Social Business and Film

Social Business and Film

LONDON, November 14, 2011/PRNewswire/ --

?"Business as we know it is changing. The next generation of
market-leading organizations will digitize their enterprise model with new
capabilities enabled by social technologies. But many of today's social
technology initiatives fall well short of their transformational potential.
Smart business and technology leaders will rethink business strategy to
create a 'social business strategy' - moving beyond linear, process-driven
organizations to create new, dynamic, networked businesses. These new
organizations will be capable of empowering and connecting people in new
ways to create value in the marketplace. They will change the way companies
compete and set new standards for how governments and nonprofits deliver
value."

- Nigel Fenwick, Analyst, Forrester's Research

More and more people associate themselves with brands not just as a
consumer product, but as a community. And, Entertainment, which always walks
the tightrope between art and commerce, is nonetheless a consumer product
with a stratosphere of brands. As in any business, the product needs to
remain competitive, so the stakeholders will need to weave a social
component around the entertainment product.

Of course, filmmakers have historically remained in their ivory towers,
immune to the desires of their target audience as they pen or produce their
products which have a very personal stamp. The notion 'produce it and they
will come' will change radically and quickly as interactive entertainment
and social networks emerge to start talking back to filmmakers. "The
artist's vision" as a precious entity that can't be sullied by public
opinion will nonetheless be influenced to some degree by a "collective's
vision" once entertainment accepts and understands social business.

Consumers are empowered like never before to provide input and ideas to
brand entities via social business. Film spectators as consumers will expect
the same, but filmmakers either have not recognized this or prefer not to
admit that what they produce is a consumer product.

There are exceptions, such as Paul Verhoeven (Robocop, Basic Instinct,
Total Recall) who is developing an interactive product called The
"Entertainment Experience." At a recent press conference, Verhoeven
elaborated, "All aspects of movie making, including the acting and filming,
are done by new talent, (they) can sign up on the website." Thus, the
website provides the social business platform to create the film.

This is the perfect example of creative social business where the
filmmaker has come down from his ivory tower to engage the viewer/consumer
using internet technology.

Social business does not stop with being a Fan of a TV show on Facebook
or a Follower on twitter. Although the fan may find a community of
like-minded individuals, at the moment, there is scant dialogue between the
creatives and the viewers on these platforms. Yet, social networking sites
can be powerful social media platforms for interaction between viewers/fans
and the filmmakers. The filmmakers can create an audience from the word
'Go': These engaged fan communities will feel part of the movie-making
process and will become loyal followers of the Filmmakers work.

This is of course a scary proposition for a filmmaker: how can I ensure
quality, and retain my voice? In the Verhoeven example, he as the Director
will shape the film and do the final cut; there are creative collaborative
steps that will enable the filmmaker to retain some degree of ownership. And
the payoff for engagement and transparency grossly outweighs the risks: The
result is an unprecedented and profound connection between the filmmaker and
viewers that will translate to a locked-in audience from film to film.

We have witnessed waves of radical change since the 1993 inception of
the Internet. The next wave is coming in, and that's social business, and
it's time for the entertainment industry not to fear it but to catch it and
ride it confidently to shore.

http://www.studiobeyond.net

Media Contact: Jennie Dallery, jdallery@studiobeyond.net

Source: Studio Beyond

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