Grapeflix Blogging

Don on the Farm

Joe Wo's online theater at Grapeflix is showing Don on the Farm which features cartoonist/storyteller Joe Wos. Join Joe at the Charles M. Schulz Museum theater as he draws a story live as he tells it! The story of Don, a duck who has higher dreams and aspirations, as high as the barn roof. Along the way he will find out anything is possible with a little help from his barnyard friends.  A wonderful film and winner of the Telly Awards. 

Watch it as a stream, a rental download, or as a purchase download.

 And for a limited time, watch it on Grapeflix for free.

Drawn to Storytelling

An amazing documentary, Drawn to Storytelling follows cartoonist and storyteller Joe Wos in an exploration of the modern storytelling movement and how a cartoonist manages to fit in. Director, Kristen Lauth Shaefer follows Joe from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to the storytelling capital of the world, Jonesborough Tennessee, meeting informative and interesting performers along the way.

You can watch this for free as a stream for a limited time only at the Wos Studios online theater at Grapeflix.

Disturbing Images: The Story of Helmut K.

Showing on Cinema Alliance's online theater at Grapeflix is Disturbing Images:  The Story of Helmut K. 

Helmut K. believing that modern art having lost what he called God's perspective set out to create a new art form entitled PERVERSIONISM. In denying the perverse nature of man the soul is made corrupt. Through careful footing and unchaining oneself from societal confines which bind, one may find the way once more.

Disturbing Images follows the life of Helmut K., the creator of schlock cinema, who has turned his meager talents onto the world of photography.  In the wake of his disastrous exploits, where lives have been destroyed, and backers left in financial ruin he is unable to find anyone to support his churning out of incredibly bad films. To stay afloat Helmut K. begins to create an odd assortment of tasteless and disturbing photos, thus turning himself into a monumental cult figure. It is controversy that sells and these photos sell big at the same time igniting tempers. When a disturbing photo of Helmut's comes under fire from a right wing religious group he fights back in the only way he knows how... He creates more controversy by seducing a member of a religious group into a life style of decadence and ultimately having him pose for one of the Master's outrageous photos. Helmut K. once more sets the fires ablaze which has made him so unpopular with many people, and ultimately leads him into dangerous waters.

Watch is as a stream, rental download, or purchase download.

And watch it now for free for a limited time only!

Mojave Magic: A Turtle's Eye View of SpaceShipOne

Desert Turtle Productions is showcasing Mojave Magic: A Turtle's Eye View of SpaceShipOne in its theater.

Like the Wright brothers' historic flight a century ago, Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne ushers in a new era of civilian aviation, lifting us right off the planet and straight into space! Mojave Magic: A Turtle's Eye View of SpaceShipOne takes you up close and personal to witness the first privately funded space flight and the two flights that won the $10 million Ansari X Prize – complete with champagne celebration and comments by the key players. Join Mike Melvill, the world’s first private astronaut, as he climbs aboard SpaceShipOne in the predawn desert chill. Experience the remote and exotic Mojave Airport, including a late night dance party attended by rocket fans from around the world. And, of course, enjoy the numerous takeoffs, launches, landings and flybys of all the fabulous aircraft involved in this amazing event. Mojave Magic has it all. This piece of history is a “must have” for everyone’s collection.

Visit www.DesertTurtle.com for additional exclusive content and to purchase Mojave Magic on DVD.

Otherwise, you can rent it as a download at Grapeflix or watch it as a stream.

Currently, Mojave Magic is showing for free as a stream on Grapeflix for a limited time only.

D-Day: The Price of Freedom

A wonderful documentary, D-Day: The Price of Freedom is showing at the Tim Gray Media online theater on Grapeflix.

According to Andy Smith, a television writer, "the hour-long documentary is a moving, well-crafted piece that is, first of all, a tribute to the courage of the men who began the liberation of France on June 6, 1944. Beneath that, it is a meditation on age, memory and sacrifice."

