VidAngel.com is an online video streaming service that provides filtered movie options to viewers like Blair Houk, an undeclared freshman from California, who said he wanted a cheap way to rent popular movies without the violence, language, or sensuality found in today’s media.“It’s a cheaper service than anything else I’ve found while still being legal,” said Houk.
“That alone makes me use it. Being able to filter out things I would prefer not to see or hear is an added bonus.”According to the VidAngel website, the Harmon brothers founded VidAngel in 2014 as a family-friendly filtering website for home cinema after marketing success on Youtube with hits like Studio C, Poo-Pourri, Orabrush, Orapup, and the World’s Largest Nativity.“
VidAngel expands Hollywood's market base as they seek ways to reach more viewers by adjusting their films for different audiences,” explained Neal Harmon, CEO of VidAngel in an interview with GlobeNewswire.
“There is the Studio's Final Cut for theaters. The Director's Cut for the artists. The Airline and Broadcast Cut for the FCC. The Middle Eastern cut for Islam. And fan cuts like people uploading just sex scenes from Game of Thrones to YouTube. There seems to be a cut for everyone. But, one major group was missing, a Family Cut for streaming. Hence, why we created VidAngel.”
According to GlobeNewswire, the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005 protects VidAngel from the legal concerns of filtering. The law states that viewers have the right to remove “limited portions of audio or video content of a motion picture, during a performance in or transmitted to that household for private home viewing, from an authorized copy of the motion picture.”
Unlike other streaming websites, VidAngel tags potentially offensive content so the customer can choose whether or not to apply that filter when watching the movie. “VidAngel is like a really powerful remote control,” explains Harmon to GlobeNewswire “You set up your remote before you start your movie and then enjoy the show without worrying about covering your kids eyes.”
Of 900 American families polled, GlobeNewswire reported half preferred a “more family friendly version of movies.”
Additionally, 90 percent of the movies rented through VidAngel would not have been watched without filtering, according to GlobeNewswire. The VidAngel system for purchasing movies can be a little confusing because of the need to navigate complicated legal waters.
Because it is illegal to filter a movie without first owning the movie, VidAngel requires customers to purchase movies for $20 and sell it back for $19. The net price of a standard definition movie watched within 24 hours is $1, and $2 for HD, according to the VidAngel website.
Making graphic movies more watchable to a broad viewership does introduce some new issues, however. Given the ability to filter out anything from a single f-word to a whole sequence of grotesque torture scenes, all responsibility is put on the viewer for deciding what content is appropriate to watch.
VidAngel allows plenty of personal preference when it comes watching cinema and the effects it will have on Mormon viewership are yet to be seen.
When asked where the line is when it comes to viewing graphic content in movies, Daniel Stout, professor of communications, said, “That is one of the most important questions, if not the most important question about media as an art form, especially when it comes to Mormons viewing media.
Film is art and parents should have that conversation with each other and their children as to what constitutes appropriate viewing material.”