Indigenous Media quietly just released a feature film on Snapchat
NEW YORK -- Over the weekend, Indigenous Media released a feature-length horror thriller.
But the film didn't bow in theaters or on a streaming service. Instead, it was quietly uploaded onto Snapchat.
Sickhouse, which stars digital influencers Andrea Russett and Sean O’Donnell, follows a group of friends obsessed with social media whose excursion into the woods toexplore the lore of Sickhouse turns deadly.
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The scripted project, written and directed by Hannah Macpherson, was shot in real time and designed for mobile viewing.
It was shot over the course of five days -- April 29-May 3 -- in Los Angeles.
The journey of the show's main characters occurred in real time, blurring the lines of truth and fiction. The snaps are now being edited together into a Director’s Cut with substantial additional footage in order to create the first “made for mobile” feature film.
Already, the Snapchat footage -- which was released on Russett's personal account -- has amassed millions of views.
Indigenous Media is no stranger to unique projects. The next-gen studio -- founded by Avnet (Black Swan), Rodrigo Garcia (In Treatment), and Jake Avnet -- focuses on producing premium, original video content for a variety of platforms.
"Younger audiences are not going to the theaters."
"We love innovating around story," Jake Avnet told Mashable in an email interview. "We’re all fans of The Blair Witch Project, which was the first major found footage film. And we were amazed by the performance of LonelyGirl15, which in many ways put YouTube on the map as a storytelling platform.
"Snapchat has enormous viewership and engagement, and until now no one had really attempted a true long form story on it so we were eager to take on the challenge."
The hope is that "these types of projects can turn into a repeatable business," he added.
"Younger audiences are not going to the theaters; they’re not watching TV. They spend their time online watching YouTube, Snapchat, etc. Since this is where these audiences live, why should we try to force them to go elsewhere to watch a movie or show?"
Mashable has exclusively learned that Sickhouse will be available in its entirety on Vimeo on June 1.
"We are extremely excited to be a part of this unique and forward-thinking release strategy and look forward to bringing the film directly to fans around the world,” Derek Dressler, Head of Content Acquisitions for Vimeo, said in a statement.
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Topics Snapchat
Saba was a Los Angeles-based reporter who covers all things digital entertainment, including YouTube, streaming services and digital influencers. Prior to that, she spent two years at the Los Angeles Times covering entertainment for the Calendar and Company Town sections. Saba grew up in Santa Monica and graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in journalism and B.A. in political science. When not reporting, she is usually binge watching shows online or looking for new coffee shops to frequent.
