Screenwriting : Today's Wish and Creative Tip by Laurie Ashbourne

Should you think like a studio boss? Long gone, are the days when the likes of Louis B. Mayer, put writers on contract with their studio. In fact, long gone, are the days when movie studios were run by producers who understood every aspect of the industry. Today, it’s a numbers game that is directly tied to things that only an accountant can understand and the studio heads are corporate CEOs that have to answer to a conglomerate umbrella, hedge funds, holding companies and stock holders. One studio can produce a film and its rival studio can distribute it. Technology companies are buying media companies who are buying studios and they all have licensing deals with each other. In short, the films we write for, are being shopped to an incestuous, bottomless pit of corporate mergers and acquisitions with first look, back room deals. So it was no surprise a few years ago that someone came up with a numbers game to hedge these bets. Almost 3 years ago now, Spielberg and Lucas made their joint declaration that the business model of big box office productions was going to implode. Studios just couldn't continue to invest so much into production. Around the same time this media analyst company claimed they could predict a film’s box office take, not only by using the select criteria that ALL comp analysts use, but by also adding audience feelings. Making sure that studios were investing their millions wisely -- so essentially negating the doom predicted. Here's how they work: “Measuring consumer engagement using this method starts with drafting a written description for a movie that may or may not have been made yet. They shape and standardize the pitch, then come up with a set of questions that test consumer response. The result is an overall numerical score, broken down by various demographics: age, sex, ethnicity, etc. The questions are sent to about 1300 respondents.” Rumor has it that screenwriters were flocking to their site – looking for a leg up on the competition. Surely if they spoke the language of the studios and backed it up with data, they couldn’t deny their scripts – right? Good idea, but it doesn’t and didn’t quite work that way. The Spielberg/Lucas declaration is nearly a reality and will be more so with the growing small screen distribution models. (Which by the way are run by the online/cloud space -- the same space that is rapidly changing how films are made and marketed.) Let’s pick this thing apart. 1) If you have ever participated in any sort of research analysis there are crazy algebraic formulas to account for legitimacy, lack of response, or other variables. There are plenty of media research groups who do this for a living and will generate a focus group. 2) Major studios with tentpole productions rely on focus groups throughout the process. Disney puts their films up on reels 8 times at a minimum – addressing notes from the audience each time. 3) Social media is even stronger now, then it was in 2013 when this brainchild was conceived which is why studio and distribution marketing arms make facebook, twitter, pinterest and Instagram pages – they use the likes and shares and social chatter to engage AND MEASURE the consumer index. 4) Fandango is quickly blanketing the consumer space, they are now a major player in box office predictions and soon will be able to do this without relying on ticket sales – the CEO is a dear friend of mine and he is acutely aware that [them] as a ticket platform is not the future and he is set on being a consumer touch point before, during and after theatrical releases. They’ve already entered the streaming game and knowing Paul, I would not be surprised if he somehow makes Fandango so big that it splits from Comcast, NBC, Universal, Dreamworks conglomumuck. 5) Google did a whitepaper years ago on how searches could predict box office numbers. Google is your friend when it comes to testing your concept. Not only in finding out how similar projects have performed, but also to see how big your audience could be. So the point is, you can do this ‘concept test’ with your own logline, synopsis or pitch. BEFORE YOU WRITE THE SCRIPT. Do some research on search engine optimization (SEO) and learn how to tag your photos, craft your headlines and use hashtags in your posts, as you talk about your material. Put a website up. Wix, wordpress etc, can do it for free for you or if you have a little cash to spare you can get a domain and template for under a $100. After you get a good consensus on whether your logline is ‘a good idea,’ evolve it into a pitch video and post it. Your responses can also help you refine the idea and pitch. Your likes, shares, social chatter, followers, youtube subscribers are your proof of concept. Does this mean that decision makers are going to count your likes and shares etc.? Probably not on a granular level, but they do matter. So consider this when your filmmaker friends ask you to like their project page. Who knows? Your concept tests could be the launch of a fundraising campaign that is further proof of concept. At this point, you have created IP for the idea – and that’s what gets attention. Now – if you are really being proactive and want to produce or co-produce your own material (good for you), you will need to get a comp analysis to give to investors as a part of your business plan. There are plenty out there to do this for you but a proper and thorough one will cost you some $. I intentionally left out the names of the analysis companies because, if you are at that stage then due diligence on your part is a must. Most artists aren’t marketers, I get that. I happen to be both and it does make a difference and yes, I get that it’s a lot of work. But if you aren’t getting any traction playing the numbers game and want the strength of your idea to win the day, you have to put the time in. Proactive is a combination of Pro and active. If you are active in getting the right amount of exposure for your work at the right time in its development, you will be considered a pro and who knows, you may someday be the boss of your own studio. Go.