Everyone loves YouTube. No matter what age or where you're from, you've likely wasted hours skimming through the millions upon millions of viral videos uploaded to the web every day.
But despite its popularity, there's no questioning that 90 percent of what's available on the site isn't exactly of the highest quality. No beating around the bush: Most of it is garbage. This is fine for a quick laugh of course, which is likely what led you to YouTube in the first place, but those looking for more substance from their online entertainment need look no further than the new video site SeeFlik.
SeeFlik is the first online film festival for college students and alumni that are film school majors or have an interest in creating film and/or television content. Based out of Los Angeles and spearheaded by CEO Larry Meli, the website provides burgeoning young filmmakers a quick and easy outlet for their work to find an audience and some recognition. And for those uninterested in creating movies themselves, hundreds of quality short films are available to stream and enjoy at any time.
Meli explained where the original inspiration for the site arose:
"My wife and I were invited to NYU's internal film festival where they showcased the best work from all the students from [my son's] particular class," Meli said. "We spent a weekend watching 25 different short films. Guess what? They were pretty good. Some of them were really great. Great acting, great directing, great writing, good editing and production values.
"So over a dinner in Chinatown, we hosted this dinner for a number of the students and I said to them, ‘Why haven't you all entered any online film festivals? You did some great work!' And they looked at me and said ‘Well, there aren't any.' To not have any version of an online film festival seemed to be well overdue."
Meli's solution was SeeFlik, the first free online film festival for students.
"Unlike all of the other film festivals—Sundance, Trifecta, etc.—our applicants pay no fee," Meli said. "They enter online, they demonstrate that they are a full-time college student or alum and they upload their film online so it becomes quite a painless process."
SeeFlik just closed its first biannual competitions. One competition being Fan's Favorite, an American Idol-style contest where viewers can vote on their favorite films on the site, and the other a more traditional judging panel filled with industry veterans.
"Amongst the seven judges that we picked for this first competition, their films have either been nominated or received 20 Academy Awards, so they're really high-end screenwriters and producers," Meli said.
The results of each competition are set to be revealed in late March, where the winners will split $50,000 of prize money and a showcase for talent agencies and studios. The next competition is set to begin this February, so users will be able to upload and stream a whole new set of short films on the site.
"We've gotten very good responses," Meli said, noting the 375 films currently available on SeeFlik. "Especially in tough economic times, having an outlet for these students to have their work get noticed and showcased in Hollywood is going to be an important tool for them, we hope, to fast forward their career."
One last facet that sets this film festival apart from the rest is the connections it has formed with colleges across the country.
"It's open to any film school student anywhere around the country, but in order to one, get the word out properly, and two, learn from and listen to what we call our ‘Friends of SeeFlik,' we decided we'd have a more formal relationship with some of the schools listed on our site," Meli said. "Those are schools that have said we really like what you're doing, we support it, and want to publicize it to our students."
One such chosen school is our very own Eastern Kentucky University.
However, John Fitch, professor in the broadcasting and electronic media department, said for the time being, legal issues are preventing Eastern students from uploading their hard work.
"SeeFlik is offering a good opportunity for our students and our department, but our legal counsel won't sign the contract," Fitch said. "These are some of the best film schools in the country, so for us not to be a part of this is ridiculous."
Fitch said he hopes for the issue to be resolved sooner rather than later.
Ultimately, Meli hopes SeeFlik will help prepare young filmmakers for their future careers.
is a member of the 
Be the first to comment on this article!