digital tools, social media, technology

Much of the most important innovation on the web today occurs within what some call the Golden Triangle.

The three sides of this triangle are social, mobile and real time.  Though the poster children for this triangle are Facebook, the iPhone and Twitter, this innovation extends far beyond these three companies.

This triangle creates a major shift in peoples’ experience of the Internet.

Now many people are;

1.  Always connected to the Internet,

2.  Constantly connected to their social graph and,

3.  Perpetually acting as a bridge between the virtual and physical world.

People have the Internet in their hands as they move about the real world and they are breaking down the old distinction between our “virtual” and “physical” worlds.

This process will accelerate as more people buy smart phones, which they are doing at a rapid pace.

So why should filmmakers care?

Filmmakers, distributors and theater owners want to bring people into theaters to see their films.  The golden triangle continuously spins off new tools that enable them to do so at a low cost.

So here are a three suggestions;

1.  Encourage people to bring their cell phones to the theater. (And use them there!),

2. Improve wireless access within the theater. (So these phones are easier to use!) and

3. Before and after each screening use the theater screen to enable people to communicate with other people in the theater and their friends outside the theater. (About films in general or the film they are about to see or have just seen.)

In other words, use these digital tools to enhance the social aspect of the film going experience.

That’s right, create a better social experience–a key reason most people go to see films in a theater in the first place.

digital tools, filmmakers, independent film, innovation, internet, Mobile, smart phones, social media

When a filmmaker creates a movie, she brings many tools to unlock her artistic passion, which she attempts to capture on the screen.  These tools; the screenplay, the actors, the physical setting and the cinematography all combine to bring into existence a new emotional experience that is shared with an audience.

Today, as a result of rapid digital innovation, a filmmaker has the opportunity to use another set of tools to unlock and organize the passion of her audience. When deployed successfully they give an audience a chance to share a passion with each other and connect with the creator of the movie.  Through their use the filmmaker expands her audience in every venue her film plays.  These digital tools are broadly available across many online social networks and they are free.

Are filmmakers and distributors truly taking advantage of these tools?  Let’s look at the recent release of BRIGHT STAR as an example.

BRIGHT STAR is an exquisitely realized movie in every way, from its acting, its directing, its screenplay, to its cinematography.  It was a pleasure to watch with an audience.  Jane Campion made great use of the tools she was given.

What about online?

BRIGHT STAR’s web site looks well designed, plays music that sets the proper mood and provides links to basic information about the movie.   It all looks great. Unfortunately the site just sits there, like a dressed up newspaper or magazine ad.  This is how the web was used five, even ten years ago.

At the bottom of the page there are links to MySpace, Facebook and Twitter.  Aren’t they the web of today?  Look at these links closely.  The MySpace fan page has 21 friends, the Facebook page has 1,409 fans and the Twitter account has 261 followers.   These are all small numbers, even Facebook’s.  These social networks are vastly underutilized.

BRIGHT STAR put up its website and began posting to these platforms on August 13, roughly thirty days before the initial theatrical release of the film.

This was their first mistake.  You can’t engage with an audience online and get their attention within social networks on such short notice.

Since the launch online they have posted 7 times on Facebook and have created 59 Tweets on Twitter.

This is a very small number for two months of activity.On Twitter, BRIGHT STAR is called @keatstweets, on Facebook, BRIGHT STAR.  The tweets never appear on Facebook, nor do the Facebook posts appear on Twitter. In addition, none of the tweets contain a URL that directs anyone to more information about the movie, where it is playing, who is in it, who directed it, or more importantly what other people feel about it.

The mistakes include; starting late, creating only a small number of posts, naming the BRIGHT STAR effort different things on different platforms, failing to link the platforms being used and not understanding the specific value each platform has to offer.  In sum, not a great use of the tools.

More importantly, there is one fundamental mistake that undercuts all of BRIGHT STAR’s digital efforts.

The distributor is not selling the right brand to organize and deliver the audience they seek.  The brand that needs to be “sold” here is not BRIGHT STAR.  It is JANE CAMPION.  Why?  Audiences want to experience BRIGHT STAR but they want to connect with JANE CAMPION.  In the social web that makes all the difference.

What do I think should be done to gather an audience online and deliver paying customers to movie theaters?

Here are a few ideas.  They would apply to any independent filmmaker or distributor, so Jane Campion is really a stand in for every filmmaker.

FIRST– Jane Campion should have a blog that is called Jane Campion.  On it she should post anything that gives everyone a sense of her artistic vision, such as links to her movies, links to interviews she has posted on YouTube, comments about her favorite films, influences, etc.  She should have a fan page on Facebook and a Twitter account, (also under Jane Campion) so that whenever she blogs it appears on those platforms as well.

