing at once, and you can employ a location manager, a producer etc etc. It all depends on the budget you have.
- - There should not be more than 24 webisodes overall. Not only because people are getting bored fast on the net, but also because 24x5=120 minutes, enough for a DVD movie at the end of the cycle. Think of it as a tele-movie, cut in small pieces. Just make sure that the look & feel of each of your webisode is retained throughout the series.
- - Every week, you upload the video (with the ads) on the following video sites. Choose VGA/letterbox/30 or 24fps as your uploading material, as it seems to be the best of all worlds to be compatible with all the video uploading services. I have made the work for you, and here are the 10 MOST popular video services online today, according to Alexa.com and other such sites, in order of popularity:
1. YouTube.com (edit: they now pay shared ad revenue)
2. DailyMotion.com
3. MetaCafe.com
4. Veoh.com
5. Revver.com (they pay for videos)
6. Video.Google.com (?)
7. LiveVideo.com
8. EbaumsWorld.com (controversial choice)
9. iFilm.com
10. Video.Yahoo.com
Please read the terms & conditions of these sites before uploading to them, because some of them might be asking you to give your copyright to them, or other crazy things like that. Definitely make your homework before uploading.
- - You can have special business relations with some sites (just like PromQueen has with Veoh) and not only get listed on their "featured list", but also get money back if your videos are watched a lot.
- - You setup a simple, but nicely done web site (no bloody Flash required except for video playback in a QVGA window), where you can sell commercial-free 720/24p h.264 versions of your webisodes. It is important to not sell 1080i or 720/30p because AppleTV only goes up to 24fps on 720p (plus it will work better with older computers and it will require less downloading/uploading bandwidth). Price should not be more than $0.49 per webisode. For $0.39 you can also sell these videos in QVGA MPEG4-SP letterbox format which is compatible with many cellphones and the iPod. Alternatively, a QVGA h.264 letterbox format will be compatible with the Sony PSP, iPod and the *new* Nokia Symbian S60 3.1 phones (very few units have been sold of S60 3.1 so far, beware).
- - At the end of the series' cycle, about a week after the release of the last webisode, you REMOVE ALL videos from all these video sharing sites above (make sure that removal is an option before you upload, not sure if video.google let's you remove your videos) and you only offer a TRAILER on these sites, along with a link to your site where you sell the ad-free 720p/mobile versions of your tele/web-movie for $9.99 ($8.99 for mobile version), along with a DVD purchase for $9.99! iTunes can also play a role, again selling for $9.99. If you don't want to remove a video from a sharing site, make sure they at least share ad revenue with you.
- - It is up to you if you want to remove previous webisodes from the video sharing sites as a new webisode gets released (and only update each week a "previously on SERIES_TITLE" 1 minute video), or leave them as is until the end of the cycle. Some market research will reveal what's the best strategy to maximize sales without pissing off the viewers or backfiring and have people pirating.
- - To shoot such a web series, even a Canon HV20 should be good enough, at $1000. No reason for more expensive cameras, although they would be welcome if you already have one around.

Of course, for the idea to work you will need a compelling story and quite some planning. It would be a full time job, but that's what enterpreunership and "start ups" are all about. Cr*p like Prom Queen or LonelyGirl15 won't cut it though. I am pretty sure that some of the nice short movies that were submitted in the various DVXFest competitions here at DVXUser could be expanded to 2 hours... I'd love to watch/buy "Imprint" this way for example -- in case that a studio won't buy it to turn it into a full feature film, or if the budget of the creator is tight.

I for one, welcome our new Indie web-filmmaker overlords. What do you think?

[Nektonic]

Pretty good idea. Thanks for taking the time to post such a well thought out and detailed idea.

I was actually thinking of doing a short TV/webTV series about a year ago, but the length was what put me off. I was planning to do approx 12, 40 minute episodes, with maybe an 80 minute pilot episode. Or maybe divide the pilot into two parts. Anyways, that comes to a total running time of 480 minutes.

I like your idea because one could technically shoot and edit a feature (so lets say anywhere from 90 to 130 minutes to leave it more broad). Then you could divide it into episodic sections. Another thing to keep in mind is that you don't have to have the feature completely done before you start to post episodes. I would start when I was maybe 50% complete with post, or 1/2 of the movie was done. Then by the time you have finished, your series is already started and you have already begun building buzz.

The reason I would shoot and edit my film as a full feature as opposed to shooting it in episodes is so that whether it is viewed episodically or as a full piece it retains a cohesive look and pace. However, not all of us are able to shoot a feature in a condensed time period, so shooting on the weekends is a great alternative.

I might have to try this.

[pmgmedia]

My company did a pilot for a paranormal investigation show last year that didn't get picked up, so we are considering a similar approach to self-distribution. The big question for us is what is the real potential for paid downloads. People seem used to getting their content for free these days.. ( the pilot show is at www.thehaunteds.com for free if you want to check it out)

[Eugenia Loli-Queru]

The first thing to do is to find an advertiser, and follow the plan above. During the time of the experiment (possibly during the first 5 webisodes) you will know if your show can be a commercial success on the net or not. If you already have a few episodes filmed, it won't be a risk to try, IMO.

To be honest though, I wouldn't buy a reality show of a sorts. I am personally interested in narrative live action shows or tele-movies, and maybe something as cool as well-researched scientific documentaries (that not even the Science Channel doesn't do). But anything else, I wouldn't buy... That's just me though.

[Knoxworth]

good luck qith Ebaum's world. They steal your shi* whether you give them permission or not. I personally boycott Ebaum's.

[Eugenia Loli-Queru]

Is it the users or the site though? You see, even on YouTube someone can clone a video. You can't eliminate the cloning of videos by users, only minimize it (which is why I suggest that you leave up the videos up to the last webisode and only then remove them). The problem would only be if it's the site itself that does that, in which case, avoid it.

[snodart]

Great post, thanks.

[Knoxworth]

http://www.ebaumsworldsucks.com/articles/flash.html

Ebaum's sticks their watermark on everything & refuse to remove content when the author contacts them. Its pretty sick.

[weltonfilment]

The main problem will be finding a sponsor that will make the endeavor worthwhile. Because the series will be global just by being on the internet, the companies most likely to be interested are those that are global (or at least national) in nature. Obviously appealing to these types of companies is harder than your local businesses, but you never know. You will have to shoot a pilot episode or two and garner enough support on the internet in order for a company to justify advertising with you. You can't count on being able to charge for the content until you have established a firm fanbase, and even then its unlikely. The best route is to offer all episodes for free with a small ad at the beginning, as well as banners and other ads on the site. I have considered this idea before, and it is indeed something that is possible. It's just a matter of being able to devote equal amounts of energy to the business end of it as it is to the story end. If you can find the sponsors to support you, then more power to you.

[Eugenia Loli-Queru]

What you say is true. Finding advertisers can be hard. However, while trying to convince them, you might want to borrow some of the facts found on this podcast that was published just a few hours ago: http://www.cvillepodcast.com/2007/06...f-lost-remote/
Check minute 1:00 to 6:30. Very interesting stuff about the future of TV being the Internet and the demise of many traditional TV stations if they don't shape up to the new realities... My only concern is for the Indie filmmakers get there first.