My masters program is drawing to a close. We're in the final semester of courses and developing our proposals for our Major Projects. This is the point where we are supposed to leverage all we've learned over the course of the program, frame a problem or an opportunity and propose an innovation to respond to the situation.
For years, I've been fascinated by marketing and distribution issues as they related to film and TV. My past work has been in support of feature film production in Canada, so naturally I've thought a lot about Canadian film issues, of which there are many. Notwithstanding the huge issues around getting Canadian films made, once they are, the biggest hurdle seems to be getting people to find them and watch them. Sure that's not so much of an issues for Quebec (congrats and continued success by the way, you guys), but the folks who are part of the English-language market see themselves as competing with Hollywood. Now whether that's the right attitude or not depends on who you are and what you do. Once upon a time, I'd have said that it's indie American cinema that was our real competition because no one competes against the juggernaut that is Hollywood.
Today, with the internet and so many other distractions, the competition for Canadian film runs the gamut from silly cat videos on YouTube, to Bioshock, hipstamatic app on the iPhone, solitaire, video on demand and World of Warcraft. Yeah, all that and a good latte in the presence of friends.
Despite all the other things you could spend your time doing, I still think that people are interested in experiencing a great story, being transform, being transported and or even having their minds blasted by ear-popping audio and special effects that do little to advance the plot - perhaps not all are necessary at once. And, naive as it may be, I still think that there is an audience for the works of Canadian filmmakers.
Some may be screaming that Hollywood is dying. That doesn't mean the end of a good story in a time-based medium. But in the age of the internet, where the big screen caters to little but studio productions, how are niche and indie filmmakers finding audiences for their work?
This is kinda the subject of my major project. I see marketing and distribution as key to the future of film and TV type content. Forgive me for such lazy terminology. While I don't want to perpetuate 20th century labels that are clearly challenged and increasingly inadequate, I'm not sure sure yet what terms to use for the story-based moving images that we see on mobile, bigger and even bigger screens. What is film today? A medium, a style of production, a way of presenting a story? What is TV? A broadcast medium, a box in the corner of the room? What happens if you're like me and you watch your TV, films and other video on your iPad or computer? And I haven't even started to think about other forms that are related - interactive, transmedia etc.
So, my starting point is to look at marketing and distribution because these have been changed by digital technologies and globally distributed networks. The smart folks will forgo duplicating old strategies in the new medium and seek to understand what behaviours are natural to this new space and develop strategies the leverage those natural behaviours. So my research is looking at the folks who are doing something new and fresh - finding their audiences in new places and spaces, embarking on relationships beyond the producer-consumer paradigm. These folks may be making a profit or making a mark. Not matter, I'm all down for new definitions of success.
As a final product, I am supposed to come up with an innovation. Something that will serve an unmet need. Since I'm following the design thinking process in developing my major project I can't say yet what that final product will be. Because I'm not that that stage yet and don't know what shape it will take. Ask me in June or July? I should know better then, or I'll be in deep doo-doo.
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