For many young filmmakers trying to catch their first big break,
the hardest part is getting known.
“That’s what it’s all about, getting your name
out there and getting your work out there,” said Peter
Hunziker, a UCLA undergraduate film student.
Hunziker, now a story editor for Nickelodeon and the Disney
Channel and just one class shy of graduating, got his start by
entering short film contests from the Coca-Cola Refreshing
Filmmakers Award to Project Greenlight. Every contest displays the
finalists’ films on the Internet.
“They’re great as calling cards, to refer people to
the Web sites,” Hunziker said.
Aaron Metchik, a UCLA undergraduate film alumnus, was a finalist
in the Coca-Cola contest the same year Hunziker was. Now interning
at Paramount, Metchik said that the online posting of films can
make a difference.
“Lots of people whose job it is to find new talent show me
stuff online,” Metchik said. “When they hear about some
project on the Internet, it’s easy to find.”
The Internet is the newest form of short film distribution.
E-mailing a link to a contact provides an easier alternative to
mailing a film reel or VHS tape.
While planning the creation of a college-oriented television
network, Campbell McLaren, co-founder and president of Zilo
Networks, decided to add the Web to Zilo’s programming.
“When you’re dealing with college students, you have
to have a Web presence,” McLaren said.
McLaren created www.zilo.com to accompany the television
network’s programs. Some series produced by the network have
episodes that are released online.
“There’s been indie film for awhile, but no indie
TV,” McLaren said. “What the Internet has done is make
indie TV.”
“There are more people out there with talent than the
current system allows for,” McLaren added.
McLaren’s case in point: www.ifilm.com. Created to
increase the short film audience by distributing films online,
ifilm succeeded by charging filmmakers a small fee for having their
films posted on the Web site.
“Our model was made to aggregate content from all over the
Web,” said Kevin Wendle, co-founder and former CEO of ifilm.
“We saw the Web as the next frontier of film and TV
distribution.”
As modems get faster and bandwidth increases, ifilm can
distribute more and more films across the Internet at cheap costs
for filmmakers while keeping the site free for viewers.
“The Web has only enhanced and helped the independent
filmmaking experience,” Wendle said. “Many of the great
filmmakers start by making short films.”
One hitch in ifilm’s design is that it cannot currently
distribute feature-length films. But the problems of large file
size and bandwidth costs will eventually disappear, according to
Wendle.
“Bandwidth costs continue to come down dramatically, and
so eventually it won’t be an issue,” Wendle said.
“There will be a big win in distributing full-length motion
pictures on the Web.”
For now, the Internet is still best suited for the distribution
of short films. And while short film sites do not directly offer
filmmakers the chance to profit off their work, the exposure itself
is priceless.
“Happy Tree Friends,” a series of online Macromedia
flash animations that began as “eight seconds of “˜Itchy
and Scratchy'” according to co-creator Ken Navarro, is
one success story. The animations feature various furry
pastel-colored animals who are mauled in each episode creatively.
Navarro and his friend originally made one episode a week, and
eventually episodes of “Happy Tree Friends” were picked
up for Spike & Mike’s Twisted Animation Festival, which
brought a touring theatrical release, meaning a bigger audience and
profit.
Mondo Media released the series on DVD, “Happy Tree
Friends: Volume #1 First Blood,” implying future
editions.
“For an artist coming up, the Internet is an excellent
place,” Navarro said. “You can get (work) out so fast.
(The Internet) acts as an equalizer because if your stuff is out
there, anyone can see it.”