The business of moviemaking is one of the most competitive industries on the planet and with some years a mere 1% of budding directors “make it” onto the international scene. The wall of exclusivity that holds back many from “making-it” in Hollywood is something that Filmio’s Chris J Davis the Chief Technology Officer/CoFounder and Ian LeWinter Cofounder and President want to break down. They believe it’s time to liberate creators and empower fans. Via their film.io platform they plan to shake up the “Hollywood System” and introduce accountability, transparency and consequently an equitable distribution of profit sharing.
In Hollywood years Filmio is an early adopter of blockchain technology that believes its transparency will provide an even playing field and accessibility for anyone wanting to get a project produced, financed or distributed.
Hollywood is notorious for nurturing the “who you know not what you know philosophy”. The traditional movie-making industry has often been daunting and unjust for those starting out or wanting to enter this inner circle.
Thankfully over the past few years due to advancements in technology the movie-making process has diversified, and international filmmakers are being recognised, Hollywood is no longer the epicentre of all thing’s movie-making and the inner circle is slowly widening.
Blockchain and the power of online communities have arrived. Discover why Filmio offers the world’s most powerful platform for democratising entertainment, utilising AI, machine learning and Blockchain to disrupt the Hollywood system. We are not the first publication to report on this progressive platform, Entrepreneur magazine has described Filmio as:
“a creative incubator, market validator and distribution launchpad for everyone frustrated with Hollywood’s current model”
“Leveraging blockchain to speed up the script-to-screen process. Filmio has built a platform where aspiring creators can upload ideas, garner feedback from fans before production begins, and expose their projects to studios and production companies without the need for personal connections” Forbes
But don’t take our or their words for it, hear directly from key stakeholders below that share their first-hand experience about why they believe Filmio will deliver the change filmmakers, talent and audiences have been long awaiting!
Filmio fan Baxter Slaton
What attracted you to signing up to the Filmio platform?
Bottom line: I like what they’re doing. The industry system doesn't work in my favour. I’m a willing spectator when it comes to entertainment, but it’s a relationship that has the possibility of being something more. I mean it’s my money the big studios are asking for.
What is it you love most about Filmio?
It’s a participatory culture. There’s low barriers to artistic expression and dialog with creators. That’s cool. And there’s strong support for sharing creative ideas with others. It’s an ego-free zone. They make me feel my contribution matters.
What does Filmio offer that other film sites, platforms or fan communities don't offer?
That’s a great question. For me, Filmio offers more than a platform — they offer a culture. And culture is what changes things. The culture of Filmio is one of “we may not be the smartest guys in the room, but we believe all of us, fans and creators and investors, working together are.” They make me feel welcome and that my opinions matter. I’m a big believer in the power of a democracy. The era of the big corporation is making way for the era of the democratizers. Filmio offers that to me. A way to be heard.
Why is Filmio so important to your love for film and content?
Content is changing the way people think about life. I’m immersed in it every moment I’m awake. Entertainment, both fiction and non-fiction is an essentialising aspect of my life — of everyone’s life. So when I see a company that wants to change the rules around how we talk about how entertainment gets made and what it means to us, I’m in. I never thought I’d be able to talk directly to creators and influence what gets made. Now, I could never go back to being a voiceless voyeur.
Would you recommend Filmio to friends and family and if so why?
If they love entertainment, then yes. If they don’t have a favorite movie or director or actors you love to watch, then maybe Filmio wouldn’t bring anything to your life. But if they’re passionate about entertainment, then absolutely.
Filmio creator Bryerly Long
How long have you been creating content and what have been the challenges you have encountered when getting content produced, financed and distributed?
I have been creating content since 2017 (writing/directing). Before that I worked primarily as an actress on stage and in film. All of the short films that I've made so far have been self-financed thanks to amazing cast and crews very generously volunteering their time. Going forward I would like to work with more of a budget so that I can pay everyone! Especially since I have completed two feature film scripts, which will require a larger time and financial commitment.
A lot of directors starting out self-produce their work. I would like to find an experienced producer to team up with as it requires a very specific skill set and it's hard to balance production and creative decisions at the same time.
Currently there are a plethora of options for distribution (cinemas, festivals, online distribution platforms, YouTube, video, etc) and for some of the more cutting-edge projects like for example virtual reality it's hard to know which is the best fit. Obviously the objective is to reach the widest and most specific audience possible. Because there's also a lot of content online creators are faced with the sometimes overwhelming task of figuring out how to promote their work as well. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of social media, and struggle to market myself in an effective way.
Had you used blockchain technology before Filmio? If so, what do you like it and if not, then are you excited by it?
I had never used blockchain before joining Filmio. I'm really excited to be part of a cutting-edge development in technology, finance and creativity.
What do you love most about Filmio?
