Filmaster, a service that recommends movies to users based on their existing tastes, has launched an API that allows other services to harness its power.
The product of a Polish team, Filmaster allows users to rate films with an overall score, as well as on criteria such as direction, acting and cinematography. This then drives a recommendation engine to suggest other films to watch, as well as overall community rankings. The site also supports a community of film bloggers and a user forum.
The new API allows third-party developers to integrate Filmaster features and data into their own sites. Suggestions from Filmaster include an application that rewards people for checking-in to niche cinemas or a movie website that wants to integrate social recommendations without coding its own solution.
Next up for the Filmaster team is an iPhone app, currently in beta and expected to launch on the App Store in March. Described as “Foursquare for films”, the app recommends films to watch in local cinemas and on TV, offering check-ins to screenings and shows, and the ability to meet film buffs with similar interests in your area. Filmaster is looking for beta testers, especially in the UK and US. Anyone interested can sign up at http://filmaster.com/mobile.
As a service, Filmaster reminds me of Flickchart a similar US service, which opts for a simple movie comparison interface in order to build up a picture of your taste in movies. Filmaster’s more involved approach of allowing scoring for different aspects of a films, such as the special effects and music could well appeal to hardcore movie geeks if the brand can gain a strong footing in the UK and US markets that it’s targeting.
An Android version of the app will follow in April, and a re-working of the Filmaster website is also on the way.
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