Grapeflix Blogging

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