While independent filmmakers may struggle to find conventional distribution, it's a different scene on the Internet, where Australian Web sites are keen to promote local talent.

Volunteer organisation, IndieFilmWeb.com -- aimed at independent filmmakers and the music community -- is preparing to host around 60 short films online, ranging from live action to documentaries.

Founder Brian M Logan said his team of 30 industry professionals created the site to give Australian independent artists the opportunity to show their work online. They hope to grab the attention of the entertainment industry and Internet users wanting ten-minute movie bursts.

The organisation is not planning to see any profits in return, just scrap enough money from banner ads and donations to keep the Web site running.

"The site will have everything from music videos, award-winning short films, and even really cruddy short films. It's not about winners and losers, it's about the artists showing features on the site," Logan said.

The site will stream movies free of charge, using Apple Quick Time 4.12. Logan prefers to use streaming technology as users don't receive a copy of a movie on their hard drives. Logan believes this choice helps protect the rights of the artist.

Mark Stewart-Pearson of True Love Studios is another indie-aficionado. His Web site www.truelove.com.au streams around 15 short films, which have been in various Australian film festivals including the Sydney Film Festival. The films have been produced, directed and written by individual artists and edited by Stewart-Pearson.

"The site is a way of broadcasting them, (although) it's more for historical purposes, I don't think a lot of people are accessing them. It's like a repository," he said.

"The trouble is that films can only be a certain size for quality, and with broadband access it's fine, but if you're watching on an ordinary modem, the quality is not so good," Stewart-Pearson said.

"As we get better access, and faster speeds with ADSL, it is definitely something that will become an important distribution medium and form of broadcasting in the future," he said.

The films streamed on www.truelove.com have been shot with digital camera, which according to Stewart-Pearson is the way to go for Net movies. "It's cheaper to use domestic digital cameras and easier to compress on to the Internet," he said.

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