Watch this movie for free as a stream for a limited time only. You can also watch it as a rental download or purchase download.

Starboy

One of the cool movies on Grapeflix is a musical by Lee Feldman.  The musical, entitled Starboy, is showing at the Lee Feldman online theater. 

Lee Feldman, pianist, singer and songwriter (he prefers the term 'dentist') was introduced at a New York club as this generation's Randy Newman. But Lee's songs also have a style uniquely their own, reflecting his love of Rock and Roll, Pop and experimental jazz. Starboy is Lee's animated musical about a sad superhero who lives with his uncle, a mathematician.

Here's the story of Starboy:  Lee Feldman realized that his home phone number spelled out (718) Starboy back in the 90's.  It took him a few years but he finally turned it into an animated musical with Joe Campbell. Starboy premiered in 2004 at the Millennium Film Archives.  It has since been featured at the Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan and at clubs and theaters at Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  In 2004, it won the Producer's Award in the 2004 Delaware Valley Arts Alliance Film Festival.  In 2005, it was shown (and performed with a live  cast) at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

The songs in Starboy are singable, kid-friendly, strange, sophisticated and imbued with heart and mystery.

Starboy is showing on Grapeflix as a stream, rental download, or purchase download.

WATCH IT FOR FREE AS A STREAM FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY!

Rounding Third

Showing at the Brandon Kusher online theater on Grapeflix is Rounding Third, an interesting vignette about a young doctor who is trying to get over his father’s death. He befriends a former Yankee who played with Mickey Mantle but was sidelined by an injury. In the film Dr. Marcus’ bond with his dead father is strengthened by a box of old baseball cards and in real life. His love for the game is also what bonds Marcus to his new friend Roberto, who tries to get him to confront his pain.

Rounding Third is showing FOR FREE as a stream for a limited time only.  You can also purchase it as a download.

A Documentary

A movie showing at the Stand Up Comedy & Death online theater on Grapeflix is A Documentary, a Richard May film.

A Documentary's premise begins with one seemingly simple question: Are you fulfilled? — a question that now inextricably links individuals in three initially unrelated stories together forever. Director Richard May began the search for fulfillment by following stand-up comedians chase their dreams of "sold-out auditoriums," "HBO specials," and everything in between. If you're following your dreams, you must be fulfilled, right? A Documentary found the answers to that question are not as obvious as you might think. Both struggling comedians and seasoned pros reveal their insight about the world of comedy and the ability or inability to follow their dreams to satisfy their own expectations.

From there, A Documentary explored an even deeper question: if you found out you only had nine months to live, would you live your life differently? When Rick and Terri Echternacht of Austin, TX, are faced with a life threatening illness, life's priorities become immediately and painstakingly clear. Their personal discovery about what's really important in life is both insightful and prophetic, and should be something every human being routinely considers whether faced with a life-altering tragedy or not.

You can watch A Documentary on Grapeflix as a stream, rental download or rental purchase.

Targeted Content

Grapeflix is targeting lesser-known, professionally-produced content from independent filmmakers, content producers/distributors, video journalists, content owners, and music artists. These content include both entertainment and educational content.

• Movies -      Grapeflix has features and shorts from all cinematic genres. In general, only      pornographic content is not allowed on Grapeflix.

• Music      Videos - Grapeflix has music videos from artists who want to monetize      their music.

• Video Journalism - Grapeflix      is trying to attract video journalists to post and sell their content on      the site. While news may be dated and would not attract a paying audience,      Grapeflix believes that features on exciting topics or an exploration of      current issues and events would attract a paying audience if it offers      value and new insight. Grapeflix considers features or segments on 60      Minutes as a model for the type of video content that can sell.

• Light Educational Material -      Under the section called Lights!, Grapeflix would like to attract      educational content on practical subjects such as Do-it-yourself videos      and hobbies.

