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Filmustage

🍿 Filmustage. A brand-new service for filmmakers, video, game, VFX, and animation studios.

General overview

Filmustage is designed to make the video clips & films pre-production routine more productive and accessible with an innovative AI-based automatic script breakdown, scheduling, and marketplaces. Filmustage causes 100 scenes script breakdown in 1 minute instead of days of manual work and gathers all possible locations, props, assets, etc., in marketplaces.

The problem

The core process of the pre-production is the script breakdown. Every word in the script must be translated into real-life detail on the set: location, wardrobe, sounds, props, etc. And only after that, you need to spend hours scrolling through numerous marketplaces and catalogs.

This process has always been a real pain:

  • Time-consuming
  • Requires professional skills
  • Requires a high level of attention
  • Constant copy-pasting of information and links
  • Searching for information from multiple sources

Solution

  • Automatic breakdown with the pre-trained AI. No more manual work.
  • Takes seconds instead of days of manual work
  • Does not require professional experience or skills. Accessible to everyone.
  • After just 1 minute of breaking down your script, suggests possible variations of locations, props, 3d assets, and so on from multiple marketplaces

Markets size

  • Breakdown and planning process TAM (USA): $8B
  • Movies TAM (USA): $17B
  • Games TAM (USA): $65B
  • Entertainment Insurance TAM (USA): $17B
  • Rental Companies TAM (USA): $2.3B

Aslo potentially:

  • VFX Studios
  • TV Shows
  • Animations Studios

Target audience

Filmustage has set sight on B2C model as the go-to strategy. Below you could see the target groups they are focusing on:

  • 1st ADs
  • Directors
  • Producers
  • Line producers
  • Directors of Photography
  • Screenwriters
  • etc.

Also, B2B model is applicable, since Filmustage can be utilised by both, companies and individuals. You can see B2B audience below:

  • Film studios
  • VFX studios
  • Animation studios
  • Production companies
  • Game dev companies
  • Virtual production companies
  • Props agencies
  • Locations agencies
  • Assets marketplaces
  • Media holdings
  • Co-Production companies
  • Film commissions
  • Screenwriter’s services
  • Entertainment insurance
  • Rental companies

Product

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General flow:

  1. Upload your script Create your project in two clicks and upload the script. Filmustage will automatically create the script breakdown with all the categories you need: Cast, Props, Locations, Makeup, etc.
  2. Customize your list You can easily find, add, change or remove any breakdown element and add new categories
  3. Breakdown summary export Get a clear big-picture overview of your entire project by exporting the results in Movie Magic Scheduling, Gorilla Scheduling, Spreadsheets and PDF files
  4. Scheduling Specify each scene & shoot locations; estimate pre-production and shoot times. Use real tags on Google Maps to find the location you want to shoot. Drag and drop scenes of your strip to reorder.

Validations

Launched in: January 2021

Company: Filmustage Inc. (USA)

B2C

Number of users: 3000+

All time paying customers: 300+

MRR: $3100+

Geography:

  • US: 65%
  • England: 12%
  • Europe: 11%
  • Canada: 9%
  • India: 3%
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B2B

We started our B2B journey in December 2021. And this is our progress:

  • Apple TV+: presented a demo Possible price: starting at $1500/mo
  • Sony & Sony Pictures: discussed our technology, presented a demo Possible price: selling API, Exit
  • Crafty Apes: signed Letter of Intent. They doing about 100 projects a month (over 1200 a year) Possible price: starting at $5000/mo
  • Bento Box: signed an NDA and started our collaboration Possible price: starting at $2000/mo
  • Final Draft: signed an NDA and started our collaboration Possible price: selling API, Exit
  • Happy Mushroom: used our breakdown solution for VFX post-production on the new Netflix show Possible price: starting at $1500/mo
  • Shutterstock: held a call with Director of Shutterstock | TurboSquid Possible price: selling API
  • TurboSquid: held a call with Director of Shutterstock | TurboSquid Possible price: selling API
  • NVIDIA OMNIVERSE: discussed our solution with the Director of Omniverse Sim Data Ops Possible price: selling API

A detailed and complete table with B2B can be found here.

