SEI Pictures is an independent film company catering towards and operated by youths, under the supervision of the local television studio Toronto Broadcasting Communications Authority. The company primarily produces music videos, but have also produced some films. Each of their productions are available on their website and (up until recently) their YouTube channel. The films they produce are horror films, surrealist films, art films and drama films, and up until striking a deal with Harvest Entertainment, were produced on a tight budget. As of late, the company is now dormant, and a revival is unlikely.
History[]
An exact timeframe for the establishment of the company cannot be established. The name had been used since 2000 for various small projects produced by the people who run the company. The company became public in mid-late 2005 with the launch of the website and the creation of the company's YouTube channel.
Disputes with YouTube[]
SEI Pictures has conflicted with YouTube since 2014. It began when YouTube began blocking their music videos from getting viewed in most parts of the world. The company disputed this, claiming that the videos were made under fair use, and that they got permission from the original authors. SEI was also quick to point out that YouTube blocked videos that have been up since 2006. However, their music videos are no longer monetized since they no longer get any revenue from them.
In 2016, YouTube and SEI butted heads again after SEI made a violent short film that protested YouTube's renewed terms of service. The company protested the conditions of the ToS, claiming that the company's content isn't aimed at young audiences, and that they felt that in order to be eligible for monetization, they'd have to overhaul their content and risk alienating their fanbase.
Later in that year, the company made yet another violent short film to go against the YouTube Heroes movement. Five days after the video was posted, SEI's YouTube channel was deleted. Fans have speculated that the channel was taken down willingly by SEI, while others theorized that the channel was taken down by YouTube out of spite.
Since the deletion of their channel, the company became inactive. Their Facebook and Twitter profiles are no longer getting updated, and their site has been removed and replaced with a series of download links to their content, with a message that says anyone has their permission to download their content and repost it.