What I love most about Filmio is the team who set it up. They're super personable, helpful and passionate about their work and creators. I got the sense that they really want to give a space for independent creators to reach a wider audience.
Do you think Filmio is a platform that cares about its community and if so why?
As stated above, absolutely! 🙂
Filmio investor Craig Baggs
What excites you about the Filmio Platform?
I would say there are several key points that excite me about the Filmio platform. First from an investor perspective, there’s a huge upside with continual revenue streams flowing my way from multiple films, television and entertainment productions. In essence, you actually own a slice of an entertainment company that has the potential to rival Hollywood or a Netflix. Second, Filmio is first to market based on the premise of a brilliant idea, that being bringing creators and fans together through the latest technology and business analytics. It creates a synergy where ideas, resources and funding will produce an endless flow of entertainment that millions of people around the world can watch and enjoy. Third, most likely it will become an outlet for distribution to other companies like Netflix, Prime, Hulu, Disney and even traditional Hollywood like Warner Brothers or Sony Pictures. Fourth, depending how big and fast Filmio grows it most likely will be acquired at a premium price. As an equity owner in Filmio, that’s pretty darn exciting as well! These are things that excite me about the Filmio platform.
Is this your first blockchain related investment, if so, why this one? If not, what makes you confident in the blockchain model?
Yes, this is my first blockchain investment. While it’s a new frontier, I have held off from investing because I felt as a whole it was too risky. However, I made the decision to invest a sizable amount in Filmio based on the technology; the size of the market sector and the fact Filmio provided a solution to an age of problem within an industry that since the beginning has struggled with profitability. And let’s face it making films is a business. Filmio figured out how to make it work for everyone involved. That’s darn cool!
What do you like most about Filmio?
There are so many things about Filmio I like. I suppose what I like most about Filmio is it’s a Disruptor. Now very talented creators and artists will have the opportunity to bring forth their ideas, receive funding to create their projects and avoid the obstacles that normally stand in their way of their success as they would when dealing with Hollywood. That’s HUGE!
What does Filmio offer that other platforms don’t?
Truthfully, I don’t know or have I seen any other platform like Filmio before. They bring a new concept forward and first to the market with the latest technology and that’s why I invested heavily in the company. Success is most likely imminent.”
So you think Hollywood is ready for Filmio? If so why, if not why?
Does Hollywood really have a choice? No, I don’t think so! I believe Hollywood was caught off guard and shaken when Netflix disrupted the industry, redirecting films, documentaries, and assorted television episodes their way. This hurt Hollywood financially. As far as Filmio is concerned, Filmio is taking the next step forward. Think about it for a minute. Imagine, bringing creators, fans, artists, funding and resources all together with an underlying business acumen. This will create endless entertainment content in various formats. Now imagine being able to own a small slice of this new studio that could potentially one day in the near future compete against the likes of a Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, Disney, Netflix, or others. The other side is Filmio could provide entertainment content to any of these other larger companies. Eventually you’ll see Filmio Pictures across the screen! With the proper self-funding, vision and direction of Bryan Hertz and Ian DeWinter, I believe Netflix or someone else will make an attractive offer at some point to acquire Filmio at a premium price. Being an equity partner in the company that’s ok with me! It’s really not far-fetched to think in the near future Filmio may very well become a household name.
Filmio production studio Marta Ferrer (Babieka Films, S.L.)
How long have you been producing content?
Our principals have been producing content for almost 50 years.
As a production company what challenges have you faced in the old “Hollywood System” that Filmio is helping to solve?
The main challenges we’ve faced are primarily related to sharing on the project’s upside. Filmio is helping to solve this by giving us tools to extract vital technical and creative data that will help us obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the market and the film’s return on the investment, while being aligned to its fandom. Based on that information, we can then share more equitably and transparently with our partners.
How does Filmio make it easier for you to get access to new opportunities and greenlight your projects?
The ability to showcase our projects to a global community while monitoring real-time interest will give us a unique opportunity to see which projects have better options to be made, all the while weighing in creative and financial variables.
How do you think Filmio will disrupt the film and content production industry and what excites you most about their platform?
Democratising the access to funds. Our industry is swamped by projects and it's very difficult to produce a movie — and even more to show it. Filmio will bring meritocracy to the industry, creating a richer audio-visual landscape.
Can you tell us more about your experience using Filmio, although still in Beta stage, what are you enjoying about the experience so far?
We like how intuitive and easy to use it is. We’ve been able to connect our creators with investors and fans and consequently have started to engage in some interesting conversations around the concept of DeFi. Ultimately, once the various tools are made available, we’ll truly see the potential of working in a tokenized ecosystem sharing the film’s success with its fandom.
Visit https://film.io/ to find out more! Or listen to the ParlayMe Power Players Podcast with both Chris and Ian here:
This article was originally published on ParlayMe
