Film-U-Box

We have developed a comprehensive solution for the automatic filming of people on a green screen, instant editing of the project (within up to 5 seconds) and sharing it on any messenger and social network. The solution includes our original software, video and photo content package, equipment set and hardware product. It may work both as a Film-U-Box construction unit and as a mobile App.

At present we have 3 working boxes. Two of them are installed in the children entertainment parks in Odessa and in Kiev. However due to the pandemic situation they don’t operate these days.
We are developing an App for mobile phones. We are going to start distributing the App free in the end of 2020.

No matter where our customers use our product – in shopping malls, exhibitions, airports or at homes, they have common characteristics. They are active, positive prone to have fun. Sometimes they choose to get filmed alone, but in most cases in companies – whole families, with friends and colleagues. The age of most active customers ranges from 9 till 55 years old, however in fact we have customers aged from 3 till 88. The customers’ wish to get filmed (or entertained) does not depend on their gender, nationality or living location, it’s more psychological feature. So we regard our potential market as a global one.

Clients: shopping malls, movie theaters and exhibitions. Problem: competition with online market places and other competitors of the industry. The task is to attract more customers to their places.
Clients: airports, hotels and cruise ships. Problem: how to provide attractive modern entertainment for their customers
Clients: advertising agencies and shops. Problem: how to create better image and to deliver information on their products and services to their customers in more efficient way?
Clients: event organising companies and various children and entertainment centers. Problem: how to get competitive advantages in offering their customers better and new innovative means of entertainment in order to increase supply and income?
Clients: museums and schools. Problem: how to involve students and visitors into emotional and deeper interaction with some facts, discoveries or issues under discussion or manifestation?
Clients: film making companies. Problem: how to draw customers’ attention to their new movies to motivate them to watch the movies?
Clients: families. Problem: how to organise an active (educational) entertainment for the whole family and their guests at home (distantly from masses of people due to Covid-19)?
Clients: theatre / acting studios. Problem: how to provide students with effective simulators with a possibility to control the process and results?

Film-U-Box technology can more effectively solve a number of different problems depending on the customer’s profile:
Image (public perception) and attracting more customers: shopping malls, movie theaters, exhibitions.
Image, chargeable or free entertainment for existing customers: airports, hotels, cruise ships.
Attracting consumers’ attention: advertising campaigns; ads can be displayed on a TV screen or they can be part of the video content.
Earning money: various children and entertainment centers; vending-machines operators.
Sales promotion in individual stores of shopping malls: FUB services are free for customers – each template is sponsored by a certain store, customers are informed thereof and get a discount coupon to this store after the filming.
Education and demonstration: museums, schools; becoming participants of historical events, scientific discoveries and unusual processes, users immerse themselves deeper in a certain topic.
Promoting new animated and feature films: film companies; taking part in events happening in mini films – trailers, users are motivated to see the whole movie.
Families and groups of people: having installed a mobile app, entire families or groups of friends can be filmed in mini movies and dance videos, play games together, etc. in their homes and offices.

Today, on the European and American markets, there are separate software manufacturers for green screen photo booths, content producers, manufacturers of box structures, as well as photo booths leasing companies and individual booth operators. We (a) provide a comprehensive solution in this field: we create software, original content and equipped constructions all by ourselves; (b) create unique video content that is not present anywhere in the world; (c) aim at installing our boxes in high traffic areas – shopping malls, movie theaters, exhibitions, children and entertainment centers, etc.
In Europe, the major supplier of green screen photo booths is a German company called Kunstraum GfK – manufacturer of constructions for exhibitions and shopping malls.
Strong points: they produce refined boxes since 2014; have sold their booths to 23 trading centers in different European countries; have a good reputation; design increasingly sophisticated box constructions.
Weak points: they produce only box constructions, purchase software and content, their booths can take only photos and cost €36 000 + VAT, far more expensive than our boxes that make both photos and video.
As for mobile apps, many applications on the market offer photo and video shooting with different effects. However, we have not found a single app that can shoot people in ready-made movie templates with the immediate editing of the film.

In recent years, photo boxes have become very popular, especially for use at various events. Offers of software, content and designs for photo booths have appeared on the market. Still, nobody offers anything for the automated shooting of films. We have come up with and implemented a solution of the automated filming of people on a green screen in a short movie consisting of several scenes. This technology opens up new opportunities for film industry, entertainment, tourism and education spheres. The difficulty of replicating our technology results from the fact that the solution lies at the intersection of two professional skills: programming and video editing. Both a programmer without video editing skills and a video editor without programming skills are unable to find such a solution. The software does not work without the video template technology, and the best video templates cannot work without the appropriate software. Our technology is globally scalable; all it needs is the translation of the user’s interface and filming instructions into the target language.

In the beginning of 2020, we built a financial model for selling and renting out boxes. However due to the Covid-19 factor, it became irrelevant. Therefore, we switched to developing an Application for smartphones, because the entertainment activities shifted from shopping centers and amusement parks to homes.
As for the App our rough expectations for the next 5 years are the following: we distribute 500,000 application downloads with different subscription plans. Averagely a customer pays $60 per year, which makes $30 million per year.
Cost structure is obvious: it’s labor force mainly. All the rest costa are relatively small: office rent, bills, office equipment, etc.

We have developed a number of business models for selling and leasing boxes, however they stopped being actual since the lockdown started globally. Therefore we have focused on the App development.
As soon as the App is ready, we are planning to make it possible to download the App free with basic limited content available. At the same time we are going to offer two more packages – standard and premium with more content and more options for filming, playing, etc.
We are going to promote the App by all our means available, including our boxes in the shopping malls and our mobile box.

We need money for: (1) to hire 2 more programmers, 3 more video designers and 2 marketing professionals. (2) to rent a more spacious office. (3) marketing and promo especially when we will start distributing and sales.
Operating expenses around $10,000 per month
Marketing expenses (when we start sales) around $15,000 per month. In fact marketing budget depends on the markets we are entering.

The investor’s share will depend on 2 major factors: (1) the investor’s vision of the business perspectives and so the amount of investments (2) the investors’ involvement in the business – their expertise, contacts, negotiations, etc.
According to those factors the investor’s share may vary from 20 to 50%.

We cannot predict all the reasons why our business may not work. For example a year ago, when we started developing a box, by no means we could predict the Covid-19 factor.
As for the app, the possible reasons which may negatively influence the business development are: (1) lack of marketing actions (funds, means, etc.) for promotion the app, (2) on top of having a smartphone with the app, a user has to have a TV and a green screen, which is easy to buy in any store or online, but still.
As for the new technologies we are constantly following all the innovations and developing our software and content. We upgrade our soft monthly.

We have not.

We did not take part in any competitions.

We have independently invented and implemented a complex technology of creating specialized video content and automated direction of people while filming on a green screen with subsequent automated editing of video clips. The technology includes a chain of processes. We are in the middle of documenting this technology and plan to register copyright on the technology algorithm, as well as patent rights on the utility model of the box and the Film-U-Box trademark. We produce not only software, but also all the content that has FUB watermarks.