Ben Stiller’s writing partner, Justin Theroux created a brilliant send-up of Hearts of Darkness for the film Tropic Thunder, entitled Rain of Madness. Justin plays a Werner Herzog-esque documentary filmmaker capturing hilarious “verite” moments with cast & crew throughout. This is exactly the type of project we’ve been trying to get the studios to do; see proposals below.
A vast number of real websites based on the film’s stars, championed causes, crew, agency, etc. were also created. Some of these were exclusive content partnerships with sites like Spike and JoBlo. All interesting ways to extend the world of the film, and all born out of Behind-the-Scenes.
While DVDs typically come packaged with a spate of common extras (commentaries, making-of docs, deleted scenes, outtakes, trailers, etc.), the conceptual side of the form isn’t explored to its full potential. We need to push for skilled experimentation over something traditional and well-executed.
At Insight, we found Inspiration for a new creative directions in researching the work of Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman and Dave Eggers for a Where the Wild Things Are proposal (Dave and Spike co-wrote the screenplay for WTWTA). What Charlie and Spike have been able to do for film in terms of creativity and originality, Dave has done for literature; right down to the publishing info, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is fresh and engaging (included throughout are charts, diagrams, guides to symbols & metaphors, and inventive re-workings of traditional elements such as the preface and table of contents). This trio’s work inspired us to envision what could be done with the added value features on DVDs, including expansion into online and traditional marketing venues. The beginnings of these new creative concepts are outlined and detailed in the proposals section below, submitted to the filmmakers/studios:
In attending the Industry Insights breakfast on “the internet”, Google’s Vertical Director of Media & Entertainment, Adam Stewart, shared some interesting statistics:
+ The average user spends fourteen hours per week both on the internet and watching television, yet the media spend is only 3% online vs. 36% to television.
+ When searching films online, the official movie sites draw only 10% of users! Even with beautiful interactive sites, wallpapers, screensavers, podcasts, trailers, behind-the-scenes, interactive games, etc., 90% of users are avoiding these - we need to examine why.
Both of these statistics illustrate the tremendous growth potential for this market. With the rapid surge in broadband penetration, the future is most definitely online.
In this age of The Long Tail and The Wisdom of Crowds, one of the most salient aspects of the internet is the prominence of social networks. This includes people of all ages, but particularly the youth markets. For content to become increasingly effective, perhaps it needs to focus less on traditional forms of presentation and embrace more inclusive structures and organic ideas which tap the power of social networks and true interactivity. Creating this type experience would likely convert users who are just looking for information with the speed and efficiency of the web, and encourage them to share it with friends.
VIRTUAL OPPORTUNITIES
MTV’s Leapfrog division created a virtual world for the series Laguna Beach. Almost 300,000 people signed-up in the first ten weeks. The hard-to-reach demographic of teenage girls comprises 55% of members, and 40% of all members are under 17. On average users visit six times a month for 35 minutes per session. In VLB, advertising and products can be integrated into the virtual experience. Users can go dancing at a club, throw a party, change their dollars into the local currency, shop for clothes, or even kick back and watch MTV shows. Why not create a theater where kids can go and watch the latest trailers, then discuss the films? If intrigued, they can click through to the official movie sites.
EDIT A SCENE FROM A HOLLYWOOD MOVIE
This could apply to any film project. In meetings with the producers and director, discuss and determine a scene which was filmed that ultimately won’t make the final cut (usually determined early in the editing process). Editorial should have all the film and takes already digitized - once digitized, these can easily be utilized, transferred or converted to popular formats/codecs if not already in one.
+ Take this complete scene, along with all the coverage/shots, sound, sound fx, music, etc. Make all of these assets available on the website.
+ Hold a contest for users to edit and create their own version of the scene. The remix culture will love to get a chance to edit a scene from an actual Hollywood movie complete with all the assets. Even kids in school have access to basic editing systems these days.
+ Hold a contest and showcase the top finalists, along with an archive of submissions. Have the community vote on the winner. Give a token prize of sorts; the real reward comes in exposure and praise from peers.
+ A special license from Creative Commons would protect assets with certain restrictions the studio is comfortable with, etc. Wired magazine did this last year with a special CD with tracks from many artists.