Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Request for Startups: Kill Hollywood.

ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

501–510 of 697 posts

Re: Request for Startups: Kill Hollywood.

#501

Post by sambeau »

mcartyem wrote: post #357
sambeau wrote: post #214

Here's my suggestion: Trailer Pitch This is a simple design for a site and business where filmakers can crowdsource investment. It uses a simple mechanism to sell tickets and shares in advance based on the popularity of premade movie trailers. It uses a mechanism based on ideas tried by Pinboard, Kickstarter, YouTube, Vimeo, Betfair and Louis CK. One: filmakers make compelling trailers for films they would like to be…

How will you get users?

We'd clearly have to spend money at first and advertise, perhaps even commission some trailers. My first port of call would be film schools and private production companies.

The secret is to keep our word and make the first movies according to the rules even if they aren fairly amateur. As soon as the professionals see stuff being funded that they can better, the trailers would pour in.

Re: Request for Startups: Kill Hollywood.

#502

Post by mbesto »

Keyframe wrote: post #486

I am a director, I can speak on this from experience. Primary problem with producing movie/TV shows is money. It costs A LOT of money. Even shows you think can be done with a lower budget, it can't... currently. Reasons for high costs are numerous and I can expand on them (and will if someone asks me), but lets take that as an axiom for this post. It costs a lot of money, which means people who invest in content prod…

So it sounds like the healthcare industry?

Re: Request for Startups: Kill Hollywood.

#503

Post by sambeau »

losvedir wrote: post #348
sambeau wrote: post #214

Here's my suggestion: Trailer Pitch This is a simple design for a site and business where filmakers can crowdsource investment. It uses a simple mechanism to sell tickets and shares in advance based on the popularity of premade movie trailers. It uses a mechanism based on ideas tried by Pinboard, Kickstarter, YouTube, Vimeo, Betfair and Louis CK. One: filmakers make compelling trailers for films they would like to be…

> Seven: As well as tickets, shares are sold. These, start out cheap but will also rise in price as they are sold. Thus a keen smart eye might be able to make real money if they spot a winner early and invest. Investing always incurs a percentage fee. Shares are real shares in the real profit of the film and its merchandising. Shareholders get access to the film-making process and limited creative input during the de…

Trailer Pitch would remain executive producer to try to prevent such tactics (and plain stupidity).

Re: Request for Startups: Kill Hollywood.

#504

Post by Alexandervn »

malkia wrote: post #35

Here is what Francis Ford Coppola has to say on the matter: http://the99percent.com/articles/6973/Francis-Ford-Coppola-O... "We have to be very clever about those things. You have to remember that it’s only a few hundred years, if that much, that artists are working with money. Artists never got money. Artists had a patron, either the leader of the state or the duke of Weimar or somewhere, or the church, the pope. Or…

Maybe there is a solution in making the financial situation about a creator more transparent. Then I would pay if their minimum is being threatened; or only consume if they are wealthy enough.

Re: Request for Startups: Kill Hollywood.

#505

Post by p0ppe »

Keyframe wrote: post #486

I am a director, I can speak on this from experience. Primary problem with producing movie/TV shows is money. It costs A LOT of money. Even shows you think can be done with a lower budget, it can't... currently. Reasons for high costs are numerous and I can expand on them (and will if someone asks me), but lets take that as an axiom for this post. It costs a lot of money, which means people who invest in content prod…

How much of a problem is "Hollywood accounting"?

Re: Request for Startups: Kill Hollywood.

#506

Post by dirtyaura »

ypcx wrote: post #61

Make a Github for movies. If I don't like a part of your movie, I can fork it and make it better. People collaborate, and the system tracks their share in the project, and when the movie makes it to the cinema, TV, Netflix, etc., they are remunerated accordingly. Initially, a resistance is to be expected in the established distribution channels, therefore a new distribution channel is to be built. Perhaps a P2P on pa…

There's collaborative movie producing site Wreck A Movie http://www.wreckamovie.com/ which is currently used to produce Iron Sky among other films.

I think Iron Sky will be so good that Wreck A Movie might gain some serious traction, checkout the trailer here http://www.ironsky.net/

Re: Request for Startups: Kill Hollywood.

#507

Post by Keyframe »

p0ppe wrote: post #505
Keyframe wrote: post #486

I am a director, I can speak on this from experience. Primary problem with producing movie/TV shows is money. It costs A LOT of money. Even shows you think can be done with a lower budget, it can't... currently. Reasons for high costs are numerous and I can expand on them (and will if someone asks me), but lets take that as an axiom for this post. It costs a lot of money, which means people who invest in content prod…

How much of a problem is "Hollywood accounting"?

Sometimes it's a problem, but sometimes it isn't. I rather see it as an opportunity grabbing mechanism. You can see (especially large) productions hunting tax incentives for movie productions in various countries around the world for example. In studio productions there are 1-5 ratio of successful projects, they're hunting every opportunity to guard their investments. Now imagine if you're an indie production where all eggs (yours and your investors) are in a single bucket. It's scary, every single project is like a new startup - but not with couple of tens of thousands of dollars, but several millions and up.

Re: Request for Startups: Kill Hollywood.

#508

Post by mikeleeorg »

Here's what I would love to see. And I'm 90% sure there are companies already thinking & working on this.

I'd love to see a service that offers various "channels" of video content. These channels would be genres, like food, home, comedy, action, etc. The content would be a mix of amateur videos (like home videos), semi-pro videos (like amateurs who've worked hard to create near-professional quality videos), and professional videos (created in formal studios with a full staff).

I could subscribe to particular shows within a genre, or just let a channel play random shows for me. Shows could also be recommended to me in a Pandora-like manner that uses my previous viewing behavior + my active ratings to determine my tastes. Most popular shows could also be shown somewhere, in case I wanted to browse what's hot right now.

As an example, my wife loves cooking shows. She's found a few amateur/indie chefs on YouTube that seem just as good as "professional" chefs with their own produced TV shows. It would be great to view both types of videos in one place.

I love sci-fi and action movies. And you know what? Twitch.tv is pretty damn cool too. As are some cinematic game trailers. I'd love to see all of that in this service too.

This service would come with integrated hardware, much like Roku. In a way, this idea is like Roku, but with YouTube videos bundled together. Plus, a "video genome," a Pandora for videos. Oh, and a much better UI.

To the people who are already thinking & working on this, please hurry. I can't wait to give you my money and subscribe to your service.

Re: Request for Startups: Kill Hollywood.

#509

Post by rooshdi »

Keyframe wrote: post #498
ramanujan wrote: post #487

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please do expand on these reasons. What costs a lot for fundamental reasons? And what can be attacked with software?

There are three stages in production of movies and tv shows, roughly they are: Preproduction: - where screenplay is written or adapted, cost is usually low unless rights are to be managed for original content you're adapting from. - Production schedule and directors shooting script is done, sometimes a storyboard too (skilled storyboard artists COULD be somewhat replaced by software and there are attempts) - Sound de…

What are your thoughts on something like Kickstarter?

Re: Request for Startups: Kill Hollywood.

#510

Post by wr1472 »

Keyframe wrote: post #486

I am a director, I can speak on this from experience. Primary problem with producing movie/TV shows is money. It costs A LOT of money. Even shows you think can be done with a lower budget, it can't... currently. Reasons for high costs are numerous and I can expand on them (and will if someone asks me), but lets take that as an axiom for this post. It costs a lot of money, which means people who invest in content prod…

How about a way of opening up financing to the public? Ideas get pitched, and the public can invest - kickstarter for movies?

We've had fan-fiction, this would fan-financing.

Post reply on HN