There are 14,320 companies in the industry in the US only.

In addition:

Filmustage presented their section about the Digital transformation of movie pre-production and Artificial intelligence tools at the European Film market - event connected to Berlinale - Berlin International Film Festival.

And our client, Roger Cristian, legendary feature film director, set decorator, and production designer, validated our solution. He won an Academy Award for his work on the original Star Wars and was Oscar-nominated for his work on Alien.

Check the part with Roger Cristian.

Marketing

CAC: ~$100 LTV: ~$280

Marketing channels:

Looking to add:

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Referral program
  • PR and materials in specialized magazines

Product

Below, you can find features that have been completed until today:

Clients areas:

  • Line producers
  • 1st ADs
  • Directors
  • Screenwriters

Features:

  • AI-Based script breakdown
  • Scheduling
  • Custom categories

Below, you can find features that are in development:

New clients areas:

  • Props agencies
  • Production companies
  • Animation studios
  • Screenwriter’s services
  • Game dev companies
  • VFX studios
  • Virtual production companies

New features:

  • Custom notes
  • Inspirational boards
  • Team access
  • Custom AI-environment
  • API integration
  • 2D, 3D marketplaces integrations (Shutterstock, Turbosquid)
  • ShotGrid, Jira, Asana, export
  • UE marketplaces integration (Epic, Megascans, Quixel)
  • Nvidia Omniverse integration

Operations from here on:

Clients areas to be added:

  • Media holdings
  • Co-Production companies
  • Film commissions

New features to be added:

  • Locations marketplaces integrations
  • Props marketplaces integrations
  • Sounds marketplaces integrations
  • Crew marketplaces integrations
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Competition

Filmustage makes 100 scene script breakdown in just 1 minute (instead of days of manual work). There are no competitors with such functionality and features out there, so founders truly believe Filmustage brought something new to the filmmaking industry.

Not-direct competitors:

Their functionality:

✅ Scheduling ✅ Manual script breakdown ❌ Automatic script breakdown ❌ Marketplaces and API integrations

Team

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Founders (full-time)

Full-time:

  • Slava Haurylau, Server, Front End 8 years in Web & Server Development
  • Vitaliya Karalkova, Director of Marketing 5 years in affiliate marketing, business development, project management
  • Ivan Zhurko, Head of Product, Sales 12 years in marketing, user research, business development, product management
  • Dan Turner, Head of Sales Experience: IT Sales, Head of Sales, Managing Director, Head of New Business Development

Advisors:

  • Vadim Rogovskiy 3X founder, 12X angel investor, Forbes contributor, mentor at 500 Startups

Investments so far

Stage: Seed

Number of investors: 5 investors until today, keeping 9% equity*

  1. TechMinsk ($80k)
  2. US angel ($65k)
  3. Ukraine angel ($100k)
  4. US angel ($50k, ex WhatsApp)
  5. US angel ($100k, ex Snap)

Amount raised until today: ca. € 365 000

*Cap Table: In-depth document available upon the request

Round information

General Ask: ca. 800 000 €

Investment instrument: SAFE

Valuation floor: ca. 3 000 000 €

Valuation cap: ca. 5 000 000 €

Discount: 20%

Commitments so far: ca. 300 000 €

Minimum next investment: ca. 800 000 - 1 200 000 € after 6-8 month after closing current round

General Cap Table: 76% founders / 15% option pool / 9% investors

Current Burn Rate: ca. 28 000 € / month

Current Runway: 6 months

Ask for Fund Fellow Founders: 300K€ for Fund Fellow Founders SPV

SPV Lead: Akim Arhipov / 10 000€

Min ticket to participate: 10 000€

Round closing deadline: 31.05.2022

General Cap Table:

Founder: 76%

Option Pool: 15%

Investors: 9%

Runway: 12 month

Funds allocation:

  • Growing the team
  • Marketing and expansion on B2C side of the business
  • B2B sales, conferences and festivals
  • Proceed with hypotheses testing to improve and add to an existing product

Latest Pitch Deck is HERE.

References:

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