If you like short films from indies and have an Android device then there’s good news for you after Viddsee launched a native Android app.
Viddsee specializes in showcasing the work of independent filmmakers based out of Asia. Rather than cinema-length flicks, we’re talking 5-, 10- or 15-minute shows across a range of dramas that fit nicely into a commute to work, or just filling idle time.
Up to now, the service has been available via a native iOS app, desktop web and mobile web. Co-founder Derek Tan told TechCrunch that there’s been plenty of demand for an Android app, with 70 percent of its mobile web users on devices running the Google-owned mobile operating system.
“It’s about time — we’ve had Android users asking us since our iOS launch last November,” Tan said.
Like its iOS cousin, the app features offline playback, weekly curation, English subtitles and playlist queuing. In addition, Android users will see that offline tracks begin to sync automatically when they have a WiFi connection, while there is also a new ‘discover’ section to help find films to match a user’s occasion or specific need — e.g. ‘under five minutes’.
“There are lots of user-generated short films on YouTube and other places, but not enough emphasis on cinematic short film content,” Tan explained in an interview. “We target movies for the internet, which are very different to others, such as commercial or feature films.”

Tan said that Viddsee is working with a number of brands, such as camera maker Nikon, to create content that is sponsored, as opposed to introducing pre-roll adds. Placing videos on Viddsee, he said, can be a better platform or complementary to a microsite or YouTube account where the content may not fit with a brand’s positioning or be easily discovered.
Rather than merely being a repository for films, Viddsee aims to be an editorialized discovery service. To that end, it launched BUZZ, a curated site to help promote quality films, and Tan said that one-third of its traffic is driven by social media sites.
Since my editor discloses his IFTTT socks, I’ll go on record saying that I own a (rather nice) t-shirt from Viddsee. (Startup tip, you can do a lot worse than having Uniqlo make your company tees.)
