With all the rapid changes in how people watch and share films, sometimes new ventures slip in under the radar. Mutinee is one of those. There are not just viewers out there, but filmmakers themselves, who want to be able to share films (their own) and hear back from the public. Mutinee seems to be merging an online distribution model with a serious social component. Reminiscent of what Kevin Spacey's Trigger Street began doing in the early 2000's allowing people to register and upload their films and screenplays, with viewers and readers providing sincere and constructive critique, Mutinee looks to be harnessing our need as humans to connect and to share stories. I recently interviewed Mutinee founder, Christian Ogunbanjo, about why he founded this company and why he thinks people should join.
What is Mutinee, and what should people know about it?
Mutinee is the film sharing network. It is a place for all creative individuals to come together and share their work, thoughts reviews and ratings and get the same love back from the rest of our vibrant film community.
Was the Mutinee team driven simply by a love for, and interest in, cooperation and sharing, or was there a frustration with distribution models which also spurred the team on to create Mutinee?
There was a frustration with current distribution models. There was no video sharing websites that specifically catered to independent filmmakers. Independent and viral films get lost in the wide array of uploads that take precedence on Vimeo and Youtube. We wanted to create a platform that focused on showcasing independent films, and therefore attract an audience that was specifically interested in this sort of content. We wanted to create a network where people would have to interact with the community in order to spread the world about their content.
Everybody has a pitch for their new business. What’s your pitch for Mutinee, and why should people join?
Mutinee is a quick and fun way to share your films with friends and the rest of the world. Our goal is to make film sharing as easy as possible and create a platform where content producers can give their films directly to the people that want to see them. Mutinee cuts out the middle men and allows independent filmmakers to build an audience for themselves totally free of charge.
What kind of interest are you seeing? Are there certain areas of the world where Mutinee is proving to be more popular?
We are seeing a significant amount of interest from aspiring filmmakers all over the world. Other video hosting websites are over saturated with uploads of all kinds; Mutinee focuses specifically on short films and edited content. Youtube and Vimeo aren’t a huge set of eyes just waiting to view independent content. Content producers have to interact with a community (comment, rate and view) in order to “get the same love back!” Mutinee encourages this interaction within our community as a way for our users to discover new and exciting content and find an audience for themselves.
What kind of future do you envision for Mutinee?
We at Mutinee believe that the future of film discovery lies in film sharing. Technology has reached the point where almost anyone can pick up a camera and make a film and as cameras and other filmmaking equipment/software become increasingly inexpensive, the unfair advantage that studios have had over independent content producers is gradually being reduced. Films will be judged on the quality of their content and not the size of their budgets, if any. Filmmakers will be able to give their films directly to those who want to see it without having to go through distributors or any other middle men, and Mutinee will be the platform through which they can do this.
Find out more about Mutinee by visiting these links:
Christian Ogunbanjo was born in London and raised in Nigeria, where his father started the first commercial cinema in his area. He attended the Queen Mary University of London before spending a year at the New York Film Academy. After graduating, he worked for Belladonna Productions in New York and developed a keen interest in digital distribution. It was in New York, immersed in the culture of digital and independent film, where he first came up with the Idea for Mutinee. Since then Mutinee has become the only free independent film networking website on the web.
Mutinee is the film sharing network. It is a place for all creative individuals to come together and share their work, thoughts reviews and ratings and get the same love back from the rest of our vibrant film community.
Was the Mutinee team driven simply by a love for, and interest in, cooperation and sharing, or was there a frustration with distribution models which also spurred the team on to create Mutinee?
There was a frustration with current distribution models. There was no video sharing websites that specifically catered to independent filmmakers. Independent and viral films get lost in the wide array of uploads that take precedence on Vimeo and Youtube. We wanted to create a platform that focused on showcasing independent films, and therefore attract an audience that was specifically interested in this sort of content. We wanted to create a network where people would have to interact with the community in order to spread the world about their content.
Everybody has a pitch for their new business. What’s your pitch for Mutinee, and why should people join?
Mutinee is a quick and fun way to share your films with friends and the rest of the world. Our goal is to make film sharing as easy as possible and create a platform where content producers can give their films directly to the people that want to see them. Mutinee cuts out the middle men and allows independent filmmakers to build an audience for themselves totally free of charge.
What kind of interest are you seeing? Are there certain areas of the world where Mutinee is proving to be more popular?
We are seeing a significant amount of interest from aspiring filmmakers all over the world. Other video hosting websites are over saturated with uploads of all kinds; Mutinee focuses specifically on short films and edited content. Youtube and Vimeo aren’t a huge set of eyes just waiting to view independent content. Content producers have to interact with a community (comment, rate and view) in order to “get the same love back!” Mutinee encourages this interaction within our community as a way for our users to discover new and exciting content and find an audience for themselves.
What kind of future do you envision for Mutinee?
We at Mutinee believe that the future of film discovery lies in film sharing. Technology has reached the point where almost anyone can pick up a camera and make a film and as cameras and other filmmaking equipment/software become increasingly inexpensive, the unfair advantage that studios have had over independent content producers is gradually being reduced. Films will be judged on the quality of their content and not the size of their budgets, if any. Filmmakers will be able to give their films directly to those who want to see it without having to go through distributors or any other middle men, and Mutinee will be the platform through which they can do this.
Find out more about Mutinee by visiting these links:
- Website
- Twitter @mutineefilm
- Google+
Christian Ogunbanjo was born in London and raised in Nigeria, where his father started the first commercial cinema in his area. He attended the Queen Mary University of London before spending a year at the New York Film Academy. After graduating, he worked for Belladonna Productions in New York and developed a keen interest in digital distribution. It was in New York, immersed in the culture of digital and independent film, where he first came up with the Idea for Mutinee. Since then Mutinee has become the only free independent film networking website on the web.