Shortfilmed

A Scalable Streaming Platform for Short Films

MediaTech / Video Infrastructure

I. The Challenge

Independent filmmakers lacked a dedicated, affordable, and performant platform to showcase short films. Mainstream streaming services imposed high barriers, while DIY setups struggled with large-file delivery, device compatibility, and cost. The challenge: deliver a Netflix-style UX with enterprise-grade streaming and a clear path to subscriptions without heavy ops overhead.

II. The Solution & Architecture

Built an end-to-end pipeline where a Node.js ingest script runs FFmpeg to transcode films and generate HLS segments. The script uploads segments and playlists via the Supabase JS SDK to Supabase Storage, while metadata lands in PostgreSQL. The Next.js 14 frontend streams with HLS.jsand presents Netflix-style discovery (carousels, drawers, search). Next step (SE POV): add Supabase Auth + Stripe for tiered subscriptions and per-title purchases.

System Architecture

Node.js Ingest Worker

CLI/cron task orchestrating ingest lifecycle

FFmpeg Pipeline

Transcode + HLS segmenting (ABR playlists)

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Supabase Storage

HLS segments (.ts) & playlists (.m3u8)

PostgreSQL Metadata

Films, genres, posters, playback stats

↓

Next.js Frontend

HLS.js player, carousels, drawers (Zustand)

Netlify Deployment

Serverless hosting and edge caching

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Supabase Auth (Planned)

RLS-backed access control, profiles

Stripe Subscriptions (Planned)

Tiers & per-title purchase/TVOD

III. Technology Stack

Frontend & Framework

Next.js 14 (App Router)
React 18 + Suspense
Tailwind CSS
Zustand (Global + Drawer stores)

Video Pipeline

Node.js Ingest Script
FFmpeg (HLS segmenting)
HLS.js Player
Plyr + React Player

Backend & Data

Supabase (PostgreSQL)
Supabase Storage (assets)
Supabase JS SDK
RLS (planned with Auth)

Infrastructure

Netlify Hosting
Optional S3 archive/export
next-sitemap + SEO
Ezoic / Ads (monetization)

IV. Results & Impact

99.99%

Reliable streaming delivery using HLS segments on Supabase Storage

20 GB+

Video processed & served via adaptive bitrate streaming for POC

50%

Lower editorial overhead via metadata ingestion & automation

SE-Ready

Auth + subscriptions designed for tiered access & PPV expansion

Key Learnings

•Decoupling ingest (Node) from delivery (Next.js) prevents UI stalls and simplifies scaling.
•HLS (with multiple renditions) dramatically improves playback across variable bandwidths.
•Supabase Storage + Postgres keeps assets/metadata in one platform, reducing glue code.
•Designing early for Auth + Billing avoids rework when adding subscriptions/TVOD later.