Viddsee
 | |
|
Screenshot  | |
| Type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Founded | September 2012[1] |
| Headquarters | Tanjong Pagar, Singapore |
| Area served | Asia |
| Founder(s) | Ho Jia Jian, Derek Tan |
| Slogan(s) | Making films accessible |
| Website | viddsee.com |
| Alexa rank |
 127,827 (February 2015)[2] |
| Type of site | Video hosting service |
| Registration | Optional |
| Available in | English, Chinese (partial), Indonesian (partial) |
| Launched | January 2013[3] |
| Current status | Active[2] |
Viddsee is a Singapore-based online video service specializing in the curation and dissemination of short films from Asia. Founded in September 2012, it originally focused on distributing short films from independent filmmakers in Southeast Asia, but has since expanded to include other content, such as films from other parts of Asia,[4] as well as other video productions.
As of 2015, the site had over 800 short films in its catalogue and over three million monthly streams,[5] with users coming from 98 countries.[6]
History
Viddsee was founded in September 2012 by filmmakers Ho Jia Jian and Derek Tan, originally as a Facebook page that showed a selection of curated short films from throughout Southeast Asia.[3] Intended as a platform to promote the works of Asian filmmakers, the idea of Viddsee reportedly came to Ho shortly after building a platform for his own films,[7] realizing that there was a lack of options for their films to reach a quality audience after they have been screened at film festivals.[8] In addition, Asian films were believed to be drowned out by other media available on competing services like YouTube and Vimeo,[7] which led to the launch of the Viddsee website in January 2013,[3] funded by a S$50,000 seed grant from the government-backed Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE).[9]
In November 2013, Viddsee launched a channel feature, allowing for films to be grouped by country or genre, and in March 2014 it secured a content partnership with Yahoo!, with Viddsee content appearing in a special portal for Yahoo! users in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.[4]
Platform
The Viddsee platform revolves around three elements: the website proper, the Viddsee BUZZ editorial platform, and mobile apps for iOS and Android.
Viddsee BUZZ, launched in April 2014, helps provides additional context for Viddsee-hosted films through editorials and write-ups, helping users understand the films they watch and encouraging them to talk about what they've seen. The platform also carries other content, such as director interviews, and is the site's primary engagement mechanism for film marketing.[10]
Because 40% of Viddsee users watch films on mobile devices,[6] a mobile app was launched for iOS users on November 13, 2014,[11] although a mobile version of the Viddsee website has been available since June 17, 2013.[6] Content on the iOS app is highly curated with new content appearing every week, as well as the ability to save films for later viewing offline.[12] The Android app, meanwhile, was released on the Play Store on August 18, 2015, with the same functionality as the iOS app.[13]
References
- ↑ Chng, Grace (November 8, 2012). "Sharing one short film a day". The Straits Times (Singapore Press Holdings). Retrieved February 17, 2015.
- 1 2 "Viddsee.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
- 1 2 3 Huang, Ryan (December 5, 2013). "Viddsee takes off with 'don't know who's right' approach". ZDNet (CBS Interactive). Retrieved February 17, 2015.
- 1 2 Shu, Catherine (March 6, 2014). "Asian Independent Film Platform Viddsee Lands Content Deal With Yahoo". TechCrunch (AOL, Inc.). Retrieved February 17, 2015.
- ↑ Asyraf, Faisal (March 7, 2015). "Short and good". New Straits Times (New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd). Retrieved April 21, 2015.
- 1 2 3 Racoma, J. Angelo (June 19, 2013). "Viddsee launches mobile web app, looks to grow community". e27. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
- 1 2 Russell, Jon (February 6, 2013). "Viddsee is a place for Southeast Asia’s top short filmmakers to showcase their work". The Next Web. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
- ↑ Tam, Michelle (October 21, 2013). "Short film gets social". The Star (The Star Publications (M) Bhd). Retrieved February 21, 2015.
- ↑ Racoma, J. Angelo (February 7, 2013). "Viddsee showcases Southeast Asian indie films". e27. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
- ↑ Hong, Kaylene (April 15, 2014). "Short-film site Viddsee launches an editorial and marketing feature as it passes 5 million viewers". The Next Web. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
- ↑ Huang, Elaine (November 13, 2014). "Asian short films portal Viddsee launches iPhone app". e27. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
- ↑ Russell, Jon (November 12, 2014). "Viddsee Launches An iOS App To Bring Short Films From Asia To Your Phone". TechCrunch (AOL, Inc.). Retrieved April 21, 2015.
- ↑ Russell, Jon (August 18, 2015). "Viddsee’s Android App Showcases Short, Independent Films From Asia". TechCrunch (AOL, Inc.). Retrieved September 7, 2015.