From Struggling Artist to Love-Struck Innovator
Miniflix Brings Award-Winning Short Films to the Mass Market
OAKLAND, Calif., July 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Miniflix, a platform offering a curated library of traditional short films all in one place, is gaining strong traction in the video content world on the heels of its fall 2017 launch. The story behind this ascent, however, plays out more like a full-length feature - and illustrates an ever-present issue that budding filmmakers have dealt with for some time.
"Currently, to watch shorter award-winning content, consumers have to go to iTunes or Amazon and pay $1.99 to $12.99 per movie," stated Wes Fleming, Miniflix's Co-Founder and CEO. "We provide unlimited access to all the award-winning films created by notable directors and starring notable actors in one place - and for one low price."
It didn't take long for Fleming, a filmmaker by trade, to realize how difficult it was to access content like this online. It all started back in 2012, when he was tasked with creating a short film for his graduate thesis at the Savannah College of Art & Design. With no reliable way to study the works of other short filmmakers, Fleming found it exceedingly challenging to hone his craft and to live up to the lofty expectations within the field. And though he still maintained a passion for film, he went on to take a job with software company Optimizely in 2014 while keeping his mind open for a solution to this problem. Then, just like that, love came into his life and everything changed.
Fleming first met Jessica Rosenberg in 2012, around the time the idea for a direct-to-consumer short film platform came into his mind. It quickly became clear that she possessed the keen eye for design needed to make this platform a reality - and after a two-year courting process, they would team up in life and in business and set out to create Miniflix. The pair began building the technology that would allow anyone with an internet connection to take in the best that the short film world has to offer. Fast forward to today, and it's evolved into a full-fledged mobile and web-based platform that brings award-winning content right to the palm of the viewer's hand.
Miniflix provides unlimited access to Oscar-winning short films, festival award recipients, animations, and so much more through a vast library that's added to each month. New users are granted a 14-day free trial period, and subsequently charged the low price of $3.99 per month for ad-free viewing. This model has proven quite successful so far, as over 5,000 people downloaded Miniflix during the first quarter after its fall 2017 iOS & Android release. The platform now boasts 2,600 unique monthly users; and, as this total continues to grow, other filmmakers are actually beginning to submit their own films to it. Thanks to this fact and a host of user-friendly features like offline viewing, Miniflix is beginning to prove itself as the platform that the short film world has been waiting for.
Network Ireland Television executive Sadhbh Murphy echoed the importance of the role that Miniflix is playing: "We need to see more serious VOD buyers (like Miniflix), as unfortunately a number of the traditional broadcasters do not attend anymore. There is no point in us meeting the one Vimeo curator that attends as Vimeo only want to meet filmmakers directly, so they can exhibit their films free of charge."
Going forward, Fleming and Rosenberg want to continue traveling "full circle" by providing a way for filmmakers to avoid the problem they initially encountered. Their short-term plan with Miniflix is to give back to filmmakers so that they earn enough to keep creating short films; as original content creation - namely in the arena of short series and VR - is the ultimate goal. Miniflix is available for download today on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. The web-based version is also available at miniflix.tv, where anyone can browse the library and begin a free trial today.
For more information about this story, contact:
Wes Fleming, CEO
Miniflix
[email protected]
808.285.8925
SOURCE Miniflix
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