Researching Amazon Studios

Since late 2010 Amazon Studios, a division of Amazon.com have been developing feature films & episodic series in an experimental new way, boasting an "open door" for creators. As all projects are submitted online it makes it easy for hopeful writers/film-makers from across the world to have their work seen, not only by potential investors and producers, but by like minded people who may have advice on optimising the concept. This is because Amazon Studios features a large number of users who review the movies, watch the pilots and comment on the work they see. By including the audience in the development process they can get a better idea of what the wider audience would like to see.

When a project receives a lot of good attention and ticks Amazon's boxes they put it on the Development Slate, their roster of the projects currently in development. This could mean that they organise to have their story department work with the creator on developing the script. For some projects they offer paid assignments for directing, writing and anything else that could help the story, including artwork and animations. The creator's role in production is something that will be decided over the development phase so as to get a better understanding of their skills and areas of experience.

Starting a project is a surprisingly straight forward process where all it takes is uploading an original script made up of wholly new material. If you wanted to make a series then you would submit a pilot script and a mini-bible designed to display the show at its best. You then decide whether you want to submit it publicly, where all the other users of Amazon Studios, as well as the development staff, can look at and review your work, or privately, where it will only be seen by Amazon Studios staff as well as their subcontractors. This process is made that much easier by the fact that participation is free and, in regards to copyright, uploading your material to Amazon Studios gives a dated public record of an expression of an idea. 

Once a script has been submitted, Amazon has 45 days to decide whether or not to push it into development. They do this by reading the script but also by paying attention to the ratings and reviews that other users have left. If they select a project for development then the writer gets $10,000. Should the developed script be selected for distribution as a full-budget series, the writer would receive $55,000, as well as up to 5% of Amazon's net receipts from toy & t-shirt licencing, and other royalties & bonuses. 

So far Amazon Studios have received over 10,000 feature screenplay submissions and 2,000 TV pilots. As of September 2012 the studios had 9 TV series and 17 films in active development, although none had reached the production stage as of then.

I'd like to try Amazon Studios out first hand in the upcoming weeks to get a better holistic view of the operation they've been running, but for now I'm pleased with the amount I've managed to learn about them and their business strategy.