- MUBI (website)
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MUBI 
URL www.mubi.com Type of site streaming video / social networking / film criticism Registration Free Available language(s) English Created by Efe Cakarel (founder) Launched February 2008 Current status Active MUBI (formerly The Auteurs) is an online film website that integrates elements of social networking with video streaming. It has been described as an "online cinematheque."[1] The site allows users to watch feature films, usually for a fee, and connect with others with similar tastes in movies.
Contents
Partnerships
MUBI is partnered with The Criterion Collection (whose website MUBI designed and manage), the French film distributor Celluloid Dreams and Costa Films, a company specializing in the distribution of films from Latin America.[2] Due to this arrangement, the site is able to stream films that are not currently available on DVD[3], such as Claire Denis's Vers Mathilde; the selection of viewable films depends on the country the site is being accessed from.
In May 2009, The Auteurs formed an alliance with Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Foundation to promote and distribute a number of WCF restored titles,[4] beginning with Touki Bouki (dir. Djibril Diop Mambety, 1973), The Housemaid (dir. Ki-young Kim, 1960), Dry Summer (dir. Metin Erksan and David E. Durston, 1964), and Trances (dir. Ahmed El Maanouni, 1981).[5] Films that the WCF restores have a premiere at Cannes Film Festival before beginning a tour of other festivals and museum exhibitions. During the museum tour of the restored 35mm prints, the films are made available digitally through The Auteurs.[6]
Technology
For the streaming of films, The Auteurs sends compressed files to the browser's Flash plug-in. The Auteurs' engineers create compression settings for each film via a digital chain that includes mplayer, x264, ffmpeg, and mp4box. Audio is augmented with 5.1 Dolby surround sound.[7]
User experience
As of November 2010 MUBI has over 700,000 members, as well as 30,000 users for its Facebook application, The Movie Theater.[3]
The site's interface is specifically geared towards simplicity,[8] and it is often noted for its aesthetic design and forward-thinking uses of media. [3]
In addition to providing video and rudimentary social networking tools (such as user profiles and a forum).
The Auteurs' Notebook
The Auteurs also hosts an online magazine called The Auteurs' Notebook, which is based in New York City and edited by Daniel Kasman.[9] The Notebook is updated daily on weekdays and features several regular columns as well as movie reviews and coverage of major film festivals. Regular contributors include Kasman, Glenn Kenny, David Cairns, Adrian Curry, David Phelps, Neil Young, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky and Ryland Walker Knight. Many of the writers also contribute to other publications or blogs.
The Auteurs Daily
On July 30, 2009[10], The Auteurs began to host The Daily (now The Auteurs Daily), a popular film blog run by David Hudson. Hudson had previously run the blog for six years as GreenCine Daily for the website of the online video rental service GreenCine, where it continues in a different format under the editorship of Aaron Hillis, and for seven months at the website of IFC. Hudson provides a daily roundup of important links relating to film and film criticism online. He also provides content for The Auteurs' Twitter feed.[10]
The Auteurs' Garage
In January of 2010 The Auteurs introduced what was dubbed the "Garage". Developed by Tobias Morgan, The Auteurs' Garage was designed to be an online film production studio and workshop geared towards finding independent filmmakers with engaging work and offering them a platform through which the Garage would curate their work via the Auteurs' website and therein, provide the filmmaker with a worldwide audience. Real-world, on the ground screenings, festivals, events and production resources are also part of the Garage model.
Development
In February 2009, The Auteurs hired Fallon UK as their creative agency and is working with them on various advertising models to monetize movies on the internet.[11]
In May 2010, it was announced that an integrated application for streaming on the PlayStation 3 would be made available in Europe. It was released on PSN on Wednesday 3rd November
Subsidiary information
The site was founded by Efe Cakarel [12], a Turkish-born entrepreneur, and is based in Palo Alto, California. In May 2010 the site name was changed to MUBI.
References
- ^ CrunchBase profile
- ^ The Auteurs About: Partners
- ^ a b c BETA MALE: The Auteurs’ Efe Cakarel interviewed by Paul Fileri
- ^ Scorsese Will Distribute Restored Films via Internet
- ^ Scorsese goes digital with film preservation
- ^ Scorsese reveals World Cinema Foundation partnerships
- ^ WIRED MAGAZINE: 17.06
- ^ CineVegas: Interview with Efe Cakarel
- ^ The Auteurs: About: Team
- ^ a b Introducing the Auteurs Daily
- ^ Fallon wins The Auteurs ad account
- ^ Film Comment: Site Specifics: The Auteurs
External links
Categories:- Film websites
- Film review websites
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