Wanted: Your Video Masterpiece by LoftCity

Sign up with this shiny new web studio; set-up shop; produce your next masterpiece, or upload what you have; and they promise to distribute it for 50% of the take. It doesn't get easier than that, especially if they live up to their claims of being able to get it on mobile carriers like Verizon and AT&T, major media sites, your iPod or iPhone, etc., etc....

Plus the distribution is non-exclusive, which is definitely a heart-warmer!




Though the site is VERY new, it is - by first looks - crisply designed, functional, and easy to navigate. A number of people have already occupied a loft, although they seem to be bare to the bone, like mine;) Here is one from Alexia Anastasio, who at least has her picture hanging on the pixie wall.

I will report back about my experience as I dive deeper and deeper into this pool of bits, bytes, artistic creativity, and show biz. My first act will be to make my loft look semi-lived-in, then submit some of our current videos. How? Read the Open Call for Distribution on LoftCity or below:

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For Distribution

This Call is for submission of original and creative films to be distributed by LoftCity to web destination sites and mobile service providers.

If you have a film, a series, a video clip or a video art of any genre (the "film") and you wish to distribute it, submit it today to LoftCity and we will distribute it for you in the web and to mobile service providers.

LoftCity will distribute your film and will share with you the revenue it will generate.

Information about our distribution partners will be provided on an ongoing basis.

Using LoftCity's distribution services is subject to signing our Submission Agreement.

Brief & Guidelines:

· The film can be of any genre and in any format.
· You must have all the legal rights in the film for usage and distribution via LoftCity.
· The film can be anywhere between 30 seconds and 60 minutes in length.
· The film should be in English or with English subtitles.
· The film should not include any pornography, racism or offensive content.

Click here to learn more about LoftCity’s Submission Agreement and revenue share terms. Please read carefully sections 1 and 3 which refer to "Submitting a Film for Distribution".

Key dates

This is an open Call to which you can submit your film throughout the year. However, the sooner you submit your film the more you increase your chances for higher revenues.

Who can participate?

This Call is for all LoftCity beta participants.

We highly recommend that participants: upload their showreel and any other relevant materials (video, audio, photos and writings), detail their professional experience and create a profile using the "About me" section of the Loft.

How does it work?

There are two ways to submit your film.

Using LoftCity's Projects:

1. Open a project. Use the “Cast & Crew” tool to invite team members to participate in the project.
2. Produce your film.
3. The final film should be marked as “Final” in the "Editing Notes" tool.
4. Submit your film using the "Release" tool by selecting "Submit your film to: Distribution Only". The film will be submitted to the LoftCity team and will be published to the “Screening Room” under the "Distribution Only" category.

Using the Materials folder:
1. If you’ve already uploaded your film to your Materials folder, click on the film name and select the "Submit to" action.
2. Select "Distribution Only" from the drop down list. Accept our Distribution Agreement and click “Submit” at the bottom of the page.
3. The film will be submitted to the LoftCity team and will be published to the “Screening Room” under the "Distribution Only" category.

Technical requirements

The films should be up to a maximum of 500 MB.
We accept the following formats: MPG, MPEG, MOV, AVI, ASF, WMV, DIVX, 3GP and FLV.
More technical details can be found in the "Upload Files" section of our Help Center.

Legal

Your participation in this Call is subject to the LoftCity’s Submission Agreement. Please make sure you have all the legal rights to the film for usage and distribution via LoftCity.

The Project Manager is fully responsible for compensating his/her team members according to agreements set between them and for attaining all necessary rights to the submitted film.

We recommend you visit our Help Center, Terms of Use and Legal Tips sections to learn more

Further information: For further queries, please Contact Us.

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So sign up now and look for KingsleyVision (that's me) if you have a project in mind!

BTW, how do you like the motto "LoftCity, the first online film studio?" MyFlik from Mind's Eye Media has been online for more than a year, 60Frames for about the same time. And that's just what I know about. First? No. Better than the rest? That would be great!

LonelyGirl Jessica Rose Returns

It was Jessica Rose who had the first Internet only video show hit, way back in 2006.

Lonelygirl15, if you'll recall, was the headline-grabbing video diary of a pretty teenager, later exposed by net detectives as a brilliant, CAA-backed fiction. The lonely girl was by no means alone -- she had a team of writers and producers behind her, and though the door was closed on lonelygirl15, the frontier of "webisodic" video was wide open.

The situation with open frontiers is that the people seeking to colonize them, to borrow a quote from Ms. South Carolina, simply "don't have maps." Which is why, almost two years after lonelygirl15, no Web series has established a viable, let alone profitable homestead. However, more wagons are now arriving. Sony Pictures Television just launched C-Spot:

From Crackle: Roadents: Episode 3

an online comedy channel featuring six sharply produced programs with enough short episodes to fill a 13-week season.

And Jessica Rose is planning a comeback too. The almost-21-year-old actress from New Zealand will soon return to the online world as the star of Blood Cell, a new horror-thriller from Web TV studio 60Frames Entertainment, directed by Eduardo Rodriguez. The show, whose trailer is now up on deadcelldeadfriend.com, follows Rose's character, Julia, as she contends with an unseen murderer who will talk to her only via her fancy photo- and video-enabled cellphone. Which hopefully gets good reception because, as the name of the website suggests, if Julia's signal goes dead, a blond somewhere gets dispatched for good. To build their online audience, C-Spot and 60Frames will "syndicate" their shows on Sony's Crackle (see this and my other previous posts), Hulu, and AOL Video; while 60Frames can be seen on Bebo, Blip.tv, iTunes, MySpace and others. And everyone's on YouTube.

Revenue-sharing deals allow the creators to get a piece of the advertising pie no matter where their shows get watched. 60Frames and Sony Pictures hope to find the answer to the overriding question posed by Web-only tv: In an entertainment world dominated by multi-hour, multi-night programs like American Idol, how do you win repeat viewers with three minute webisode.

Even though more of the big name studios are tempted onto the web, the question still hangs in the air: what will it take for large numbers of us (14-year-olds included) to feel like the computer screen with its blinking and ringing distractions is a good place to watch TV?

Cybercast credit: Crackle

Comedy.com OR FunnyOrDie -- You Decide!

No odd spellings or lengthy domain names??? Comedy.com is yet another new portal for amusing content, launched February 22 this year by the former chief executive of the defunct UPN television network.

The competition in this space is becoming fierce, with 60Frames, FunnyOrDie (see my previous post), ICN MyDamnChannel, and a number of other startups all trying to popularize professionally-produced comedic content.

Here is one from one of our lesser known comedian, Mike Huckabee, the flag bearer of conservative America in this election season. His comments are hilarious in this context!



For my money, FunnyOrDie is still the best. MyDamnChannel is catching up quickly, though. Comedy.com? Not there yet....

Cybercast credit: MyDamnChannel.com