| FAQs |
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If you have a question for us to include in our FAQs, please e-mail us.
What is NomadsLand.com? To the visitor, NomadsLand.com is an online destination to explore social issues and the world around us through quality independent films, documentaries, news features, video travelogues, written articles and essays. Written articles and films under 30 minutes are available for free and ad-supported. Feature films and documentaries over 30 minutes are available as secure downloads to rent or to own. To the filmmaker or citizen journalist, NomadsLand.com is a distribution platform where he or she can earn royalties to fund their craft and career and reach a world-wide audience.
What is a NomadsLand film? The short answer is a NomadsLand film is any film or video that we are distributing over the Internet. Some NomadsLand films are original video news features or travelogues produced specifically for the Internet which exhibit more artistic latitude than traditional news outlets will allow in probing social or political issues. Other NomadsLand films are ‘under-distributed’ independent films and documentaries which may have aired on television or travelled the film festival circuit. Many films achieved critical success but never gained wide distribution. Other films never got any significant distribution at all.
What is a NomadsLand article or blog? A NomadsLand article or blog is a text composition that aspires to evoke the same audience engagement as our films and videos – namely to explore social or political issues artistically through creative writing. NomadsLand text articles are found on NomadsLand’s Community Blog.
What is a NomadsLand travelogue? A NomadsLand travelogue is a short video or written article that mixes travel writing with social commentary. Unlike mainstream travel writing, these travelogues are about people in places – not just places. Travelogues are often character driven pieces in far-flung locations – evergreen pieces that encapsulate the essence of a given place and sometimes the social or political challenges people face there. Other video travelogues are ethnographic, observational short documentaries that seek to make a ‘definitive statement’ about a location. Do authors, citizen journalists or filmmakers get paid for posting to NomadsLand.com? Yes. NomadsLand is strictly open source. Anyone can register an account – professional journalists, filmmakers, essay writers, citizen journalists, video journalists and aspiring amateurs. Our site is curated and each submitted film, video or article is approved by our editors. Unlike current journalism and television business models, we pay out 50% of the revenue that video or article earns to the individual author through electronic payment – in perpetuity. Filmmakers and video journalists with videos under 30 minutes are paid from collected video ad revenue every quarter through PayPal. Writers and print journalists paid from collected text ad revenue every month through Google Adsense. Filmmakers with films over 30 minutes are paid from rental and download revenue every month via PayPal. How do I watch full screen? To watch any of our Flash short films or Flash previews in full-screen, click the "Maximize Video" button near the bottom right corner of the video screen to give you that widescreen feel. Downloaded Pay Media films can be watched Full Screen within Windows Media Player by double clicking on the screen or clicking ALT-ENTER.
How long are films distributed on NomadsLand.com? We have no time limit on films we accept. All films under 30 minutes are made available for free and are supported by ad revenue. Films over 30 minutes are made available as secure Pay Media downloads but can also be made available for free and are supported by ad revenue.
What does my film need to include to be activated on NomadsLand? All we ask is that the filmmakers make an honest effort to entertain, inform and stimulate discussion in a creative way. If you're only interested in pure gimmicks, juvenile entertainment and the like, then this probably isn't the site for you. That being said, we realize that different people have different skill sets and what makes a 'good' or 'bad' film is subjective. We will do our best to activate your film.
How do I update my profile on the main site? Once you fill in the required fields during registration, you can go back to add or change your details. Click on My Profile -> Edit -> Update Your Profile -> About Me. Remember, the more fields you complete, the greater the chances that fellow 'nomads' or other film professionals will contact you. Employers post jobs on our jobs page and frequently search ‘nomad’ profiles for qualified professional.
Does my profile page on the main site earn revenue? Yes. After registering and logging in, you can enter your AdSense Client ID by clicking on My Profile -> Edit -> Update Your Profile -> Profile AdSense. After entering the correct AdSense codes, 33% of the ad revenue generated from your profile page will be credited to your Google AdSense account.
Do I get paid to invite people to become 'nomads?' Yes. For every person you invite that registers at NomadsLand.com, you receive 33% Google Adsense Revenue Share from your invitee's profile page. Remember: this site will only be as successful as the community wants it to be. Inviting outsiders to NomadsLand is key to growing the site and maximizing yours and everyone's earnings from films and profiles.
How do I search for another filmmaker or collaborator? After registering and logging in, click on 'Search Nomads.' Here you will find a search box that will allow you to search the entire network of 'nomads' based on any variable: name, city, country, language, skill set, etc. After finding someone you'd like to network with, click on "Connections" to invite them to be a fellow 'nomad.' You can also send them an e-mail.
