Top Web Sites of Spring 2004

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Best Web Sites - By Mark Shapiro

Everyone has a different opinion, interests and taste. But as the founder and lead editor of IVM, these are some of my personal favorites during the spring of 2004. We looked at a cornucopia of sites; some large and some small, to help come up with our list of the top sites. Some sites are making a repeat performance from our previous Top Ten list while we are welcoming some newcomers.

Our decisions were based on several different factors- how many movies and videos are on the site – bigger is better. How diverse is the content – what is the quality level of the hosted films? How easy is it download and watch the videos, how do the videos look across a typical broadband connection, is the site free, and how much support are the giving back to the independent film community.

Our top three favorites are TriggerStreet , Brownfish, and Filmwatcher

TriggerStreet functions as a virtual community of filmmakers, screenwriters, and film aficionados that share and critique scripts and short films to help independent and undiscovered work and talent find a wider audience and exposure. Several times a year, TriggerStreet hosts a Short Film Festival that determines 10 finalists, which go on to be judged by entertainment industry heavyweights who have agreed to participate in TriggerStreet. Their first Short Film Festival was judged by Bono, Mike Myers, Annette Bening, Cameron Crowe, and Danny Devito. Their second Short Film Festival was judged by Liv Tyler, Sydney Pollack, Mike Nichols, Sheryl Crow, and Producing team Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen. In addition to screening and supporting short films, TriggerStreet maintains a very dynamic Screenwriters forum that provides constructive feedback and exposure from a global audience for submitted screenplays.

Brownfish is a totally different type of site, much less formal and industry-centric, that also supports independent film makers. They have a nice selection of projects – ranging from short films and movies, to webisodes, animated shorts and tapes of live comedy performances.

FilmWatcher is a smaller site that provides a world-wide platform for film makers to showcase their material to a potential audience of millions. Not only can you watch the films at FilmWatcher, you can also download and share them. FilmWatcher also provides a community for the film makers & for those who just want to watch.

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Of course, no discussion of online films and streaming video can be complete with out Apple. A leader in streaming video technology, the Apple QuickTime “What’s On” site provide links to a wonderful assortment of videos, commercials, short movies and music videos made with Apple’s QuickTime video technology.

And as this is an election year, politics is import. We need to feature the well publisized and well-funded MoveOn.Org site with its associated BushIn30 Seconds site.

There are dozens of other sites that could have made the top 10. We made a conscious effort to spotlight the newer and emerging sites that haven’t received much prior exposure. Here are few more of our favorites to round out the top – here they are in alphabetical order

www.3btv.com - With a constantly changing line-up of programming and short films, 3BTV promotes new work by producers, writers, directors, animators and musicians etc. who want to showcase their work to the widest possible audience throughout the world.

Like TriggerStreet, Brownfish and Fimwatcher, ReelMind is also dedicated to serving the professional moviemaker and independent film producer. In addition to hosting about 170 films, the site also offers articles on many different aspects of film producing. Underground Films is very similar and features a wonderful collection of short films, videos, and animations as well as screenplays and music.

StudentFilms.com is just what you would expect, a comprehensive online site that features a wide range of student films and projects. It offers inexpensive video hosting, as well as plethora of links and info about how to make films, as well as where to get them seen. There are also active forums to ask questions and get answers about what it takes to be a success as a film-maker.

Sixty Second Films is for those with short attention spans and features a monthly competition to pick the best short film. It is free to enter and you’ll find a wide range of films and videos. The quality really varies but you’ll always be entertained.

Of course, you can’t leave out the grand-daddy of online streaming video, ifilm , – this is the site that started it all. With a new look, this giant video site always features some of the best and newest short films and vides, music videos, video games, and commercials, as well a bunch of other stuff.

Last but not least, is the SonnyBoo site. Run by Internet Video Magazine contributor Peter John Ross, this site features a whole slew of cool comedy, music videos and dramatic short video films – some by Ross himself, as well as his “friends”. The site also includes free film music, production templates and articles of value to movie makers form beginners to pro.

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Those are our top ten (okay – there are twelve) – however, here are some other great sites that were nominated by our readers and staff. These are all good…

Even though they didn’t make the top cut, Instant Films www.instantfilms.tv - has a great concept. For the last two years, they have been putting on events where a small team of writers, directors and actors have only 48 hours to create a finished film from scratch. Working from a randomly selected theme, they have to write, rehearse, shoot and edit the entire film in just two days. Currently, finalists from about twelve different events are posted on the site. It is amazing what film-makers can do when you put them under pressure.

UkrainaTV

www.filmsbyq.com (aka www.digitalcinemapictures.com)

FilmFights.com

GuerillaFilmmakers

AtomFilms

Worlds Smallest Film Festival

7M Pictures

MacroMedia’s Flash Video site