WEB
Late one night I was sketching some storyboards in the hallway of my dorm - basically avoiding studying for a midterm - when one of my dormmates suggested I submit my 3-D computer animation to Nibblebox.com, an entertainment site designed as a launchpad for student movies.
Because I go to an affiliated school, even an amateur like me, as an individual or part of a team, can submit ideas (from one-sentence pitches to complete scripts) and let Nibblebox act as a miniature Hollywood studio. If the folks there like your idea, they help you develop it, fund its production, and stream it on their site. Nibblebox provides participating colleges and universities with professional-quality digital video cameras, lights, sound equipment, and software for writing and editing, along with tech support, for free. They even hook you up with a Hollywood mentor to help with storytelling: Directors Steven Soderbergh (Erin Brockovich) and Doug Liman (Go) and actor John Leguizamo (Summer of Sam) have signed on. At the end of the process, your show gets its own Web page, complete with credits and contact info for the creators.
It sounded cool, so I filled out the registration form, and a few days later a representative called and asked to see a tape of my work. Nibblebox ended up using a short I made senior year in high school as one of the five shows for its preliminary launch in April. (A full rollout is due this fall.) In the month since my show was posted online, I got feedback from talent agencies, journalists, animation studios, and even established directors - not to mention a paycheck: Though pay varies, venture-funded Nibblebox paid me $2,500 for the first episode, and $500 per episode thereafter, plus a share of profits from any other venues.
So what's the catch? For one, Nibblebox retains all rights to anything it produces. This means I can't enter my short in festivals or show it on other sites without permission. (Nibblebox does, however, keep the creators attached to the project at all times, so if MTV wants to make a sitcom out of my idea, I not only get royalties - I'm involved in the production.) Secondly, Nibblebox is concerned with its interests and the bottom line. It goes for short, episodic series, with segments running fewer than 10 minutes. It's also restrictive in terms of format; its streaming technology doesn't work well with complex shots or rapid movements. I have quite a few friends who have had their ideas rejected for having a large cast or too many locations. And the pay, while a bonus for a college student, is much less than that at other commercial sites like iFilm.com.
Overall, though, the advantages outweigh the drawbacks. Nibblebox may own the project and limit your freedom, but what good are the rights to a project that you can't afford to make?
Nibblebox: free. Nibblebox: +1 (212) 941 7656, www.nibblebox.com.
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