As a result of over six years interacting with independent filmmakers at film festivals, Ed Vincent became aware of the difficulties they face in terms of financing, distributing and building an audience for their movies. Hoping to do something to help, Vincent has spent two-and-a-half years developing a new way to democratize the filmmaking process. “I wanted independent filmmakers to have some of the same tools as major Hollywood studios in order to level the playing field,” Vincent declared in a recent telephone interview.   

The result of Vincent’s efforts is myProducer.tv, a film site designed to take advantage of social networking possibilities on the World Wide Web. This impressive site offers participants the ability to set up a profile or a filmmaking project, thereby making it convenient to collaborate with other interested people from all over the world. Videos, music, and blogs related to the project can be added, and fans can be encouraged to participate in the filmmaking process or to become members of the crew. There are three levels of participation:

1. Hobbyist -- free

2. Serious Filmmaker -- $20 per month after the Beta phase; currently free.

3. Professional Filmmaker -- $200 one-time sign up fee after Beta; currently $100. For this level, collection and disbursement of funds will be provided as will access to a group of national advertisers.

"Help with distribution of movies will be available via high quality downloads, and future partnerships in VOD, online, theatrical and in-room hospitality outlets,"Vincent explained.

According to an October press release, myProducer.tv will help disrupt the studio model as it exists today by allowing the public to participate and determine which films are made through contributions of time and money, and by providing data analytical tools that help all filmmakers truly understand their audience. The interactive website has all the social networking tools of popular social media sites, video streaming capabilities of YouTube and micro-financing fundraising tools similar to those used by the Barack Obama campaign.  Filmmakers ranging from individual hobbyists to fully staffed studios can now receive feedback and financing from their audiences and develop content based on the opinions of participating film lovers.

This creative new filmmaking process is Ed Vincent’s most recent brainchild. With more than 13 years of business management, consulting and marketing experience, Vincent has become a seasoned entrepreneur, building various types of businesses. Vincent’s first company was a real estate valuation firm during the refinancing boom of the early 90s where he ran the business from his college dorm room with his lap top, fax machine and roommate included. As founder of Vincent Partners Group of Companies, Vincent has developed an entertainment and consumer brand management firm with controlling and minority ownership interests of assets in the entertainment (fashion, sports, film), technology and hospitality sectors.

If Vincent’s myProducer.tv is successful, it will definitely redefine the way movies are created. I encourage anyone interested in filmmaking to check out the possibilities of this amazing project by going to http://www.myproducer.tv.

(Photo: Ed Vincent)