The video streaming company Vimeo has been making moves in world of on-demand services this year, giving viewers more options when it comes to consuming content on the site. The company launched Vimeo on Demand in March, offering filmmakers who are Pro members a simplified way of selling their work online.
Earlier this month it was announced that Vimeo had teamed up with the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) to offer all of this year’s world premieres a cash advance in return for an exclusive digital distribution window on the Internet video site. The Washington incentive film Lucky Them, directed by Megan Griffiths, was one of the features celebrating its world premiere at TIFF 2013. Douglas Horn, a Seattle filmmaker and blogger, has been following distribution and VOD options for filmmakers and recently weighed in on Vimeo’s offer on his blog.
According to stories in Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, Vimeo will offer advances of $10,000 to any of the 146 world premiere films screening in the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival in exchange for a brief exclusive period of exclusive VOD rights on their Vimeo on Demand platform. This continues Vimeo’s push to market itself as a destination for exclusive independent film content that it began at SXSW in announcing the Vimeo on Demand service and acquiring Neil LaBute’s Some Girl(s). Is this a good deal for independent filmmakers? Continue reading here.
About Douglas – Douglas Horn has written, directed, and produced a variety of projects from commercials to features. His films Full Disclosure, Coffee & Pie, Entry Level, and others have won awards at festivals and garnered distribution in many territories and media. Douglas is one of the founders of Popular Uprising, a media company that creates works based on new viewing trends and distribution media—the first of these projects is the series DIVERGENCE currently in release. Douglas discusses the changing world of filmmaking and distribution on his blog: DouglasHorn.com. He is a long-time resident of the Seattle area.