According to reports from Blockworks and Variety, NFT artist pplpleasr (Emily Yang) officially announced this week the launch of Shibuya, an independent streaming short film media and crowdfunding platform. This startup raised $6.9 million in funding in 2022, with investors including a16z and Variant Fund. Pplpleasr has never given up on her dream of using blockchain technology to drive the film industry. Emily Yang, a Taiwanese-American designer and artist, uses the alias pplpleasr, which she has stated originates from her love of pleasing others; pplpleasr is an abbreviation of “People Pleaser.”
Shibuya will premiere five original pilot episodes, allowing viewers to donate using fiat currency and subsequently determine whether to fully fund these film projects. Online donations will be entirely allocated to film production, and if the fundraising target is not met, supporters will receive refunds.
A spokesperson stated in an email that while Shibuya’s website has not yet mentioned cryptocurrency, the platform is adding blockchain and functionality. The Coinbase Base chain sponsored the season one launch event.
Pplpleasr stated that the founding of Shibuya aims to break the traditional film studio industry system, returning power to creators and fans. The first season will focus on bold original works while inviting fans to decide the future content and fate of the films.
Shibuya’s first animated concept short film, “White Rabbit,” raised $1.2 million
As early as 2022, Shibuya released an animated short film “White Rabbit” as a concept piece for the platform. The film raised $1.2 million in less than 30 minutes. Pplpleasr also sold “Producer Pass” NFTs at that year’s Cannes Film Festival, with each NFT valued at approximately $14,000 to $19,600.
Introduction to Shibuya pilot shorts
Among the Shorts premiering on Shibuya, some are animated while others are live-action, with episode lengths ranging from 6 to 27 minutes.
“Ultrasound,” directed by Julian Lamadrid, tells the story of a punk rock band in New York. Each episode is filmed in a single shot (known in Hollywood as a oner). Oners have recently become quite popular, as seen in Netflix’s current hit “Adolescence,” which also uses a one-shot technique.
“Diaboli” is a chilling medieval animated drama about demons, religion, and family, with a runtime of about seven minutes, featuring dramatic, dark aesthetics and excellent voice acting, giving it a video game-like feel. This series resembles Netflix’s “Love, Death & Robots.”
Elle Mills’s “Don’t Forget About Me” tells the story of teenage siblings encountering their favorite childhood TV characters. Ben Christensen’s “The Funny Thing About Losing Socks” narrates a story set in a parallel universe.
“Spiritual 100” is a humorous satirical mini-animation about a poor man participating in a reality show with 100 contestants competing to determine who has the most soul to become a spiritual master.
NFTs seem to have completely deflated, and the once-popular NFT artist pplpleasr is returning to the creative market, starting fresh with the globally trending streaming Shorts. This allows audiences to see more original and artistic short films. Online micro-dramas could be the next emerging media; however, most current investments in Shorts are primarily focused on mainstream soap operas, with few independent original short films.
NFT artist pplpleasr officially established the blockchain-based streaming and crowdfunding platform Shibuya this week, aiming to disrupt the traditional film industry structure and create a community between creators and viewers to jointly decide the fate of works. Shibuya allows viewers to donate in fiat currency to support pilot shorts, with full refunds if fundraising thresholds are not met. The platform’s first season launches five original shorts, including animation and live-action, covering genres like punk bands, medieval horror stories, and coming-of-age comedies. This continues pplpleasr’s innovative spirit in the NFT realm, combining blockchain technology with the short film trend to create a new platform for creative release and funding models. Interested viewers can watch shorts for free on Shibuya.film and vote for their favorite films.
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