Crowdsourcing is a huge buzz word right now in the tech industry. YouTube just launched Google Moderator to enhance feedback from YouTube users. Then you have sites like Waze, NotchUp, Fashion Stake and Feedback Army. It means two things: free labor in some cases, but most importantly a pre-approved marketable product. Fashion Stake is the most obvious example. Essentially designers can post designs for new clothing lines or pieces. People will vote on them, give feedback, and ultimately if the design is successful the designers can sell their new clothing line on Fashion Stake.
So why am I telling you this? Well, it appears as if Luc Besson, the genius behind “The Professional”, is bringing crowdsourcing to filmmaking with his new website We-Are-Producteurs.com. The site launched today.
What is the site you ask? Thank you for asking.
Luc Besson is essentially allowing everyone to determine what his next project will be, and to guide it from script to screen through the interactive website. Users will choose between five different scripts. Then they can vote on cast, director, and even music. When everything is decided, the users can also help finance the project, receiving a cut of the profits in return.
It’s an interesting concept that could actually backfire if enough users disagree with a specific creative decision. An incentive for people to join right now is that the first 10,000 users to sign up will have their names featured in the credits. So the filmmakers can at least guarantee 10,000 will watch it in theaters, and possibly even buy the DVD.
I think the concept is more marketing gimmick than anything else. Consider the amount of buzz they can create over the course of production. They’re building a project loyalty, rather than a brand loyalty. For those who spend hours upon hours in the discussions will become word of mouth marketers for the film. Which is huge considering the impact that word of mouth reviews over social media networks like Twitter are affecting box office for a lot of movies. Besson is trying to change the course of that online discussion before the film is even released by cultivating relationships with movie watchers ahead of time.
As much preplanning and creative control they say they’re giving to the users is really BS. In the end they’re going to hire who they think is going to work best for the project, and god knows what kind of return users will get on their investment if they do give money. Basically, Luc Besson, a great filmmaker, has become a movie marketing genius. I’m looking forward to seeing how it turns out. This could be a great case study for independent films struggling to find funding.
Oh and I already signed up. So you will see RED BEARD in the credits. At least I think I was one of the first 10,000.
What do you think? Is it cheapening the creative process? Will you log on and give your two cents?
