BBC Film Network begins showcasing short films as high-resolution downloads

BBC Film Network (bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork) - the interactive showcase for new British filmmakers – continues its mission to promote new filmmakers with the addition of high-resolution downloads to the site. BBC Film Network will make selected short films available as downloads for a trial period of 12 months.

The download application, which will be available to the first 10,000 visitors to sign up, will allow users to watch a selection of the very best shorts in full screen, at a quality similar to a DVD. Users may also subscribe, for free, to automatically receive three great new shorts every fortnight and be alerted when new films are ready to watch.

The application will use similar technology to that used during the iMP trail, which concluded earlier this year. The Film Network trial uses a legal peer-to-peer network to deliver films as high quality video files. Users are granted a licence through the digital rights management software to view the film for 28-days and, when this expires, the files will automatically remove themselves from their hard drive.

There will be a choice of six shorts available at any one time. By offering the best films with a picture quality comparable to DVDs, the BBC aims to test the audience’s appetite for British made short films and also test broadband as a viable platform for showcasing new film content from the most promising new talent.

The service will launch with ‘How To Tell If A Relationship Is Over’, a 90-second race through the tell-tale signs of a relationship meltdown, featuring The Mighty Boosh’s Julian Barratt; ‘Fishy’ the appropriately named aquatic romance starring Shirley Henderson, a joint runner up in the BBC's Talent awards. Also included is the award-winning Chris Shepherd animation, ‘Dad’s Dead’.

Gerard O’Malley, Interactive Executive for film said,

“In the free-for-all that is the internet, how the audience experiences film content on the web is key, as are their expectations in terms of the quality of video content. We are here to back British filmmaking talent and bring there work to an as wider audience as possible. That’s why BBC Film Network is running this trial, to test the reaction and appetite of our audience to high quality short films on demand.”

bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork