In more ways than one, the advertising community is getting online. New and interactive ad forms have begun to emerge (SHOOT, 3/10, p. 1; and 2/25, p. 1), and other trends are developing. At press time, bicoastal/international Propaganda Films was expected to announce an alliance with Seattle-based AtomFilms.com, a major player in the shortform entertainment market. Details of the arrangement could not be confirmed; however, Propaganda COO Trevor Macy previously told SHOOT that his company was "about to announce a venue" for the digital distribution of films by Propaganda directors (SHOOT, 2/11, p. 7).
Several spot directors have already struck deals with Web sites for the distribution of their films: Rupert Wainwright of Windmill Lane Productions, Santa Monica, whose indie feature The Sadness of Sex is being serialized on Los Angeles-based IFILM.com and its sister site IFILMpro.com; Mark Tiedemann of Celsius Films, New York, whose Girl Go Boom was licensed by AtomFilms; and Brian Belefant of bicoastal WildLife Management, who is in negotiations with AtomFilms regarding his short Burning Passion.
Then there’s aspiring commercial director Tony Diamond, who will graduate from the University of Southern California’s film school in May. Diamond scored what is potentially a career-launching coup when IFILM opted to showcase his spec "Got Milk?" commercial. The ad debuts on March 31 on IFILMpro.
"Shortform entertainment has come into its own," contended Dean Terry, senior VP of creative development at AtomFilms. "The computer is the three-foot experience, as opposed to the ten-foot experience. Some people will sit through a two-hour movie on their computer, but not me."
AtomFilms is also known for finding traditional media outlets for its short films. It recently struck a deal with Blockbuster for the distribution of Atom content on the video rental company’s Web site. AtomFilms has ties to airlines, cable TV channels and, via an office in London, the overseas market.
Wainwright believes these so-called virtual theaters have legs, in part because shorts attract a unique audience. "People who look for entertainment on the Web are a little off-center," he said. "They’re not the people who sit down on Friday night and watch Malcolm in the Middle." That is why the director approached IFILM about serializing The Sadness of Sex, a ’95 film that is not standard Hollywood fare. "The exciting thing is that the movie is having a second life," Wainwright said.
Sadness also screened at Yahoo!’s first online film festival. The event took place on March 22-23 in Hollywood, and was produced by bicoastal Paradise Digital Productions, a subsidiary of New York-headquartered Paradise Music & Entertainment, the publicly traded parent to bicoastal commercial production house Straw Dogs, and Nashville-based music video, spot and concert film house Picture Vision. The fest is slated for a March 26 cybercast on Yahoo! Broadcast.
SCOUTINGTALENT.COM
Just as spot directors are finding distribution online, it seems likely that agency and commercial production company executives will tap into these film sites to canvas and possibly discover new talent. While it’s arguable that the medium is far from ideal—current online film streams are about the size of a Post-It note for most Web users—some see the potential. "Short films offer access to filmmakers who aren’t the usual suspects," said Belefant, who prior to launching his directing career was formerly a copywriter at BBDO New York. "The Internet is offering access to something that’s related [to TV advertising]. But it’s different enough that it’s not the ‘Gee, what has Pytka done lately?’ kind of thing."
In fact, short film sites are taking steps to encourage such behavior. IFILM launched IFILMpro to cater to industry professionals on the lookout for new blood. To prevent mainstream viewers from accessing the free site, visitors must submit employment data, which is reviewed before a password is granted. (The process takes about a day.)
IFILM was in the process of relocating to Los Angeles from San Francisco as SHOOT went to press, and was not available for comment. But a release announcing the launch of IFILMpro last year—as well as an alliance with Bender-Spink, a West Hollywood-based management and production company—said the site "offers first views of shorts by hot, young filmmakers."
Incidentally, Bender-Spink’s link to IFILM is partly responsible for Diamond’s spec ad landing online. The director is managed by Los Angeles-based FourSight Entertainment, which is dedicated to launching the careers of young unknowns. Formed last October by Jonathan Abrams, Jeremy Bell, George F. Heller and Michael Lasker, FourSight is mentored by Bender-Spink. In exchange for providing guidance and industry contacts, Bender-Spink gets a direct link to college campuses—the FourSight partners are USC students with Diamond, and the quartet travels regularly to schools around the country to scout talent and hold seminars.
The FourSight contingent believes Diamond’s IFILM deal is a watershed for the director as well as the company, and perhaps the spot community. "The short film craze gives people an idea of what the directors can do," said Bell. "I think you’re going to start seeing the same thing for commercials."
"The point of these sites is to show material that’s entertaining," added Diamond. "The best commercials pack a great punch in sixty seconds, and nothing beats that."
Belefant agreed. "If [Diamond’s spec is] entertaining, it doesn’t matter if it has a logo at the end. It belongs on that site." Moreover, he said, "From a PR standpoint, that guy’s on to something."
News of the ad also caught the attention of Curt Marvis, CEO of CinemaNow.com. Marvis’ roots are in music videos and commercials. From ’84 to ’94, he operated now defunct The Company with spot director Wayne Isham. (Isham is now repped by Los Angeles-headquartered A Band Apart Commercials.) "We haven’t specifically been looking at [putting commercials online as a form of entertainment]," Marvis said. CinemaNow is backed by Trimark Pictures and is focused on features and shorts. "I don’t know if I’d start a Web site called SpecSpots.com," Marvis added. "But if someone told me a year ago there was going to be a frenzy about watching short films on the Web, I would have said, ‘Why?’ [Diamond’s spec] has certainly piqued my curiosity."
On the other hand, Olivier Zitoun, CEO of soon-to-launch Eveo.com, San Francisco, expects that the commercial business will be simpatico with his site. Among Eveo’s board members is commercial director Geoff McGann of bicoastal M-80. The site isn’t soliciting spec ads per se; its plan is to coin and showcase a new short format called an Eveo. By definition, an Eveo is a three-minute film that is visually engaging, raw, unfiltered and usually shot on digital video. "Commercials are a great template for that," said Zitoun.
Other sites, such as Chicago-headquartered Directorsearch. com and San Francisco-based Planetpoint. com (which is now part of Los Angeles-based Creative Planet), also plan to feature the work of undiscovered talent. Thus far, both sites have functioned as virtual databases of work by established commercial directors and other artisans. But both firms see up-and-coming talent as a valuable component of their businesses.
Moreover, the sites expect to be philanthropic in nature. Planetpoint sales rep Nancy Katano said the company donated a Web site to the New Directors Charity Group, a nonprofit organization that produces an annual event showcasing the work of new spot and music video directors and cinematographers. Proceeds from the event benefit the Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles (SHOOT, 10/29/99, p. 4). Katano added that Planetpoint plans to offer a new directors section, and possibly a site featuring student filmmakers.
Meanwhile, Karen Kovach, cofounder/chairman of Directorsearch.com, explained that she wants to showcase new talent not only for agency and production personnel, but for the filmmakers themselves. "We know how hard it is to get your first break," she said, adding that she and her partner, Nancy Bernstein, have met with film school department heads with that idea in mind. Unfortunately, the duo found some to be unreceptive. "Some said, ‘Our graduates are interested in features, not commercials,’" Kovach said. "It just shows how important it is for us to pursue this—because of that kind of old-school doctrine that film students are being exposed to."
