I don't have an answer. But I do have a question.

How many short films have you paid for in the last 6 months?

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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

Me? Zero. But my goal would be to get a view from 1 in 10,000 mobile or web viewers. I am a cheap arse-- basic vanilla cell phone, no frills, but I know there are lots of people who like paying extra for cell phone mp3 music, videos, surfing the web. So if 1 in 10,000 cell phone users watched a short short film, or they watched it on something like atomfilms.com, that is all that would be needed.

quote:

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Originally posted by certified instigator

I don't have an answer. But I do have a question.
How many short films have you paid for in the last 6 months?

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That seems to me, to be the issue.

Lots of people making movies hope there are 1 in 10,000 who aren't
as cheap as they are. I'm with you, Joe. I, too, hope there are
people out there who would pay to watch short films on their cell
phones or iPod.

But I haven't found them. I've asked fellow filmmakers and they
don't want to pay to watch others short films. I've asked my
family and they have no interest in paying to watch short films.
I've asked the few non filmmaker friends I have and they don't
want to pay to watch short films.

So you should check with your family and friends. Ask them if they
would pay to watch a short film made by someone they don't know,
starring actors they've never heard of.

We would all like to think there is a paying audience for our
short films, but if we (the makers of short films) won't pay, I
wonder who will....

According to the CITA there are currently 180,000,000 wireless
phone users in the US. If 1 in 10,000 were willing to pay five
cents to watch a short film once a week that's 18,000 people or
$900 per week. Of which you, the filmmaker, sees $180

And that's assuming that all 18,000 people watch YOUR short film
and no one else's. I wonder if there are any short films on
atomfilms.com that get 18,000 hits. For free.

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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

With all the free short film content on YouTube I really think you've got an uphill battle. From what I can tell short films have two main uses (1) As a way to get noticed. YouTube can replace film festivals to some extent. Doesn't make you money but could help you in other ways. (2) If you created an ongoing serial people might pay for future installments, once they are hooked. Once you've created somewhat of a brand name. Especially if you could sell it as a download through iTunes (like some tv shows do).

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

You're right rj.

That is the key sticking point with the current WGA strike. The
producers are saying not enough people are paying for their TV
downloads. And we're talking hit shows with big name recognition
like Lost and Heroes and The Office. According to the producers 1
in 10,000 aren't buying.

I can't imagine 1 in 10,000 paying even five cents to watch a
short film made by the likes of us. And I'm not saying we don't
all make great short films - I'm saying we aren't names and we
don't use names in our movies.

If not enough people are paying to watch hit TV shows on their
phones or iPods or whatever, how can we hope to attract people to
watch our short films?

Joe - I hope you don't take my attitude as a defeat. I would love
to find a market for my movies, just like you would. I hope you
take this information as a challenge and work hard to create
great short films and find the people who will pay to watch. If
you do, you will forever be a hero to all of us!

=============================================
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

It is of course all voodoo guessing unless we have some market data on how much content people are viewing on mobile phones. I really do not know. I do have to say your 180M users figure is quite low. The predictions for 2010 are 6 billion mobile phone users globally. Personally I would jump at a chance to watch a 5 minute short film on my mobile phone for say 5-25 cents, while sitting around bored out of my mind in an airport or train station. All I would need is a penny per view for 1 in 10,000 mobile phone users. Do the math, the revenues annually would be quite nice. I am sure there is market data on phone users and content downloaded, that is what is really needed to form some intelligent conclusions; until then is is voodoo, fun to contemplate and speculate on. I am going to write/produce short films the next couple of years to learn the process and skills to prepare for making a feature film (first draft is done!), so it is fun to contemplate possible revenue off the shorts, but even if there is none I would still do the shorts anyhow.

quote:

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Originally posted by certified instigator
I can't imagine 1 in 10,000 paying even five cents to watch a
short film made by the likes of us. And I'm not saying we don't
all make great short films - I'm saying we aren't names and we
don't use names in our movies.

If not enough people are paying to watch hit TV shows on their
phones or iPods or whatever, how can we hope to attract people to
watch our short films?

Joe - I hope you don't take my attitude as a defeat. I would love
to find a market for my movies, just like you would. I hope you
take this information as a challenge and work hard to create
great short films and find the people who will pay to watch. If
you do, you will forever be a hero to all of us!)

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