Startup Watch: TurnHere (Your Local, Neighborhood, Video Site)

TurnHere is that rarest of video sites on the Web: it actually pays filmmakers for the mini-documentaries that it shows on its site. "I could not imagine not paying creators," says founder Brads Inman.

The site, which soft-launched last December and has recently unveiled a vastly superior redesign last month, currently features about 300 videos showcasing neighborhoods in different cities.

There is the one about NYC's Canal Street narrated by a private detective who works on product counterfeit cases; an homage to the Lower East Side's famed smoked fish shop Russ & Daughters; a history of San Francisco's Palace Hotel; a tour of Burlington, Vermont; and a look at the real Tijuana. They tend to be hit or miss, but pleasantly there are more hits than misses.

Inman wants to film the world, one neighborhood at a time. The online videos are all made by freelance filmmakers, journalists, and other semi-pros (although there is one 17-year old who contributes as well). Inman pays $500 and up for each video, and he is very selective about what he accepts This is no YouTube free-for-all. "We want professionally created video," says Inman. "You don't need to be a Hollywood studio to do this stuff." He is taking advantage of cheap video and editing technology, even cheaper Web distribution, and a highly-skilled, highly-distributed freelance workforce.

More details at B2Day

Tags: video films filmmakers online turnhere