Unlike Indie Film Submissions, Indie Film Apps Are Approved for iTunes 99.99% of the Time
iTunes is the most popular and heavily branded media portal in the world. Run by Apple Computer Inc., iTunes is the home to tens of thousands of studio films. But if you’re an independent filmmaker with hopes of seeing your film listed amongst others on iTunes>Movies you’ve probably felt helpless and hopeless.
iTunes does not make it easy for independent filmmakers. The submission process for films is lengthy, arbitrary and often an exercise in futility. Successful festival runs and even awards cannot solidify an independent film’s acceptance into the iTunes database. Imagine how difficult it is for indie filmmakers with little to no festival exposure, publicity or name actors. But fear not. There is a simpler process — a loophole exists that many films have taken advantage of, including my film, Broken Hearts Club.
The submission process for an independent film often has to come through a content aggregator. The fees vary, but one such content aggregator, Distribber, charges more than $1200 to submit a film to iTunes. Although Distribber manages the submission process for you and even keep track of your film as it moves from one department to the next, acceptance isn’t guaranteed. Moreover, the process may take months before you hear anything.
However, there’s a shortcut that can get your film on iTunes in less than a year, and the approval rates are near perfect. Submit your film to iTunes as an app (application). iTunes apps are approved much faster than movies. They have to be, there’s ten times as many apps as there are films available on iTunes.
If a filmmaker has access to a programmer, preferably someone with access to the iTunes/iPhone/iPad/iPod SDK (Software Developer Kit) they can build an app in-house. To be an app, a program simply needs to run on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod nd perform some function. An iTunes indie film app can simply be a program with a GUI interface that “plays” the movie. The app can be designed to take advantage of other iTunes apps like Safari or Calendar. And iTunes indie film app can also include web links or movie trailer.
If you aren’t a programmer and you don’t have access to one, you’ll need to use a service that creates apps for indie filmmakers. One such service is Stonehenge Productions. Stonehenge Productions had designed apps for independent filmmakers and for film festivals. Stonehenge designs the indie film app using in-house programmers, they submits the app to iTunes for approval, then they manage the distribution of funds received from iTunes for the sale of the app. The process is simple. As the filmmaker, all you have to do is submit the materials (film, trailer, additional video, links, images, etc).
For my film Broken Hearts Club, Stonehenge Productions designed an App that included the 2-hour film, a 2-minute trailer, images from the film and links to my blog and social media sites. The App size is just over 900MB. Now my film is available for download and viewing on iPhones, iTouch, and the iPad.
For the First Glance Film Festival, Stonehenge designed an app that includes film details, screening venue information, ticket pricing, film and screenplay submission information for contests, and other relevant information.
The price is considerably cheaper than submitting your film through a fee-charging aggregator and takes much less time for approval. One warning, don’t get too eccentric with your app — some indie film apps will get rejected. Remember, you’re still dealing with Apple. If you want to exercise your right to free speech or freedom of expression go right ahead. However it would be a shame to pay a nonrefundable fee to design the App and then have it rejected because you used words, phrases or expressions which are counter to the Apple TOS.
Anywhere from 50 million to 200 million uses visit iTunes every year. It pays to have your film available on the site, by any means necessary.
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First Glance Film Festival iTunes App
http://www.StonehengeProductions.com