In this
post I want to address the events of the past few days: the publication of this
Power to the Pixel (PttP) report, Henry Jenkin’s interview in the LA Times and things I learned from
The Futures of Entertainment 4 (FOE4) conference at MIT.
I want to
make it clear that I’m a hugely enthusiastic supporter of audience
collaboration, transmedia, DIY distribution, crowdfunding and so on. And I’m
very grateful to PttP generosity in making their report publicly available. But…
In all the movie
industry turmoil amongst the explosion of free content and the theft of paid content,
I’m worried that many independent filmmakers have a vision of the future blinkered
by optimism and a fetishizing of the new. They see the world as we’d all like it
to be and not the way it sometimes is.
That’s certainly
not to say that I agree with Henry Jenkin’s comment in the LA times that our grandest ambitions might not be realised. (Surely he didn’t really say that, did he?)
I believe they can be realized if we find the right approach and the right attitude
of mind.
Where I
agree with the PttP report is that we have to look beyond piracy and accept it
as a way of life. That is effectively what the report is saying. All the nice
words about the audience demanding content on their own terms is another way of
reminding us that we’re powerless to stop them taking what they want. Piracy,
shmiracy - I’m over it. It’s like losing a loved one – first the anger, then
the depression, then the acceptance. You have to move on before you can see the
opportunities. Outrageous government intrusion into our lives and infringing
our civil liberties is definitely not the answer. We have to discover ways to
survive in a new environment.
So here are
three balancing ideas for indie filmmakers trying to make sense of the future:
- don’t
let the tail wag the dog
- the
audience relationship is only one of many
- it’s
always numbers game.
Don’t let the tail wag the dog
Collaboration
with the audience does not mean loss of control, quite the opposite. Allow the
audience to collaborate and participate on your terms: you decide the rules of
engagement and you set the tone and flavour of that partnership. Don’t limit
your concept of “collaboration” to production of the content – it can also be collaboration
in the experience of the content.
If you find
it desirable, ring-fence your script or parts of your storyworld and say “this
belongs to me”. Then steer the audience to a new part of the storyworld: give them
their own avenues for creative expression that don’t impinge on the direction
you want to go.
Even
contradictory narratives and opposing, perhaps malicious mashups of your video,
say, will not damage your original content because they serve to show your ideas
in relief. But for this to be true you have to be clear about your content,
what it stands for and where it’s going – if your idea is wishy-washy and open
for interpretation then sure you could run into trouble.
The audience relationship is only one of many
Have you
walked into a bricks-and-mortar retailer recently and seen a straight-to-DVD sequel
prominently displayed on a shelf? That loveless filler is there because of
business relationships, not audience relationships. The people that made it
couldn’t care less about the audience and nor could the retailer: it’s nothing
personal, just business. It’s made-to-order fodder and it happens with books
and all kinds of other content.
You’ll also
find that behind many, supposedly “viral” YouTube video sensations is a seeding
company or PR company paid to push content to popular blogs and destination
sites. It’s another kind of business relationship you should not ignore. If you
think that your fan base can be relied on to freely distribute your trailer and
your widget… just take a deep breath and ask yourself “why will they?”
Here’s a final
example of a different kind. I bet I could make a home movie with Tom Cruise, advertise
it on billboards and buses around London and make a profit from theatrical
distribution. No audience relationships, except Tom’s popularity I guess, but
no social media, no forums, no collaboration, no transmedia; just brute force,
old fashioned advertising. See, the old model isn’t dead.
The problem
for the independent is the cost of hiring Tom and hiring the advertising space:
which is why audience relationships are so
important for the indie. But don’t
discount the power of business relationships, the power of money and the power of
key opinion formers.
Which I’m
afraid also means that one future scenario missing from most indie
conversations is the one in which big companies with deep pockets and
entrenched relationships find a way to reinvent themselves and preserve the
status quo. It happens.
We’re not
entitled to the future.
It’s always a numbers game
One of the
key take-aways for me from FOE4 was that fans are nice but the crowd is best.
It came up several times on different panels in different guises: your idea/storyworld/product
has to scale. Please don’t take this to mean that I’m saying fans are not
important, absolutely not. But conversations often turn to Kevin Kelly’s
1000 true fans and it tends to imply that casual, fleeting, one-off interest is
not important: it is.
The
importance of understanding this can be felt when you’re asking yourself, do I make
something that appeals to a hardcore audience or a general audience? You’ll
always make more money and have an easier ride with the general audience. Will
it be as creatively rewarding? Well, I guess that depends on your definition of
hardcore vs casual. But you can appeal to both and one way is to do it is at different times:
first the hardcore (they’re the most receptive) and then the broader audience. With
transmedia you can do both.
And finally…
A major strength
of transmedia is that you can offer different experiences to different
audiences and operate different business models - maybe at different stages in the evolution of
the project. I agree with the PttP report: you should look at your movie as a process and not a product.
I’m very
positive about the future and I think transmedia storytelling will unlock many
untapped revenue streams, business models and opportunities for creative
expression. And we will realize our greatest ambitions.
But please
be mindful and think cautiously: don’t be blinded by the bright future and throw
out the baby with the bathwater.
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