SECOND–When she starts making a film– no later than the first day of preproduction–she should post to her blog and tweet regularly about the production.  This allows the audience to share in her experience as the film evolves.  She should continue this through the completion of the film all the way up to and during the release of the movie in every market in which it appears.

THIRD–When the film is initially released she should attend as many regular theatrical shows of the film as she can and meet with her fans one on one when they exit.  She should tweet her location before she arrives to let people know she is coming and what she is hearing from fans.  She should have someone with her use a smartphone to record, publish and tag these conversations for all to see—all flowing back to her blog, to Facebook, and Twitter.   She should encourage all her fans to create and share from their phones as well.

All of these ideas use digital tools that exist today and are free.  They unlock the passion that resides in the audience, their desire to connect and share.  They generate a very large multiplying effect.  (In the old days, this was called word of mouth.)

Now, ask yourself the following.  If Jane Campion had the same number of followers on Twitter that Zoe Keating has (1,131,033, @zoecello), and she used the three ideas above, do you think BRIGHT STAR’s box office gross would be higher than it is today?

And what about BRIGHT STAR’s Academy Award campaign?  Would it be more successful?

(Note:  This was originally published in October 2009, just following the release of BRIGHT STAR.  The mistakes made with this film are being made by others and the recommendations still apply.)

Bright Star, digital tools, independent film, internet, Jane Campion, social media

Several years ago, I left the movie business and entered the world of the internet and mobile.  Since then, independent filmmakers have often asked me about what they should do in this “new media” digital world.  As digital innovation has increased in its speed and scope over the past two years, as the iPhone has come out, as social networks have exploded, these questions have grown exponentially as well.

Recently I have been telling everyone the same thing.  If you want to get into the digital world, if you want to build an audience for your work, if you want to make some money, learn from Zoe Keating.

Here are a few relevant facts about Zoe.

She is a cellist who writes and records her original compositions.  Some call her music pop, some say it is classical, and others insist it is avant garde.  Zoe performs by herself with an Apple computer by her side, which allows her to sample her music and create loops that give a density and expansiveness to her sound.

Though she has recorded several CDs, she does not have a record deal with any record label, nor does she want one.  Her CDs are available on Amazon, CDBaby and her website as well at her live performances.

Her recordings are also available on iTunes.  On more than one occasion she has occupied the top sales spot in the Classical category on iTunes.  As she said in a recent interview, her iTunes revenue exceeds her monthly mortgage payments. (When you spend $.99 on one of her tracks, she gets 70% after Apple gets their 30% distribution fee. Remember– no record company. So real sales equal real money for the creator.)

You can find Zoe throughout the internet, on MySpace, on YouTube, on Facebook.  And check out this statistic–Zoe has over 1.1 million followers on Twitter.  If you do not believe me, go there yourself and find her at @zoecello.

As she writes on her blog;

“What is great about Twitter is that…it allows me to be myself to as many people as possible….I’ve always had this stubborn, egotistical belief that if I just had a chance to get the real me across…people would be interested.  The belief that what I’m doing is worthwhile, even if no one hears it, has sustained me through a lot of rejections and hard times…I doubt my current career would be possible without the internet.  Thanks to social networks I can have what feels like a direct relationship with an increasingly vast audience.   There is no middleman.”

In addition to selling her recordings, Zoe makes money through paid gigs, licensing her music to commercials and writing music for films.  In other words, she has created a 360 degree music career that pays her well.  It is her sole occupation.  She has no side job to keep the music career going.  Instead, the money she makes from the music keeps the music career going.

None of this is easy.  Zoe estimates that she spends 50% of her time on the music and 50% managing all the business and audience development that is required to keep her enterprise going.

What has Zoe really done?

First, through her work she has created a singular vision, an authentic voice that is uniquely hers.  In the language of corporate marketing, she has created her own “personal brand”.

Second, she has placed her work on digital platforms that generate awareness and sell her wares.

Third, she has used the digital tools that are freely available to reach her audience directly.  By doing so, she has created an ongoing conversation with her audience.  She has allowed them to become part of her world so they can make her part of their world.

These three elements have created an income stream for her, one that flows directly to her and no one else.

If you want to do what Zoe Keating has done, you cannot execute one or two of the elements in her digital strategy.  For any chance of success you must execute on all three.  To use an old analogy, all three legs hold up the stool.

Independent filmmakers typically make a film and turn it over to some one else who takes over the responsibility of marketing and distributing it.   In today’s world if you want to succeed you have to take a different path.

Today filmmakers must engage and build their audiences themselves.  The digital tools now exist that allow anyone to engage directly with a vast audience.  These tools are FREE.  There is no excuse not to use them.  And guess what, they get better every day.

Don’t believe me?  As I tell every filmmaker I meet–learn from Zoe.  So get going and google Zoe Keating.  You know how to google don’t you?

independent film, music, social media, Zoe Keating