A note to fellow filmmakers

Vimeo On Demand is shutting down in November.
Looking for an alternative?

I needed one too, and couldn’t find anything that worked for me. So I built one for my own films: a working VOD storefront with trailers, film rentals, purchases, and streaming, connected to my own website.

Always a problem solver

I built what I couldn’t find.

What I wanted was simple: a place where people could learn about my films, watch a trailer, rent or buy them, and stream them, all in one spot.

Once I had it working for myself, I started wondering: what if other filmmakers want this too?

I am thinking of building this as a standalone VOD platform for independent filmmakers, just like Vimeo On Demand, but better. Your films get a home on the platform, connected with a simple link from your website. No need to build anything on your site.

Here’s the real thing

This is what I’ve already built.

This isn’t a mockup or a concept. It’s what my film pages and the backend actually look like.

A live filmmaker film page with trailer, rental, purchase, and educational sales options — **Film pages** Trailers, details, rentals, purchases, and streaming.

The working filmmaker dashboard showing a catalog of real films — **Your dashboard** See and manage your full catalog in one place.

The working backend film editor with page, pricing, video, and credits controls — **The backend** Customize film pages, pricing, videos, credits, press, and more.

The admin pricing screen where a filmmaker sets rental and purchase prices for their film — **Built to sell** Set your rental and purchase prices in seconds.

A film actually streaming in the player, mid-scene — **Screened** This is a film actually playing — streamed straight from the site.

Trailers. Film pages. Rentals. Purchases. Streaming.

What it is and what it is not

It is

It is a storefront. It functions just like Vimeo On Demand, with a payment portal, timed streaming, a dashboard where you can customize your page with quotes, festivals and awards, and transactional email notifications for you and the buyer.

It is not

It is not yet a marketplace. It will not have the search and discovery that Vimeo On Demand had. However, if we have enough filmmakers signing on, we can build our own collection and create search and discovery. Also, it is not a video hosting platform.

Who I am

Filmmaker first. Problem solver always.

I’m Laurel Chiten, an award-winning independent filmmaker and founder of Blind Dog Films. My films have screened internationally, aired nationally on PBS, and earned numerous honors, including a national Emmy Award nomination.

More recently, I’ve become a tech entrepreneur and founder of The Gift of Yes, a new crowdfunding platform built specifically for creators.

Interested?

Want in?

I’m looking for filmmakers who want to get in on the ground floor.