• Educational - Educational      content that would be of interest to industry professionals and students.      These includes training videos, lectures, seminars, panel discussions, and      conferences.

With respect to lectures, Grapeflix aims to convince filmmakers to team up with university and college professors to produce lectures and videos on class subjects and to offer them for rent or sale on Grapeflix.

Opening your online theater

If we've caught your attention, here are the steps to take in opening your theater.

1.  REGISTERING ON GRAPEFLIX

This is where you register.  It's quick, free, and easy.

Unlike traditional distribution channels, you don't need to sign agreements.  The agreements are all online and they are agreed to when you register on Grapeflix. 

You can check the following agreements:

Grapeflix Membership Agreement

Terms of Use

Privacy Policy

Just to remind you guys:

• Everything is non-exclusive.  You can bail out anytime.
• No licensing is involved.
• You control all distribution parameters including pricing.
• There are no upfront costs to set up your theater.
• You must have the rights to distribute your content.

2. OPEN YOUR THEATER AND INPUT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR MOVIE/SHORT/CONTENT

This is a very simple process that involves logging in and going to your account to set up your theater.  We simplified things by showing a visual representation of the process. 

OPEN ONLINE THEATER

3.  UPLOAD YOUR CONTENT TO YOUR THEATER

You can upload your movie using the Grapeflix File Manager.  You can upload  content using either our File Manager for PC users or File Manager for MAC users.

If you don't have digital files of your movie, you can send your movie/short/content to us in a disc (DVD) and we will encode your content for free (for a limited time and up to 5 DVD's).

Grapeflix, Inc.
1098 Foster City Blvd.
Suite 106
Mail Code 400
Foster City, CA 94404

Information on how much you get coming up.  And I'll post videos on the process soon.

by Seventh Art

An overview for Independent Filmmakers, Producers, Distributors, and Content Creators

Now that you have a sense of what we are, here's an overview of what content creators can expect from Grapeflix:

1.  We are not a distribution company.  You keep all the rights to your content.  No licensing of your content is involved.  And being with Grapeflix is a non-exclusive arrangement.

2.  We are a community, not an online catalog.  We give you the tools, features, and support to open your online theater and put your content on your own online theater on Grapeflix.

3. You have complete pricing freedom!  You can put a price on your stream or rental/purchase download.

4.  There are no upfront costs and opening your theater is free!  We give up to 1 GB of storage for free.  An hour to hour and a half feature would be around 400-600 MB. 

  5.  Your content will be protected against piracy with DRM technology!

  6.  Free technical support to set-up your theater including encoding your content! (Limited period).  However, because of our open nature, you can set-up your own theater easily and conveniently from your PC. 

  7.  We take care of front-end and back-end operations including e-commerce fulfillment and customer-support.

  8.  Supplement your current DVD distribution!

  9.  Keep 75-85% of your revenues!

You may be asking: Sure, everything that Grapeflix says is great. But how will new audiences discover my work in a sea of online content?

Let us tell you this: We hear you! Your works will not be a mere inventory in an online catalog. We will create the buzz and target relevant audiences/communities to help them discover your works.  Plus, there will be an online community within Grapeflix through our introduction of a forums section.

Overtime, we will see a community of discerning audiences eager to pay for your great content.

Content owners - Distributors

DISTRIBUTION COMPANY

Another group that we would like on board Grapeflix are distribution companies. 

Producers/distributors of content have an ally in Grapeflix. Through Grapeflix, a distribution company with a library of content can generate additional revenues by tapping new, online audiences who will pay to stream, rent, and/or purchase their content as digital files. Distribution companies will have their own online theater(s) within Grapeflix to showcase their content and can put links to their websites so that those interested in purchasing their DVD’s can be directed to their external websites.   In their online theaters, distribution companies will be able to project their image and brand.

