This week, I wrote an Op-Ed article for the BrandStorytelling website and newsletter on the topic - Getting Real about Brands and Impact Films. This is the first of a series of articles I’ll be writing for them, and I wanted to start with a topic I think is super important for brands, but that also applies to filmmakers - that you can’t just make a social impact film, you have to do the impact work (or hire someone to help). Here’s the intro paragraph, and a link to the full article:
As more brands move into making content, especially long and short form film, many are starting to make films intended to have social impact. While films and media made for impact aren’t right for every brand, they increasingly make sense for brands wanting to share their values with consumers who consistently say they want brands to take a stand. But while many brands are making impact entertainment, too few are actually doing what it takes to have an impact, and need to start thinking harder about what impact means – before audiences (consumers) begin to see this as more cynical “purpose-washing” and brands meaning to truly have an impact have difficulty rising above all of this noise.
Read the Full Article over at BrandStorytelling
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Film
Discover the future of film and storytelling at [Future of Film] Summit, the essential event for creators and businesses looking to succeed in the new landscape. Taking place at BFI Southbank, London on 26th November, the event will feature world-class speakers behind works such as AD ASTRA, BLADE RUNNER 2049 and BLACK MIRROR as well as hands-on sessions on the latest tech / strategies including virtual production, worldbuilding, interactive storytelling and brand-funding - plus amazing networking across film and media. The full schedule and tickets are available now. I've participated in other events from Future of Film, and the organizer, Alex Stolz, always puts together a stellar line-up and event. Highly recommended if you can attend.
How will HBO Max compete with Netflix and others? BGR has a quick run-down of how HBO Max will work - which is as a stand-alone offering, where you don't even need cable, and you get everything that's on HBO Now and HBO Go (confusing) as well as a ton of other content... for around $15 a month. T'ain't cheap, but that's a lot of films and shows.
“Don’t make me have to call every director and show creator on Earth to fight you on this,” (Apatow) wrote. “Save me the time. I will win but it will take a ton of time. Don’t fuck with our timing. We give you nice things. Leave them as they were intended to be seen.” That's Judd Apatow as reported in The Guardian, just a little angry with Netflix for trial testing a feature that lets users watch films at different speeds on their phones. This should be fun to watch.
Are Memes Ruining Television? - GQ reports on the ugly phenomenon of shows having characters behave wildly just to get a social media meme going. Yuck, but apparently a new trend.
Disney Is New to Streaming, but Its Marketing Is Unmatched - The NYT breaks down the myriad ways that Disney can market its new service - everywhere. Kinda crazy, but smart too.
Think you’re going green by streaming everything? Think again - Streaming isn’t green - it takes a shit-load of electricity and it’s a problem. And while this article doesn’t go into it, the same thing applies to cloud computing, gaming and bitcoin mining. We humans find clever ways to screw with the earth. Can’t wait til the robots take over and realize they don’t need to worry about climate change, as only we will die.
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Branded Content
Porsche, Lucasfilm To Jointly Design Starship - MediaPost reports on a new branded content effort where Porsche designers are teamed with LucasFilm artists to design a starship, with Wired documenting the process. It’s all at this website as well. Nice way to promote design thinking and a car.
United incorporates Star Wars into its safety videos - that's some content marketing that might make you watch a safety video, and buckle up for the flight.
The New Yorker launched a documentary channel. It might be good. Couldn't tell you though, because it had a big, long ad in front of it that couldn't be skipped.
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Miscellany:
Kickstarter Co-Founder Yancey Strickler has a new book out: And it's high on my reading list. Yancey was not only a smart business leader, he's one of the smarter people i've been lucky to meet. He's introduced me to several authors I like, I imagine he'll join that list soon. Here's the blurb from Amazon, where you can buy it:
A vision for building a society that looks beyond money and toward maximizing the values that make life worth living, from the cofounder of Kickstarter. Western society is trapped by three assumptions: 1) That the point of life is to maximize your self-interest and wealth, 2) That we're individuals trapped in an adversarial world, and 3) That this is natural and inevitable. These ideas separate us, keep us powerless, and limit our imagination for the future. It's time we replace them with something new.
The Rap Guide Series by Baba Brinkman hits SoHo Playhouse - Baba Brinkman is a genius - he puts together rap performances around intellectual concepts - evolution, climate change and neuroscience among others - and makes them into entertaining, comedic and educational performances. He’s premiering a new one on Culture and revisiting all of his past ones at the SoHo Playhouse in November. A must-see if you live in or are visiting NYC.
 Terry Allen doc on iTunes - Ok, I was ashamed when I finally watched this film and realized I didn’t know anything about Terry Allen. I’m glad Scott Ballew (of one-time client, Yeti Cooler’s film division) made this doc about him and his music. It’s available for pre-order now on iTunes. Here’s the description: Cult musician and artist Terry Allen is revered by the world’s creative elite, but is far from a household name. Fringe even in the fringe world of artists, musicians, and renegades of the 70’s, Terry’s voice is perhaps just now reaching the audience it deserves. ‘Everything For All Reasons’ sheds a comprehensive light on his body of work and life, and is punctuated with songs from a star studded concert at Austin’s Paramount Theater. Almost the antithesis of the Rock N Roll cliché, Allen shares the stage with his wife of 55 years, two sons, and life-long friends. The film includes behind-the-scenes rehearsals and interviews with legendary musicians that collaborate and have been influenced by Terry -David Byrne (Talking Heads), Joe Ely (Flatlanders), Lloyd Maines, Charlie Sexton (Bob Dylan), and Ryan Bingham. All pieced together to answer the question who the Hell is Terry Allen, and why haven’t you heard of him?
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