We have all seen and laughed at these horrible edited clips that pop up on social media from films on Tubi TV. And in a lot of cases they end up going viral because they're so bad. Actors pretending to be shot when there's no muzzle flash or sound effect. People punching air and falling down. Or just editing where you can obviously see there's another actor playing the same character in the same scene. Yes these clips are hilarious but the problem is we're not laughing with the film we're laughing at it. Unfortunately they are some filmmakers who are okay with that and will continue to do these Mediocre Films just to get paid. And then there are some like myself who actually care and see the damage that's being done to our medium because of it.
In most cases, a lot of these movies on Tubi, the problem isn't a lack of budget, it's a lack of effort. As someone who makes Independent films we understand the budget limitations and we operate within them to try to make the best quality film we can. And even though you could tell the budget is low you can see the effort made to make it as good as possible. A lot of these films don't have the effort and they're just making them to have quantity on the platform to get paid. That's the hustle.
There is quality on Tubi TV but now it's getting a reputation. You notice when people talk about his bad films on Tubi TV, they don't say this FILMMAKER must be stopped, they say TUBI TV must be stopped, and that's the wrong message.
You know, the petty side of me kind of blame Tyler Perry for all this LOL if someone like him with all his millions of dollars and resources can make subpar films and get paid then why wouldn't everybody else that can put a half-baked film do the same thing too?
This reminds me of a few years ago when all the Ratchet book covers were being made with the ratchet titles and that was getting all the attention. After a while people caught on to it and you don't really hear about those type of books having the same popularity. Perhaps this is the same phase that the independent films are going through.
Yes there are some who are just using Tubi TV and put medicore material out there but there's a lot more filmmakers who want to do the best they can because they respect the craft. My fear is that one day Tubi TV will stop allowing Black independent filmmakers to use their platform because of the lack of quality from a few.
As an independent filmmaker/screenplay writer Tubi TV is a great way for us to get exposure and get paid at the same time. We've NEVER had an opportunity like this on such a big platform before. You just have to put the quality out there in order to take it further.
The bottom line is, support the quality as much as you laugh at the mediocracy.