Who sets the price of a Pay Media film? Our default pricing once a feature film (over 30 minutes) is activated is $1.99 for a 30-day rental and $9.99 to own a secure rights-managed file. However, there are no hard or fast rules. We will work with filmmakers to try to find a figure that reflects what you think the film is worth and what someone is willing to pay to watch it. This is also something that can be increased should demand increase. Prices can be anything above US $0.99. You can offer rentals for 1, 3, 7 or 30 days.
I have a feature film. Can I make it available for free and eligible for ad revenue? Yes. Filmmakers can elect to make their feature films available for free and ad supported in addition to Pay Media downloads. Simply follow the instructions on the First Tier Distribution Agreement and send it in with your film submission.
How do I get paid and how often (Pay Download Video)? For Pay Media downloads, NomadsLand pays each filmmaker via PayPal the first week of every month. The integrity of the PayPal account, the associated e-mail and collecting the funds in a timely matter is the filmmaker's responsibility. For Pay Media, NomadsLand splits 50% of its revenues after storage costs, bandwidth costs and credit card fees managed by Brightcove - which is about 30% of the retail price. At the default price, filmmakers currently earn US $0.69 for each download rental and US $3.49 per each download to own. How do I get paid and how often (Ad Supported Video)? For Ad Supported streams, we pay out 50% of our revenues every quarter. Individual earnings are calculated as follows: 50% of NomadsLand ad revenue that quarter x (An individual film's total streams during the quarter ÷ Total number of film streams on NomadsLand during the quarter) So if 50% of NomadsLand's revenue after encoding costs in a given quarter was, for example, $11,532. And your film garnered 3,279 streams out of 76,376 total streams, your revenue that quarter would be $495.10.
How do I get paid and how often (Ad Supported Text)? For text articles, we alternate the ads next to your article between our Google Adsense account and yours Google Adsense account at a 50-50 ratio. You will receive your accrued revenue directly from Google Adsense every month. How can I verify downloads and sales? We send an e-mail ahead of each PayPal payment during the first week of every month notifying each filmmaker with Pay Media of the downloads their film(s) garnered that month and the royalties earned. When our Beta site launches, filmmakers will have an online console to verify this data. We will send an e-mail ahead of each PayPal payment during the first week of every quarter notifying each filmmaker Ad Supported Media of the views their film(s) garnered that month and the royalties earned. When our Beta site launches, filmmakers will have an online console to verify this data.
Do I have to be a professional filmmaker? No, but many of the "nomads" in our collective are professional filmmakers. We will do our best to provide the tools and professional network for any novice to continually improve their craft, partner with like-minded individuals and earn royalties in the process.
Do producers still retain their rights to the film when it is uploaded? Of course. While other TV channels, sites or distributors may try lock you into an exclusive contract or own rights or options to your film, we will not do that with any film distributed on NomadsLand.com. It has been the experience of many of the filmmakers we know that if you sign an exclusive agreement, then that distributor has no incentive to push your film because you’re locked in. We want to earn the right to distribute a worthwhile film... yours… through maximum flexibility for the filmmaker. How will people find my film? All green-lit films can be found on NomadsLand.com. Many will be programmed in our channel queues which receive the highest traffic. Green-lit films can also be found through our Search Player. Your film will also be found through popular search engines like Google, etc. Once a film is posted, the viewer is free to e-mail the film to whomever by clicking the "email" icon below the screen.
Do you accept news stories? If you shoot a video that feels like a news piece, ask yourself, 'What is the shelf life of this film?' If your film will only be relevant for a few days, then chances are if it is programmed, it won't be for very long. But if your film is 'evergreen' - meaning it is a news feature inspired by issues that are consistently in the headlines but has a shelf-life of months to years - then you stand a better chance of having the film seen by a greater number of people. Investigative and enterprise reporting is how this is referred to in the biz.
Will my work be fact-checked? If a non-fiction film or blog needs fact-checking, we will contact the filmmaker or writer before the film is activated. Anything journalistic in approach will be held to the highest standards of integrity and honesty.
If someone downloads my film, how do I know the file won't be pirated? Our 'pay media' files have integrated digital rights management (DRM) in Windows Media 9 (WMV) format. Rentals are viewable for 1, 3, 7 or 30 days after it is first viewed. Then the file ceases to play. Someone who paid to own a file can play it indefinitely. You will be able to authorize your purchased video for playback on up to five (5) computers. 'Pay Media' files only play with Windows Media Player 11.
I think my film has been removed. Why? It is possible that we were notified by a rights holder that your film was a copyright violation. This could be because of music, video clips or other elements in your film that were not cleared. In most cases, we will temporarily deactivate the film until the matter is resolved. If your film is proven to be in violation of copyright infringement, it will be permanently removed. It is also possible that your film violated NomadsLand's Terms of Service and was deactivated.
Where is NomadsLand based? We have our headquarters in the
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