Content & Asset Recommendations

In this guide:

• Overview

• Offensive Content

• Trailers

• Production Quality

• Artwork

• Total Runtime

Overview

Following these recommendations will maximize your chances to generate revenue and minimize the chance of your content being rejected by the Channels for violating their policies.

Note that, unlike our Content Policies, we accept content violating any of these recommendations - doing so just lowers your chances of being licensed.

Any or all of these recommendations can, of course, be intentionally broken for creative reasons. We love that, but Channel buyers might misunderstand. They might not look beyond the first, maybe misleading impression.

In this case, provide the context in the metadata - for example, in the sales pitch or description - to help the buyers understand your vision and increase your title's chance of being selected.

Offensive content

Channels may reject your content for being offensive. The standards vary from channel to channel, and certain types of content may have greater leeway.

In general, when you have elements such as sex, nudity, violence, drug use, and vulgar language in your work, be thoughtful and keep in mind what audience your content is made for. Always provide accurate rating information when you submit your content.

Trailers

Cut a solid trailer if you want your film to be seen as professional. It will go a long way. Many Channels require trailers even to evaluate your title. Customer's also like watching trailers to decide if they want to watch your title.

Production Quality

Good production quality generally means a "professional" look, usually judged by picture definition, color and contrast, camera angles and movements, stability and focus, lighting, set decoration, editing, visual effects, audio clarity, etc. Note that this is independent of technical video requirements.

We support producers with minimum resources and cherish the DIY spirit, and we understand how production quality assessment can be subjective. We don't judge. However, most channels still won't consider content that appears "amateurish" based on their standards. In general, you should use your resources well - there are ways to make a zero-budget film look (and sound) like a million-dollar budget.

Sometimes, a "low fi", "video" or "amateur" look and feel is desired for creative purposes. In this case, provide the context in the synopsis or sales pitch so the channels don't misjudge your content.

Artwork

The number 1 thing Channels look at is your artwork. If you don't have professional-looking artwork, you are not likely to get selected by channel, and even if your artwork is just ok and you do get selected by a streaming channel, the consumer isn't likely to select your artwork when you’re sitting next to a beautifully designed Indiana Jones artwork. If you spend money on anything - spend it on professional artwork. If you need some help, we can create artwork for you.

Movie vs. Show

When deciding if your story should be told as a movie vs. show we always recommend telling your story in the way you think it will be most engaging and will lead to people watching for the longest period.  If you think people will keep watching your story for 7 episodes, do that.  If you think you'll lose them after 2 episodes, do that.  If you think you can only keep them for one movie of 70 minutes, do that.  Many channels are beginning to prioritize series as once someone is engaged in a series, they are more likely to return to watch.

If you are trying to convert a short-form web series, we highly recommend turning it into a movie or show with episodes at least 20 minutes long to make it more sellable.

Total Runtime

Filmhub accepts all lengths of content that exceed 2 minutes. We love shorts! Some channels do have minimum run times they accept. Particularly AVOD channels, as they typically can't monetize content as well. Most AVOD channels have minimum total run times between 20 to 40 minutes.

The average video completion rate is a metric that many channels use to understand how much customers like your content.  So if you have an awesome thumbnail and then customers only watch the first 2 minutes, its likely your title will get de-prioritized.  You want to make sure that a strong thumbnail and trailer sets the customer up to understand what they are going to watch and they are engaged once they start watching. So if you think your title keeps people engaged through 70 minutes, do that, if you think people will be more engaged through 85, minutes, do that.  Engagement is what matters.

Finally, please note that meeting all these guidelines does not guarantee that all or any of the channels will pick up your content. After passing QC, Filmhub markets your title to the relevant Channels.