Now playing, short films on YouTube

There is a new buzz among movie buffs. Here is what they do: Connect to the internet, go to YouTube’s Screening Room and pick from its huge collection of short films. These films are free and are mostly original content.

Interestingly, a large chunk of short films available on YouTube’s library have been made by Indians in English, Hindi and other regional languages. YouTube traffic is primarily from the US (22 per cent), with India at the third position (5.5 per cent), trailing slightly behind Japan (5.9 per cent).

Google was quick to realise that independent short filmmakers, who might have exhausted resources in producing films, needed a platform to share their works. Three years ago, Google created a new channel – Screening Room – using the YouTube platform to help showcase alternate content free of cost. Most short films – anywhere between 30 seconds and 50 minutes – cover a wide range of subjects and are beginning to appeal to a large section of internet users.

Gautam Anand, director (Content Partnership) Japan-APAC of YouTube, says: “We realise the importance of providing professional filmmakers a platform to showcase their content and reach out to a global audience. It provides our users a chance to not only watch great films, but also to converse with their makers and exchange opinions and suggestions.”

YouTube has also tied up with several short-film promotion and distribution companies in India on a revenue-sharing basis. YouTube and its partner companies let filmmakers retain the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) of the film, but use their distribution rights to popularise the film on the internet.

One such alternate content distributor, 1takemedia has uploaded about 1,400 films made by 800 directors. Short film directors who have allowed the company to distribute their work have managed to get anywhere between 800-1,000 views for each movie in about a week.

Apart from scoring viewership, film maker like Archana Borhade has even received the Gorbatschow Pure Shots Jury prize for her short film, The Essay. With all the exposure for her work online, Borhade is now conceptualising a project with a leading producer-director in Bollywood. “There is a strong need to get unrecognised talent together, and using the internet as a medium helps form collaborations which will ensure creativity and a new outlook in film making.”

Saameer Mody, managing director of 1takemedia, knows how to use his network of almost 60,000 industry professionals (online). Each time 1takemedia update YouTube with a new short film, Mody’s network connections are the first ones to get an update. “It garners the film its initial attention and depending on the response YouTube plays up the content on its website.”