Balancing exposure with revenue is key when selling documentary shorts to new media platforms, said distributors at a closing session of the Hot Docs festival in Toronto.

‘You have to hold out for the deal that gives you the widest audience,’ said Noam Muscovitch, a multimedia specialist at Toronto- and New York-based iThentic, adding that a good deal is worth about $1,000 per minute to the content creator. iThentic, which focuses on the production and distribution of shorts, signs individual deals with carriers such as Rogers Wireless, and shares revenue with content producers.

Mark Cranwell, of U.K.-based Babelgum, told producers that it can be tricky to promote, and also to generate revenue from, their content on the web.

‘People’s perception when viewing content on the Internet is that it’s free,’ he said. ‘People don’t want to pay for the content, but they’re prepared to watch the advertising.’

Babelgum is ad-supported, and while the model is successful, Cranwell said it is heavily reliant on viewership, telling producers they’ll ‘need a lot of people watching your content numerous times before advertising will start paying off.’ He also cautioned producers against surrendering all their rights when it comes to the negotiating table. ‘Go non-exclusive,’ Cranwell urged.

Panelists also discussed the kind of content that’s being snapped up for distribution, telling producers the shorter the better.

‘It has to be 15 minutes or less,’ said Jeremy Boxer, a programmer at U.K.-based Cinelan, adding that the company seeks professional shorts that have a cinematic quality to them.

‘Shoot in HD if you can,’ added Klara Grunning-Harris of The Independent Television Service, noting that producers should create content that can reach beyond a traditional platform, citing educational films as an example.

Producers asked if airing their shorts on YouTube would be detrimental to a later deal on a distribution site.

‘It might have an impact on your negotiations for money upfront in your contract,’ said Cranwell. ‘If it’s on YouTube for free…it becomes a harder sell.’

Agreed Boxer: ‘We want to monetize the exposure, so putting it on YouTube first makes a big difference to us.’