ScreenCraft Recap: The Future of Digital Entertainment

Back in May, ScreenCraft held a seminar about the rise of digital entertainment. Gabriel Del Rio of GdR PRoductions (https://twitter.com/gdelrio) moderated.

The distinguished panelists were:
Courtney Lischke of YouTube (https://plus.google.com/105073454234171745954/posts)
Will Keenan of Maker Studios (https://twitter.com/WillKeenan)
Marc Hustvedt of Chill.com (https://twitter.com/MarcHustvedt)
Christiano Covino of Mischievious Studios (https://twitter.com/heyChristiano)
Brendan Gahan of Fullscreen (https://twitter.com/brendangahan)
Here is a summary of the Q&A session, along with embedded video for easy viewing.
“What Are Multichannel Networks?” Courtney Lischke discusses multichannel networks like Machinima. These networks allow content creators to focus on content, rather than on ad sales and other business considerations.
“Art and Commerce in the Digital Age:” Christiano Covino says that advertisers will follow wherever the content goes, and content creators need to respect their audience.
“Brendan Gahan Talks Audience Engagement:” Brendan says that deeply engaging a small audience is better than mildly entertaining a huge audience.
“Will Keenan Talks the Future of Television:” Will says that broadcast media and digital media will mix until people don’t know the difference.

“Crowdfunding 101:” The panelists says that crowdfunding allows for direct engagement, since audience members can be involved in the creation of a film. The best way for filmmakers to take advantage of it is to tell their audience a sincere story. They also say that traditional indie film financing is dead.
“Testing the Viability of Your Idea Via Crowdfunding:” The panelists say that as soon as you have an idea, your marketing phase begins. Crowdfunding allows you to rapidly test your ideas in the wild.
“Vine: A Social Media Revolution:” Christiano discusses his new Vine network, the first of its kind.
“The Future of YouTube:” Courtney says that YouTube is rolling out subscription packages and other new revenue streams. Christiano expresses his enthusiasm because these new streams allows creators to create without going to advertisers.
“Is There a Downside to Crowdfunding?” Will says there is no downside. People who don’t meet their funding goals won’t make their movie, but they can try again.
“Is There a Market for Your Idea?” Christiano says filmmakers who use traditional investors will have to work twice as hard to find an audience, but people who crowdfund already have a built-in audience. He recommends filmmakers use Google to find where their potential audience congregates and then build trust with them.
“Community Is King:” The panel says that “Community Is King,” as opposed to the traditional “Content Is King.” This means that building a community around your film is more important than ever. Crowdfunding is one way to do this.
“It’s Still All about Story:” The panel says that filmmakers only need to make back as much money as they put into a project--as opposed to setting lofty expectations of wealth. This creates a sustainable business.

Remember to check back for more ScreenCraft events!