Submission
Indie filmmakers from all countries, equipped with 4K cameras and a keen eye for aesthetics, submit FHD short films of 10 to 15 minutes (or cut into a mini-series of 2-5 episodes). Shorts must be cropped to 1920 x 818, re-edited in cinematic mode and subtitled.
Distribution
Short films, documentaries and multilingual subtitles are streamed on-demand on our Netflix-like platform.
Where appropriate, shorts are hosted on YouTube or on our third-party video streaming provider with premium services such as transcoding, global CDN, download restriction and monetization (TVOD).
The vast majority of filmmakers do not derive any income from movie theaters and no longer expect miracles from YouTube, Vimeo and SVOD platforms.
Our pay-per-view video player combined with our mini-series business model allows to achieve true ROI without having to reach millions of views.
Selection
Shorts are curated for an audience who enjoys cinema as a work of art, that is, a cinematic flow without post-production defects such as bad audio.
Beyond aesthetics, short films must focus on the very essence of what makes them successful: a colorful narrative with a poetic, comic and absurd twist.
Flow
In a digital world made of cuts and edits, cinematic aesthetic is the only way to get into the « flow », a psychological state of mind in which people experience great emotion and satisfaction after being fully immersed in an activity for a short period of time.
Factory
Factory is our built-in collaborative workspace, similar to Asana or Trello, that helps teams organize tasks, crowdfunding campaigns, film festivals, and video production workflows. User-friendly and free, it has no restrictions or hidden fees!
What is cinematic filmmaking?
Whether your are writing a screenplay or directing a film, the term “cinematic” always evokes a high level of emotions and visual aesthetics (natural lighting, color grading, composition, filters, black bars, music, etc.).
How to successfully finance a short film?
While the traditional method of financing a short film involves pooling personal savings and seeking small contributions from friends and family, this is rarely sufficient. In practice, the main source will be in-kind sponsorships and product placements. Small grants, though welcome, often require a disproportionate amount of administrative work relative to their value.
From the writing phase onwards, start identifying local partners who can help lower production costs through in-kind contributions. For example, instead of renting an Airbnb for a house scene, contact the owner directly and offer a credit mention or social media link in exchange for free use of the space.
When cash is limited, product placement offers an attractive financing alternative. Most short films are made by emerging filmmakers who struggle to demonstrate clear added value to a brand. For digital filmmakers, however, the « cinematic » quality of their work is a guarantee of prestige that brands are willing to pay for.
If a funding gap persists after reducing production costs and securing product placements, you can turn to our crowdfunding platform as a last resort.
Is YouTube a viable strategy for your short film?
Filmmakers may excel in the art of visual storytelling, but when it comes to business, they are often lost in translation, preferring to leave the “dirty work” of sales and marketing to agents, producers and distributors.
Today, however, thanks to new technologies, some dream of bypassing traditional commercial channels by managing their own distribution channel and monetization model on YouTube. It sounds great, provided you don’t mind sharing the spotlight with cats and influencers. Unfortunately, numbers will shatter this dream. Definitely.
YouTube’s advertising model, based on cost-per-view, is as brutal as reality can be: on average, only 15% of viewers watch the required 30 seconds to qualify for payment. This means that for every 1,000 views, 150 people are likely to watch an ad. At an average rate of $0.018 per 1,000 view, a YouTube channel will earn just $1.84 (150*$0.018 minus 32% Google AdSense fee). In other words, to generate $100 in revenue, a short film will need to reach 54,000 views ($100/1.84*1,000). Ouch!
There are always exceptions, but for most of those who haven’t done the math yet, they will first have to cross YouTube’s high monetization thresholds before earning a single penny, namely 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time in the last 12 months per channel. That said, for behind-the-scenes content, YouTube is still king. Upload short videos, build your tribe, grow your audience and enjoy the ride to your next short film.
How to actually make money from your short film?
By money, we mean how to make revenue from distribution and ticketing. Traditional distributors offer little to no return for short filmmakers, and most digital platforms won’t even give short films a chance. That’s why self-distribution is the only viable way to go, and that’s exactly why we built Filmflow: to give creators like you total control, from distribution to revenue.
To solve the equation, we considered adapting the Netflix model of serialization to short films, with a business model specially designed for mini-series where each 3-to-5-minute episode ends with a hook, driving viewers to watch the next one. The first episode is free, then we offer micro-payments starting from just €0.19 per episode. To avoid any frustration related to micropayment at checkout, viewers simply preload a virtual wallet with a minimum amount of €10. No VOD rental (€3–€6). No monthly subscription. It’s affordable, flexible, and promising.