Billed as the “Only Cable Company Dedicated to Shorts,” ShortTV is one of the Net’s top digital entertainment sites dedicated to showcasing short films and animation via cutting edge interactive technology.
The independent short film channel and e- cinema broadcaster has three entities: ShortTV, ShortTV.com and its sister site WizWak.com, aimed at cell phone.
Together, the three have practically assailed the digital entertainment marketplace through a network of web sites and mobile operator partnerships and cable providers to sell short films to millions of consumers worldwide. And unlike many of the other short film venues I’ve covered here, I didn’t have to bone up on Long Tail economic theory to get a handle on exactly how they earn a profit.
More to the point, the compensation formula at WizWak is especially filmmaker-friendly; they offer a percentage and a limited licensing package.
With the help of a username and a password, filmmakers can actually track how many times their short has been purchased and thereby calculate their profits at any time.
At ShortTV things are handled in a way that’s practically traditional by comparison.
“The point is to introduce shorts to the masses,” said ShortTV CEO Roland Dib, a former real estate entrepreneur who founded Short TV in 1999.
“The Net is a place to distribute? but we’re a cable outlet first and an e-cinema outlet second. Our business model doesn’t call for revenue to be generated by our website. ShortTV is available to over two million viewers from New York to San Francisco and that’s where we make a profit. It’s also just plain sexier to be able to say that your film is going to be on TV.”
I love the web as much as the next guy, but I couldn’t agree more.
How to submit to ShortTV and WizWak
The folks at ShortTV seek submissions in all genres and all formats. And unlike some online distributors who claim to accept all genres while in reality focusing on home video comedy, bloopers and the like, ShortTV actually means it.
Their current lineup ranges from Jesse Johnson’s 12-minute, 47-second futuristic action thriller “Death Row: The Tournament,” to Zaki Gordon’s 30-minute drama “Geometry of Death” to Jesse Griffith’s seven-minute western “Southpaw” and even includes a mockumentary. They didn’t say so specifically, but a review of their acquisitions suggests that despite their logo, they prefer longer shorts.
WizWak accepts submissions in genres from animation to humor and beyond, ranging from 10- seconds to three-minutes in length (though run times under one-minute are preferred), and offers filmmakers the option of either uploading their films directly or submitting on Mini-DV.
Don’t get discouraged if your short doesn’t make it onto TV, it still has a chance to be on the ShortTV website.
