Jerkyvision founders offer distribution for unknown filmmakers through new portal

Two recent graduates of film and new media are determined to use the web as a new distribution window for young filmmakers whose work might otherwise go unseen. Citing the difficulty of cracking the closed ranks of prestigious film festivals by unknown artists, Jason Hatcher and Nolan Dubeau will soon launch Toronto-based Jerkyvision.com, a site featuring the short films of young filmmakers. The site has star potential. The pair’s first attempt to post content attracted so many viewers, it temporarily overloaded their servers, sending the project back to the technical drawing board. Jerkyvision.comSuite 101, 192 Spadina AvenueToronto, Ontario CanadaM5T 2C2Tel. 416-361-3014 info@jerkyvision.comWhen it relaunches this month, the site will feature short films shown in a "jukebox" format, with continuous play in full-screen format that allows viewers to skip back and forth through the playlist. Hatcher, Dubeau and their small team developed the technology using skills they learned at Ryerson Polytechnic University. Dubeau told CNM that they now have a server configuration robust enough to handle the anticipated traffic. Before a large number of hits disabled their site, Jerkyvision had been featured in a Shift magazine top web site list which precipitated the huge demand. Dubeau says that for the moment the site is a labour of love with exposure for new artists being the priority. "What we’ve seen in the last year is that the Internet is quite powerful for distribution or for getting word out to a global audience. We’re trying to get these (filmmakers) mobilized and provide them with a venue to showcase that content, and hopefully someone will see it and inquire into that filmmaker – or maybe they’ll get their name into one of the festivals if they’re shown a fair amount of times," he says, adding, "We think it’s great work and we don’t want to see it just sitting on a shelf because it’s quality work. A lot of great work is coming from Toronto right now." Although the site isn’t featuring a lot of content yet, Dubeau notes that their studio is being heavily used by local film and new media creators. To the extent possible, Jerkyvision is assisting them with the use of cameras and computers for editing. Jerkyvision says the films they’ll showcase won’t suffer in quality as a result of being shown on a viewer’s desktop, though they will lose some of the immersive quality of being shown on a larger screen. While the site’s unlikely to have much difficulty attracting either eyeballs or content, Dubeau says they do have to find a revenue stream to maintain its viability. Inserting advertising into the play-streams is one option. The company is also examining a number of assistance programs available to new media producers, including the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund. The problem with that program, however, is that companies are required to have a broadcasting partner, something Jerkyvision doesn’t have. Dubeau says they are also looking at grants from the Canadian Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, Telefilm Canada, and group called the Interactive Broadcast Developers’ Group at the Rogers Communication Centre at Ryerson, though that group focuses more on interactive TV. Looking ahead, the five-person team will rely on word-of-mouth advertising through the academic filmmaking community, as well as a number of launch parties and promotional events. It is also looking at providing a technology backbone for events such as the Toronto Film Festival with the possibility of linking back to the Jerkyvision site to generate more traffic. "We’re a small studio without a large marketing budget" says Dubeau. "(We’ll use) a lot of guerilla tactics."

Jerkyvision founders offer distribution for unknown filmmakers through new portal

News | 10/04/2000 4:00 am EDT

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