The Context Key
This email is, without a doubt, the most important one in this series. Full stop.
So let’s recap what we’ve covered so far, then dive in.
If we can’t earn attention for our work, we can’t monetize it.
Hollywood relies on its massive resources to get attention for its projects.
Trying to use Hollywood’s playbook without their pocketbook is a recipe for disaster.
And here’s that Joseph Tussman quote again, just so it’s seared into your brain.
“What the pupil must learn, if he learns anything at all, is that the world will do most of the work for you, provided you cooperate with it by identifying how it really works and aligning with those realities. If we do not let the world teach us, it teaches us a lesson.”
We know our reality. We’re playing The Attention Game.
Now, let’s learn how to win it, shall we?
*cracks knuckles*
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I’m going to give you the answer right up front.
Changing the “context” of your work is the key that unlocks the filmpreneur world.
So, what do I mean by that?
When we play by industry rules, our work inevitably ends up competing against Hollywood’s machine.
Part of that is that our films end up in the same digital environments as big budget stuff—on Amazon, iTunes, etc.
Most indie filmmakers view this as a good thing. It’s validation, proof that our work belongs with the big boys.
But in reality, these platforms are bursting at the seams with more high-end content than any of us could watch in ten lifetimes.
Appearing in this context leaves little room for our work to earn attention.
But it gets worse.
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Where our films live is only a small part of a much larger problem.
When we imitate popular filmmaking styles and marketing tactics, we ensure that audiences perceive our work as competing with Hollywood fare.
So not only does our film appear alongside an abundance of well-funded competitors, but we’re training potential customers to not see any difference.
Read that last sentence again, and let it sink it.
By playing Hollywood's game, we’re ensuring our work is seen as yet another commodity in a world drowning in commodity media.
In this context, the prospects of winning attention are slim.
Hollywood films might he generic and lame. But they’re also shiny and loud and slick, and full of famous faces.
If people are forced to choose between commodities, they’re going to choose the flashier, more popular option 99 times out of 100.
When we throw our work into this context, we’re just adding to the noise, and increasing the overwhelm people feel when scrolling through Amazon.
We’re giving people more things to choose from, and practically ensuring they won’t choose us.
Such is the reality of playing the Attention Game in Hollywood’s context.
Womp womp.
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One of the core practices that sets filmpreneurs apart is asking better questions.
For instance, most indie filmmakers ask, “how can I make a profitable movie?”
This question inevitably leads people down the “imitate Hollywood” rabbit hole.
When you ask it, you’ll get plenty of advice about how you need to make genre films. About how you need recognizable talent. About how you need film festivals and publicity teams.
And we all know where that path leads.
It leads to Sad Phil, crying into a pile of credit card bills.
But when you ask better questions that are informed by the reality of our industry, you can find much, much better answers.
What if you instead asked…
How can I change the context of my work so I’m no longer competing with Hollywood?
How can I position my work so that it’s no longer a commodity?
How can I make my film a no-brainer purchase for strangers on the internet?
How can I earn attention for my project without Hollywood resources?
Now these are the questions that will get you somewhere.
Follow them, and you end up playing an entirely different game than Hollywood.
Because, you see, these questions will lead you to the door of one delightful strategy.
Niching down.
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It might not feel like it, but we live in the age of the niche.
In the email about becoming “Ungated,” I mentioned that the internet is giving the notion of popular culture a run for its money.
Back in the day, culture was monolithic.
We all watched the same 10-20 movies. The same few TV networks and shows. The same music.
If you had weird interests or taste, you might be able to find a few of your peeps locally.
But mostly, you were isolated. Locked into a prison of geography. Unable to connect with others like you. Unable to find more of the weird stuff you love.
As a creator, it was much the same.
There was little to stop you from making weird art. But there was no way to get it to people who’d care.
And so, mass market culture dominated.
But the internet changed all of that. It knocked down all such barriers.
No longer is human attention restricted by geography or cultural gatekeeping.
The internet opened the floodgates by allowing our attention to flow along with our most individualistic impulses.
Now we have the power to surround ourselves with like-minded weirdos. And the power to consume what is uniquely relevant to us, gatekeepers be damned.
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A niche, very simply, is a group of people bound together by shared characteristics.
They might gather around shared interests, causes, social roles, job titles, values, artistic taste, or any number of factors.
But they gather. Both online and off.
Because deep down, we’re all hardwired to gravitate towards small tribes of people like us. It’s a survival mechanism. There’s safety and comfort in groups, along with connection and strength.
Over the decades, as the internet’s given us infinite outlets for our attention, hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions of new subcultures emerged.
Most are so tiny or obscure or insular that we’d never know about them, even after a lifetime of perusing the web.
But they exist, and they’re thriving.
Many of these niches already have ecosystems of creators and content. The hunger is there, and supply often crops up to meet the demand.
But there’s one thing that the vast majority of niches don’t have, at least not yet. Movies.
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Hollywood, by its nature, can’t serve these groups. Not in a meaningful way, at least.
The industry is locked into a vicious cycle of making ever-bigger movies, at eye-popping prices, to keep winning attention in an increasingly saturated commodity market.
In the brutal “winner take all” context of mass media, they have no choice.
The filmpreneur, however, has no such constraints.
We’re lean and nimble and adaptable, and can easily go where Hollywood can’t.
And chances are, if you’re reading this, this is music to your ears.
I’m guessing you have no interest in placating audiences with explosions and easy answers and shapeshifting robots.
You want to tell the stories you care about. Stories that matter. Stories that engage the hearts and minds of your audience, and deepen their understanding of the world.
Niching down is the key that allows us to make work like this, and get it in front of people who will actually pay attention.
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Now that we see the world as it is, we can align ourselves with this new reality in a powerful way.
We can decide to make niche content for small, but passionate audiences who will actually give a damn.
We can position our work to be the only viable option in their eyes, and make our well-funded competition irrelevant.
When we choose to niche down, the Attention Game is no longer skewed towards players with the most resources.
Instead, in the world of niche filmmaking….
A-list talent is wholly unnecessary.
Flashy production value is nice to have, but never a deal breaker for potential customers.
Traditional gatekeepers have no power, because they’re irrelevant to those we’re seeking to reach.
All it takes to earn, and keep, the attention of niche audiences, is telling stories that are perfectly tailored to them.
It’s about being specific instead of generic. It’s about resonance, not reach.
This is how we play our own game instead of succumbing to Hollywood’s.
This is how we create a context where we can thrive.
This is how we make films that are truly unique and individual, and get them in front of an audience who gives a damn.
And it's the first step towards earning a living from this work.
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Now, at this point, you might be nodding your head, and saying, “this all sounds great, Rob, but how do we actually do it???”
Don’t worry. I gotcha covered.
Tomorrow, I’m going to share the “how” of niching down and out-resonating the competition.
But for now, I’m going to leave you with another delectable quote to savor.
“The truth is, nobody’s interested in the commodity. People buy feelings. And as the world becomes more and more complex, and the commodities more varied, the feelings we want become more urgent, less rational, more unconscious. How your business anticipates those feelings and satisfies them is your product.” -Michael Gerber in E-Myth Revisited
Mmmm yeah, that’s the stuff.
See you tomorrow, my filmpreneur friend.
-Rob “context is the key” Hardy