Launched in November of 2002 by Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti, I've been spending more hours than might be healthy with TriggerStreet.com
For those of you not familiar with this booming phenomena, the site serves as a source for amateur and hopeful screenwriters and filmmakers to submit their material for both peer and professional review. However, I feel it's only decent to offer fair warning before posting the link by stealing one of the taglines from the film Waiting for Guffman: there's a good reason why some talent remains undiscovered.
There are also bad reasons why some talent remains undiscovered. In an industry plagued by nepotism, favoritism, bottomlineativism, and any other nasty "ism" you can think of (er...some of them clearly invented by this author), TriggerStreet offers a venue to fledgling writers and directors to showcase their work - not to be mistaken for "talent" - in return for another "ism": criticism. With a mix of short films and screenplays, members indicate their preferences from a variety of genres and are then given review "assignments" pooled from recent submissions. These submissions range from truly talented, to could-be-good-with-a-little-bit-of-polish, to downright (insert colorful obscenity here) atrocious.
The good thing about TriggerStreet, though, is that you don't have to be related to Francis Ford Coppola to have people genuinely interested in film take a look at your work. Sure, some of them are just schmuck movie geeks like me, but the site has also run short films by established Hollywood figures like the late Ted Demme and and the long-adored Martin Scorsese, and even boasts a "film festival" several times a year with celebrity judges along the lines of Danny DeVito, Tim Burton, and Cameron Crowe, critiquing TriggerStreet's top picks. While there's some genuine rubbish just a mouse click away, there's more often than not a surprising amount of inspired, refreshing, and truly imaginative new material from folks whose hard efforts might not have seen the light of day otherwise. And the light of day is getting more bright; TriggerStreet has had just a little over 900 new members this week alone.
Best of all, it's free. If you're a sucker for the underdog, and you love new and experimental film, or if you just want to be a part of what's next, visit TriggerStreet.com.
Article comments
1 - Robert Prather
Sounds interesting. Now if only I had some screenwriting skill...
2 - Bill McCabe
Pretty cool. I have no talent myself, but I have a friend who isn't too shabby. I'll have to send the link along to him.
3 - Hayden Craddolph
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Issued 11/27/04)
Haydenfilms, Lehigh Valley-Based Film Company, Launches
Unique Online Film Festival with $10,000 Cash Prize
LEHIGH VALLEY, PA â€" Haydenfilms LLC, an independent film production and distribution company based in the Lehigh Valley, announces the Call for Entries for its First Annual Haydenfilms Online Film Festival featuring a $10,000 cash prize. The Film Festival is a participating partner of www.withoutabox.com, and is to take place online at www.haydenfilms.com. This complete comprehensive portal offers a new way for student and independent filmmakers to showcase their work and gain exposure in the film industry.
Haydenfilms is unique among the many thousands of Film Festivals held around the globe. At present, there are approximately 2,231 film festivals held worldwide. Of those, there are less than ten film festivals that are online or have some online or Internet components. Of these ten, only Haydenfilms.com has a truly online presence where films are viewed and reviewed online and only Haydenfilms.com offers a $10,000 cash prize for the winning filmmaker.
Entries are being accepted now until May 15, 2005. A specially chosen expert panel of professors of media, film industry experts and others will select finalists. All finalists will
receive a Haydenfilms Marketing Kit (including 500 business cards, marketing poster, and Haydenfilms apparel) to help promote their film on the Haydenfilms site. All film finalists will be showcased online on the www.haydenfilms.com website from August 30 to October 30, 2005. Winners will be chosen by the votes of online viewers and there is no charge to view or vote on the films. The grand prize for the winning filmmaker is $10,000 and will be awarded in November 2005. In addition, the top three finalists will receive Movie Magic Screenwriter software and other prizes valued at up to $1,500.
Filmmakers who wish to submit their work in the Online Film Festival will need to complete a Haydenfilms Official Submission Form and submit the $30 entry fee. Entry forms and requirements can be found on www.haydenfilms.com/rules.html. All films must be in English or subtitled in English. Maximum submission length is ten minutes. The entry may also be an edited sequence of a longer film. All genres will be accepted for review, including shorts, animation, experimental, and documentary, but must be submitted on DVD-R at full-screen, high-resolution quality.
The Online Film Festival is just one component of Haydenfilms.com which aims to be the premier on-line source for student and independent filmmakers, providing them with the best tools, products and services to showcase their projects. Haydenfilms.com also offers filmmakers the ability to search for information about other productions, network with others in the industry, ask or answer questions on message boards, obtain the latest industry news, find out tips and tricks on breaking into film, shop for filmmaking equipment and software, participate in Haydenfilms’ Director’s Contest, and more.
Anyone who wishes to enter the Haydenfilms Online Film Festival is encouraged to visit www.haydenfilms.com to obtain an official Submission Form. Please call Haydenfilms LLC at Fest@haydenfilms.com with any inquiries.
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4 - Robin Hood
Well I for one love triggerstreet.com and think it's a leader about to revolutionize the film industry/online industry. I'm a volunteer moderator at the site in the Free For All section and I can tell you first hand the level of quality has risen a great deal since this commentary was originally posted. See for yourself and tell 'em Robin Hood sent you. ;)
http://www.triggerstreet.com
5 - Eric Berlin
I had no idea that such an online presence exists -- thanks very much for passing it along.
I'm finishing my first novel at present was thinking of tackling a first screenplay "just for kicks" as a next Big Project. Trigger-Street sounds like a great place to size myself and others up.
Eric Berlin
Dumpster Bust: Miracles from Mind Trash
http://dumpsterbust.blogspot.com
6 - Christina
Voting Begins at Haydenfilms.com
LEHIGH VALLEY, PA â€" The call for entries is complete and it's time for the preliminary round of judging to begin for the First Annual Haydenfilms Online Film Festival! An expert panel of judges consisting of national media professors and film industry experts has been carefully chosen to review over 100 films that are competing for a $10,000 grand prize. The judges will review and vote on the films, with the finalists being announced on August 24, 2005.
Finalists will have their films displayed on the Haydenfilms.com website for the public to view and vote on for free. Each film will be available in its entirety for voting, and the online vote will decide the winner. The festival will be held at
www.haydenfilms.com beginning August 30, and continuing through October 30,
2005. The grand prize winner and the top three finalists will have their films showcased on the website for the next year.
Haydenfilms.com is among the first online film festivals, beginning in October of 2004 as a way for independent and student filmmakers to showcase their work to the world through the online community. Of the various online film festivals, Haydenfilms is the first to accept all short films regardless of genre, and the first to offer a $10,000 grand prize.
The online festival is just one component of Haydenfilms.com, which is quickly becoming known as the premier online resource for independent filmmakers.
In addition to the festival, the website offers its members industry news, productions, and access to a database of filmmakers from around the world. There are also message boards to exchange ideas and opinions, and access to discounted filmmaking software, books, and equipment.
For more information on the festival, please visit www.haydenfilms.com, or contact Haydenfilms, LLC at 610 894 9639, email fest@haydenfilms.com.
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