Here's a note to distributors / distribution companies:

Because Grapeflix has in place the infrastructure to allow you to distribute your content as digital streams and/or downloads and to scale this up,  you do not have to start from scratch and invest your resources into building and maintaining an infrastructure to distribute online files. Further, you get to keep most of the revenues you make – that is, between 80-85%.

Lastly, putting your content on Grapeflix makes sense because of its open platform nature. Our aim is to become the go-to site for professionally-produced entertainment and educational streams/downloads. You can maximize your exposure to audiences and increase conversion of such exposure to sales by being part of an online community rather than having a standalone website that sells your online content.

We want you - Independent Filmmakers, Producers, Distributors, and Other Content Creators

Moving on - here's something that should be read by all content creators of valuable content.

You have now been introduced to Grapeflix's vision of a community and open platform.  The question now is - are you a fit for Grapeflix?

I wouldn't talk about generalities here and go straight to the point.  Whom do we want on Grapeflix?

INDEPENDENT FILMMAKER

Yes, we want you.  You who have gone the film festival route and who knows they have good content but can't seem to get a wide distribution for their work.  We also know that you may have your own website, MySpace page, and are distributing your content by selling DVDs in stores or online.   Sure, there's some interest for your work but perhaps, you think you're not getting your day in the sun.

Or maybe, you've simply given up on distribution and that your great work is just lying around in your home - staring at nothing but darkness.

If you are that independent filmmaker ("indie filmmaker") I generally described above, you are our man (or woman).

Here's probably your profile:

• Education:   Went to film school (or been doing film for sometime now because it's a passion)

• Film Festival:  Been there, done that.  Sundance, Slamdance, Tribeca, SXSW, Austin, Telluride, Seattle, Ann Arbor, SF Indie, etc., etc.   

• Yes, I have a website with 5 hits a day!  Lots of visits at first, especially around film festival time.  But things eventually tapered off.

• Do I have a DVD? Yes, I do.  And that's selling on Customflix or Amazon or on my site.  It's great to be in Amazon but somehow, it's the blockbusters that get noticed, not my masterpiece.

• And yes, like most cool and hip filmmakers, I have my own MySpace page or website!

More on content creators in the next post.

Grapeflix - An Open Platform and a Community

Okay - - so you might be intrigued and wondering - -what is Grapeflix - -and how, in this over-crowded world of online video websites, is it different?

Here's what we are:

1.  An online community of professionally-produced content creators and content consumers.

2.  For professionally-produced content creators, we are an open-platform which provides them the tools, features, and support to open their online theater, and stream for a price, rent or sell their content as digital streams or downloads.

3.  For online consumers, we provide them access to online features/shorts (entertainment) and educational content that they probably would never have heard of or discovered without Grapeflix or would have found only by doing an exhaustive search over the Internet. 

In the end, what we do is bring together:

• content creators who want to distribute their content to more audiences/increase their sales                                                                                                                                  to
• an online audience that's looking for something beyond blockbusters,                                                                                                                      . 

in an online community called Grapeflix.

What we are not is an online catalog that collects content from content creators and sells them to audiences.  Far from that. 

Instead,Grapeflix wants content creators to easily and conveniently upload their content to their own virtual theaters and monetize their content as a stream, or rental/purchase download.  And Grapeflix wants content consumers to interact with each other and with filmmakers whether as a prelude to paying for content or after watching something that's playing on Grapeflix.

by Seventh Art

Hello to everyone!

Hi everyone!

This is the first post in the official Grapeflix blog.

We've come a long way since October 2006, when we launched the site.  There's more content on the site and there's been a steady stream of visitors. 

Of course, you may not know much about us and what we're all about.  Through blogging, I will introduce to all of you, both content creators and content consumers, our site and what makes us different.

You'll want to stick around and check us out often because we're one site that will be on many people's radar screens in the coming months.

Again, it's great to be up and running and let's all engage in a dialog.

Mr. Seventh Art  of  the Grapeflix Team