What would entertainment be without its fans? Aside from audiences providing the financial support necessary to keep productions and artists afloat through ticket sales, subscriptions and merchandise purchases, fans provide the feedback necessary for artists to continually improve their craft. Without fans, creators would simply be working to amuse themselves and subsisting off of nuts and berries in the woods.
Fortunately, for big studios like Universal, Disney and Paramount, technology has allowed them to collect massive amounts of data about audience preferences. Each time a new show or movie is released, more data is gathered about who likes it along with when, where, and why they liked it.
Unfortunately, for independent creators and investors, the major studios of Hollywood are not big on sharing their data. So smaller productions must not only compete with monstrous filming and promotion budgets, they also have to do it blindly because no one wants to share their intel. Some companies sell the data they collect, and others will collect data for their clients, but both of these options are prohibitively expensive and time consuming.
Filmio’s blockchain platform provides the perfect solution, changing the way creators collect information about their projects by making all data open, transparent and accessible. It makes viewing content a participatory activity for fans, rewarding them for engagement and providing opportunities to directly interact with creators. The symbiotic relationship between all parties who use Filmio will revolutionize the way content is created, consumed and funded.
Where did fan feedback begin?
From the entertainment industry’s infancy, filmmakers have been interested in finding out how to attract the largest audiences and keep them captivated. They mostly did this by collecting fan letters and paying attention to anecdotal information. In the 1920s, when movies started becoming longer and more expensive to make, producers began taking the gathering of audience data more seriously. George Gallup, known for his political and media polls, developed some of the earliest audience research techniques for the film industry.
In the 1940s, Gallup established the Audience Research Institute, and RKO Radio Pictures (RKO) commissioned Gallup to begin conducting studies on preference for the purpose of increasing movie profits. RKO wanted to learn which movie titles would garner the most interest, so Gallup sat with subjects and went through 40 or more titles at a time – line by line – recording their reaction to each. This, he claimed, was the best way to get an honest response from subjects.
Gallup’s techniques are still largely used today for focus groups, but they are obviously incredibly time consuming and expensive. In order to get honest, accurate results, focus groups need to consist of a representative sample, several sessions must be conducted and participants are often paid for their time. While this may be feasible for large studios, it is not an option for independents. It also does not support the industry’s current content cycle, as audiences binge movie series and shows, and content sharing happens 24/7. Here again, large studios have the advantage, and the gap continues to grow.
Why is viewer input so important?
Audiences today are very different from the 1920s when the spectacle of seeing a moving picture on the silver screen was enough. As a matter of fact, audience sentiment changes just as rapidly as the social and political landscape. Viewer input is essential for creators to keep a finger on the pulse of who and what audiences want to see. Now that people are staying home due to social distancing needs, fans are consuming more and more content.
The entertainment industry is definitely facing quite the conundrum, because while the demand for more content is exploding, social distancing is not conducive to filming. Productions are going to be even more expensive to create than before, with extended timelines and costly safety measures in place. Though audiences are ready for new shows and movies, investors may be hesitant to finance a production, especially when the world has changed so much in a short period of time.
We need new analysis, new audience input and a fresh perspective in order to move forward and continue providing audiences with what they are looking for. Filmio has the capability of supporting new analytics, gathering information about audiences in real time, making that information readily accessible to everyone. The platform will change the entire industry, making crowdfunding easier than ever, engaging audiences to collect information about their preferences, giving creators and investors information they need in order to produce projects that stand out, get attention and rise to the top.
How can fans contribute on Filmio?
Fans will operate in sync with creators to drive the entire Filmio platform. As soon as creators load their content, they can start building an audience. Fans are encouraged to rate the project and provide feedback. In exchange for their engagement, they will be rewarded with tokens they can use to purchase presale tickets for the release of their favorite project or exclusive content.
These coins will be sent directly to the creator, who can use them for services and assets through the platform. The tokens also serve the purpose of contributing to the data that gets collected on audience preferences and taste. Investors can use this highly visible data to make decisions about which projects to fund.
Filmio Builds Relationships for Success
As audiences evolve through time, so must the entertainment industry’s methods for understanding its fans. For the first time in history, audiences can now express their support for a project directly to its creator and know that it is impactful. Filmio’s metrics will be used to create the connection that makes entertainment as personal as it is meaningful by seamlessly connecting creators, investors and fans.