You’ve got a short film to sell, so you need to understand that the expanding reach of broadband Internet access has changed literally every aspect of film distribution.
New short film opportunities pop up every day. Or at least that’s how the hype goes. But before there was any hype, there was an AtomFilms.
According to Atom Entertainment’s CEO Mika Salmi, “Short-form, on-demand entertainment is something we started in 1998. AtomFilms enables innovative filmmakers and animators to earn money and reach a large audience.”
Back then, there were almost no online venues for short films. These days, there are dozens of specialized film sites following www.atomfilms.com’s lead. They finance their efforts with a profitable combination of advertising, sponsorship, e-commerce, subscriptions, and partnerships.
Filmmakers are paid a percentage of ad revenue based on how often a film is downloaded (i.e. the more popular a film is, the more it will make) and most notably, chasing wider and wider distribution channels.
Even if one were inclined to discount the good PR, it would be hard to make a case for a better first stop for a filmmaker with a short under 15-munutes to sell than AtomFilms. Not only does their site boast a list of contributors from short filmmaking’s biggest names?including Joe Cartoon, JibJab and Aardman, it claims a monthly audience of between 13 and 30 million visitors as well.
Most recently, Atom’s been signing distribution deals that have extended their reach to AOL, Singingfish, BlinkxTV and other video-friendly search engines?and their newest service, AtomFilms To Go, has made the company a player in the mobile device cinema market via Verizon’s V Cast and platforms, from Sony’s PlayStation Portable and Apple’s iPod to Creative’s Zen Vision: M.
