A new video hosting site for film lovers and makers has launched – Vimazing. Allowing users to present their work to clients or festivals, and gain an audience alongside other filmmakers across the globe. Think 500px for filmmakers.
By Nicole Boyd
The idea behind the platform is to provide for filmmakers, with the kind of experience that professional photographers have using popular photo-ranking communities, such as 500px, Pixoto or 1x.
You might wonder whether the world needs, yet another video hosting website and that’s a fair point. But the problem with the popular platforms such as Youtube & Vimeo, is that the film you put your time, money and passion into, gets buried alongside thousands of cute kitten videos, pranks/fail videos, how-to guides and the millions of other time-wasting videos that get uploaded every second.
Worst still are the thousands of seemingly ‘indie films’ that are actually made by commercial businesses trying to hock their wares to an unsuspecting public.
An example of which is the recent viral First Kiss film by Tatia Plliva, which asked twenty strangers to kiss each other. The short film was viewed almost a billion times on Youtube, but turned out to be nothing more than an advertisement for a winter clothing line, using a cast of actors rather than the (hinted at) members of the general public (source).
Something I liked was that Vimazing doesn’t condone that kind of viral marketing, it goes so far as to ban commercial advertisements or business content on the site – unless it’s as a part of your showreel.
The new platform also uses a ranking system, bringing the best, most viewed and most popular videos naturally to the top of each category list.
In the case of Vimazing, getting likes or views can make all the difference.
I signed up to the website a few nights ago, armed with my complimentary ‘Pro’ account and despite being slightly put off by its less than attractive interface, I actually really began to like what the website does. It’s simple and to the point.
Rather than having to re-upload all your films, the site embeds your videos from Youtube/Vimeo. You join up, log in, link your video (it even pulls your descriptions over) and write down what equipment was used whilst making your film. Hit submit and then just wait for those views to start raking up. Pretty simple.
You needn’t worry that your film will be swallowed up by the already well liked videos on the site, as the ‘Newest’ category ensures everyone’s film gets a seat at the top, at least for a little while.
Which came as a surprise to me, as the trailer that I first placed on Vimazing almost immediately got twenty views. Granted that isn’t a lot, but it did happen within the first few minutes of being linked.
Only one like, not nearly enough love.
Another thing is that site is fairly new and there isn’t a massive amount of competition, so you have a better chance that your videos will be seen. It’s also a source of feedback from other filmmakers, although it’s still in its infancy, so that side of the site isn’t as prolific as I’d hoped.
The creators of the platform, (which began last November) don’t see it as competition to Youtube/Vimeo but rather as a kind of “supplement”, without the influences or pressures that come from commercial advertising sponsorship. They state that it is “their mission is to make it possible for a wider audience to see more fantastically executed videos.”
The fact that they guarantee absolute independence, is part of the reason the site offers ‘Pro’ membership (US$27 per year), allowing it to stay online without the need for sponsorship.
Which isn’t a huge amount to pay and having a ‘Pro’ membership gives you unlimited uploads, along with access to the ‘Pro’ category, elevating your chance of video views.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I liked the concept of the website, but it’s not very pretty to look at. The graphic header really needs an upgrade and I’m not a fan of the colour banding at the top, which seems like it’s been used as either a homage, or a copy of Vimeo.
Despite that, it’s easy to use and if it gets your short film, trailer, or showreel more views, than it’s worth the few minutes it takes to submit.
You can join up for a free account (allowing three uploads per week) by clicking here, or if you’re interested in checking out some of the films already on the platform, then hit it up: vimazing.com/
