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Jani Salomaa commented a shot

Wreckamovie Online Video Distribution > Platform features > Compensating the filmmaker
by: Tianyi Pan
As I'm a filmmaker myself, one of the key components I want to include to this platform is the earning model - that the filmmaker will get a decent compensation for their films and not get screwed around by evil corporations. The filmmaker can set a price for their films, up to €5. Depending on the price level, the filmmaker will get a compensation as a percentage of the sale price, up to 60% (depending on the price level). This is not some BS "after sales costs" money, because all the costs will be paid from the other part, AFTER filmmaker takes their share. Of course, you don't have to sell ALL of your films, you can also set some free ones for download.

921 days ago | 2 Thumb-ups

FOR FILMMAKERS: The only way i can see Wreckamovie delivery service being valuable to indie movie makers is to make it the cheapest way of delivering their product in high quality, with a chance of even making a dime or two. - For filmmakers, offering a very cheap way of delivering the movie (Not much more than the cost of the bandwidth), and merchandise. Offering a way of getting the product out and possibility of spreading it's popularity. - Make it possible to commercially offer higher quality versions than what are available for free. For example, a movie is released for free in DVD quality, but you could buy it in FullHD at WAM. This would be geared towards the real fans of the movie. - Offering connectivity between video (delivery service), physical copies and merchandise (WAM store). - Filmmakers should shoulder the cost as much of the work as possible, but the costs should be tiny and managing their product should be easy. Of course the WAM delivery service must cover their costs, there's no way around that. - Offering some promotion opportunities (What can WAM offer in this regard? This should be the No.1 question as Kris pointed out) FOR FANS: WAM online delivery service's value for fans would be to make it a one stop hub to people looking for indie productions in high quality. - WAM delivery shouldn't be limited to productions actually produced in with the help of WAM community. It should be open for anyone who can't get their product into the traditional corporate delivery channels. - Fans would know what they get: Online cinema you can't find elsewhwre for free or for modest costs, higher quality than elsewhere, dependable streaming and downloading, subtitle functionality, reliable service with a clear navigation, no viruses or other risks nor the moral dilemmas of piratebay.

Tianyi Pan commented a shot

Wreckamovie Online Video Distribution > Platform features > Content delivery forms
by: Tianyi Pan
Currently, we're planning to include two content delivery forms in the alpha stage: * Streaming * Download If the source material allows it, we will be featuring HD quality stream (720p). Do we really have the need for 1080p? Please comment.

922 days ago | 1 Thumb-up

Peter, you're right. Full HD seems to be the way to go. Anyway, the point wasn't about monetizing or getting rich, but to offer an easy way to compensate the filmmaker and even that is only when the filmmaker wants it. Kim, we're honing our cinema deal making skills at the moment, as you can see from the project "What Became of Us" ;) Hopefully we'll get there in the future. However, there are still some serious cost issues involved. Making a single film copy for a 2 hour long film costs over 10 000 euros.

(null) commented a shot

922 days ago | 2 Thumb-ups

This is a big, BIG topic. Huge. You could write many books about this issue, I think. With regard to WAM, part of the spirit here is that no one gets paid but no one gets exploited either. Production leaders can go on to sell their films as DVDs or whatever, but they don't get any money out of WAM itself. If WAM itself started offering a compensation model it might attract the wrong kind of film maker who thinks they can con people into making a film for nothing. Perhaps the main reason "evil corporations" screw film makers is that there isn't much money to be made in films themselves. I think one studio boss said on average it's about the same investment return as a savings account in a bank. For every hit there are a dozen flops. If you want to bypass official distributors there's nothing to stop you, and that's pretty much what Star Wreck did do, but it doesn't necessarily bring about a good financial return. The main problem for an independent film-maker isn't the production or the distribution but the promotion. How the heck do you convince ordinary people to watch a film they've never heard of, made by people they've never heard of, starring people they've never heard of? And if the film isn't free, that's going to make the job ten times harder. Star Wreck's solution to this was quite clever, by going through the fan-film route which rides the back of a well-known brand. And because it was freely and legally available over the internet, the barrier to trying it was very low. It was also legal to pass Star Wreck on to all your friends, which must have helped it win an audience too. I'm not saying Samuli Torssonen deliberately did this, he clearly didn't. From what he's said about this topic, he was only expecting a small number of Finnish Star Trek fans to watch the film. But I think he did accidentally stumble on a winning formula: well known brand + well made quirky indie production + free legal distribution = lots of attention Attention doesn't mean money of course. If I understand correctly most of Energia's income is from effects work for other companies rather than their own productions. But Star Wreck put them on the map and in that sense they got compensated for it indirectly rather than directly, and that compensation depended on the film being freely and legally available. I don't have any easy answers for what other film-makers can do. I'm not suggesting every film has to be a fan movie. But free legal distribution does seem to be an important component in getting the word out about a production. There are still some ways of then being compensated even if a film is freely available: -Physical DVD/Blu-Ray release with higher quality version of the free film + non-free extras -Use of film to gain help more easily in future productions, either gathering volunteer helpers or impressing commercial backers. -Sale of broadcast rights (most CC licences do not include these rights AFAIK) -Merchandise (t-shirts etc) ...but even then it may be that film-making simply isn't an easy way to make a living. Most writers and theatre companies don't make a living from their work, films are going in the same direction.

