Interview with Taylor McPartland, Co-Founder & President of FilmBreak
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How did the idea of FilmBreak come about?
I came up with the original idea for the company in 2010 when I was producing independent films with various production companies in Los Angeles. Straight to DVD, horror films -- that kind of thing. My partners and I began to realize that there’s a huge social and digital potential in the film world that is not being tapped. There are a lot of filmmakers in the industry, not to mention about 50,000+ films are made every year in the US. Yet the likelihood of a film outside of the studio system getting in is almost impossible. There are very few slots. They have a difficult time succeeding and don’t see monetization in any way. There are great independent projects that can achieve a lot of success, you just need the right amount of noise behind it.
Which is where Filmbreak comes in. We thought, ‘what if we broke down those barriers of the studio system?’. So we’ve created a virtual studio where the only barriers are: 1) how good you are and 2) how well you can market yourself -- digitally and socially. If you can do both of those well, then theoretically there should be nothing stopping you. You don’t have to worry about getting the script in the right hands, at the right time, etc. The mission is to break down barriers of the industry and connect filmmakers with fans.
Within the film industry who are your competitors and how are you different?
There are a lot of other companies out there that are taking one crack or another at data for film. What we specifically focus on is engagement and sentiment between filmmakers and fans in real time, and how they want to engage with this particular project. That’s our unique take on it and I think our mission is pretty original.
Does Filmbreak do anything offline? What have your reactions from filmmakers been like?
We do events one night a month around LA which is great because it makes us more 3-dimensional. Filmmakers are constantly coming up to us telling us their success stories because of their presence on our site. It’s a great feeling to hear that you’ve served as the vehicle for that. We actually just brought on a new film called Banshee Chapter which is Executive Produced by Zach Quinto from Star Trek and it has been crushing it in the European circuit. It just won scariest film at the London’s Film4 FrightFest, and I must say it is pretty scary.
As a first time entrepreneur what advice would you give to those looking to start a company?
I never really saw myself in the startup world, and I’m no techie to be honest. We were lucky enough to have the pieces come into play to allow this company to grow. I am a big fan of keeping an offline component because I think internet can be so dividing from the reality of producing. It’s a very hands-on, intensive process. An offline component, such as screenings or equipment rentals, etc., would be valuable because you are keeping yourself a 3-dimensional company. Always be open to new ideas and be a good person. I think that’s how we’ve differentiated ourselves. We are all first time entrepreneurs and we didn’t understand everything in this world, but we are good people and we knew good people. We are all first time entrepreneurs and we're always learning, but we are good people and we try to align ourselves with good people who want to see us succeed. That's what set us up on a good path.