Kim Viljanen commented a shot

922 days ago | 1 Thumb-up

You should start making content distribution deals with cinemas, e.g. Finnkino in Finland.

Peter Vesterbacka commented a shot

922 days ago | 1 Thumb-up

For the most part I don't think you can make a viable business out of selling copies, all digital content is available for free (legally or un-legally) in any case. People will not pay for the bits, but they will pay for value, experiences. This is where we need some out of the box thinking. One central design consideration should be that it's the production leader that decides what makes sense for his/her production.

Peter Vesterbacka commented a shot

Wreckamovie Online Video Distribution > Platform features > Payment method
by: Tianyi Pan
If we're going to allow filmmakers to make money, we need some payment methods. We have already been approached by some payment service providers. According to their offering, we've already outlined some methods we think would be viable: * SMS (text message) payment * 0600-phone number (charge per call) * Credit cards: Visa, Mastercard * Paypal * Bank transfer Anything missing you would like to add?

922 days ago | 0 Thumb-ups

We will support at least credit card and Paypal in the upcoming Wreckamovie Store, so you might want to make use of that. iTunes seems be doing fine by supporting primarily credit cards, but they also have the scratch cards.

Peter Vesterbacka commented a shot

922 days ago | 0 Thumb-ups

YouTube is supporting 1080p, and usual that is there for free, so no way you can get away offering less than the leader is doing for free... Just one example of the challenges when looking at distribution. Not a lot of people making money there, for good reason.

Wreckamovie Online Video Distribution > Blog: Wreckamovie Video Distribution Platform Kick-Started, looking for ideas

922 days ago | 2 Comments | 1 Thumb-up

Hey guys and gals of Wreckamovie,

We thought that after you finish your films here, you might want to stick with us for its distribution as well ;) So we're developing an online video distribution platform as a logical continuum to the development side of Wreckamovie.

You're all invited to participate and give your ideas on how you will want your own films to be distributed. The development process is 100% open and transparent, so now is a good time to start to think about your film's future!

Join the production and start Wreckin'

Tianyi Pan gave a shot "Content delivery forms" for Wreckamovie Online Video Distribution

Wreckamovie Online Video Distribution > Platform features > Content delivery forms
Here you can submit ideas and really take the development to the direction you want. What would be good features to add to the service, in light of such many independent filmmakers on Wreckamovie and elsewhere? Let your ideas live long and prosper!

922 days ago | 3 Comments | 2 Thumb-ups

Currently, we're planning to include two content delivery forms in the alpha stage:
* Streaming
* Download

If the source material allows it, we will be featuring HD quality stream (720p).

Do we really have the need for 1080p? Please comment.

Tianyi Pan gave a shot "Payment method" for Wreckamovie Online Video Distribution

Wreckamovie Online Video Distribution > Platform features > Payment method
Here you can submit ideas and really take the development to the direction you want. What would be good features to add to the service, in light of such many independent filmmakers on Wreckamovie and elsewhere? Let your ideas live long and prosper!

922 days ago | 1 Comment | 2 Thumb-ups

If we're going to allow filmmakers to make money, we need some payment methods.

We have already been approached by some payment service providers. According to their offering, we've already outlined some methods we think would be viable:

* SMS (text message) payment
* 0600-phone number (charge per call)
* Credit cards: Visa, Mastercard
* Paypal
* Bank transfer

Anything missing you would like to add?

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