DEGREE PROJECT IN COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, SECOND CYCLE, 30 CREDITS STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN 2017 Using crowdsourcing as a production method in filmmaking – a case study JOHAN LUNDH HEINSTEDT KTH ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND COMMUNICATION Using crowdsourcing as a production method in filmmaking – a case study Att använda crowdsourcing inom filmproduktion – en fallstudie Degree Project in Media Technology, second cycle, 30 credits Master of Science in Engineering in Media Technology School of Computer Science and Communications (CSC), KTH Johan Lundh Heinstedt, [email protected] Supervisor Christopher Rosenqvist Examiner Leif Handberg 2017-06-18 Sammanfattning Samtidigt som att våra beteendemönster i hur vi konsumerar media förändras i takt med att nya medieteknologier uppstår, förändras också sättet media produceras. Filmskapande följer många gånger en särskild process (ofta med en tydlig hierarki av specialister inom produktionsgruppen) och berättelsen har traditionellt sett berättats från en part till den andre – från producenten/regissören till publiken. Men internets intåg har i många avseenden förändrat filmindustrin, vilket har öppnat upp för en ökad dialog mellan dessa två parter, vilket har omformat publikens position till en mer medskapande sådan. Detta har resulterat i en större demokratisering av filmmediet, där den en gång passiva publiken nu involverar sig mer i den kreativa filmskapandeprocessen. Crowdsourcing, som redan är vanligt förekommande inom exempelvis produktdesign och serviceindustrier, har blivit en alternativ metod för att skapa kreativt innehåll. Med sociala medier som en möjliggörande faktor skapas hela filmer endast med hjälp av material inskickat från den framtida publiken. Denna studie ämnar svara på problemformuleringarna: “Vad krävs för att framgångsrikt använda crowdsourcing inom filmproduktion?”, samt delfrågorna “Vilken roll har sociala medier spelat i skapandet av crowdsourcade filmer?” och “Finns det någon framtid för crowdsourcing inom filmskapande?” Sex stycken film- och serie-produktioner av olika format har analyserats: två dokumentärer, tre webbserier och en TV-show. Denna studie har undersökt hur varje produktion har använt sig av crowdsourcing i dess produktionsprocess. Utöver det har en kvalitativ undersökning genom fem semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts, där varje intervjuobjekt har haft nyckelpositioner inom respektive produktion. Resultaten visade på ett starkt behov av att ha en redan väletablerad skara av följare eller ambassadörer innan man startar en crowdsourcing-kampanj. Sociala medier visade sig också vara en fundamental beståndsdel i möjliggörandet av detta, eftersom de skapar en omedelbar tvåvägskommunikation mellan producenten och publiken. Användandet av crowdsourcing kommer förmodligen att fortsätta, och metoden har fortfarande en ansenlig outforskad potential. Med anledning av metodens beroende av sociala medier, kommer fortsatt forskning inom området troligtvis att gynnas av att utforska samarbeten mellan filmskapande och interaktiva medier. Using crowdsourcing as a production method in filmmaking – a case study Johan Lundh Heinstedt KTH Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm, Sweden [email protected] ABSTRACT Keywords As our consumption behaviours of media and entertainment Filmmaking, Participatory culture, Crowdsourcing, New media change in the age of new media technologies, the means of technologies, Social media, Online communities. production change with them. Filmmaking usually follows a set procedure (often with clear hierarchy and specialised roles in the crew) and the flow of the narration has 1. INTRODUCTION traditionally followed a one-way direction, from the producing This chapter briefly summarises the premise of the thesis and part (the producer/director) to the receiving part (the audience). presents both the research questions and the limitations of this But since the arrival of the internet, its disruption of the paper. industry has opened up for an increased dialogue between the two, turning the receiving part to a contributing one. This has Film and motion pictures have existed since the end of the 19th resulted in a wider democratisation of the medium, where the century. However, compared to e.g. music, painting and theatre once passive audience now becomes more involved in the it is a much younger art form, partly because it is so heavily creative production process. dependent on technology (Balázs, 1970). As an art form, filmmaking is preeminently a creative process, although it is Crowdsourcing, already used frequently in service industries deeply integrated in the economical, technological and social and product design processes, has become an alternative aspects of the business as well. The social aspect, in this case method of creative content creation. Made possible through the referring to the exchange between the audience and the use of social media channels, entire films are now being producer, is a symbiosis that traditionally has been excluded till created with material submitted by its audience. This study after the release of a movie (Richter, 1950). This is now aims to answer the research questions: “What is required in changing thanks to the world wide web, and producers are now order to use crowdsourcing successfully in filmmaking?”, as able to engage with their “costumers” during the actual well as the sub-questions “What role has social media played production process (Sawhney et al., 2005). The strengthened in the making of crowdsourced films?” and “Is there a future in feedback loop is starting to blur the border between producer crowdsourcing within filmmaking?” and consumer, and begins to merge the communication platforms with the process itself, which in turn affects the Six cases of film and series productions, each of different creative outcome (Jenkins, 2006a). Not to mention the formats, were analysed; two documentary films, three web behaviours in media consumption, which have been subject to series and one TV show. In this study, the production approach substantial change since the emerging of new media for each case has been investigated, in order to see how they technologies (Jenkins, 2003). have used crowdsourcing in their processes. Five qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted and each These circumstances give birth to new production practices interviewee had held key positions in the making of their that permeate mainstream film productions (Telo, 2013) as well respective production. as on an amateur level (Jenkins, 2006a). Throughout history, art and culture has evolved through collaboration (Jenkins, The findings showed the strong need for having an already 2003), but when collective participation is applied in a digital well-established community in place before undertaking a setting, concepts such as authorship and creative expression are crowdsourced endeavour. The use of social media also appears being redefined (Literat, 2012). One such form of collective to be one of the fundamentally enabling factors for these types participation is referred to as “crowdsourcing”, where a public of projects, since it provides a platform for an immediate invitation (open call) is announced in order to gather ideas or dialogue between the two parties. creative content from a larger group of people (the crowd), according to Poetz and Schreier (2012). The same authors also Using crowdsourcing in film will presumably continue, but the observe this method to have gathered more attention in recent method has still considerable unexplored potential. Because of years, since it enables the public to collectively participate in it’s ingrained dependence on social media, future research the creation of various forms of art, through the use of online could benefit from exploring interdisciplinary collaboration platforms (Literat, 2012). between filmmaking and interactive media technologies. This paper aims to explore in what ways this method can be used with fruitful results to produce moving pictures in different formats. The following productions, ‘Life in a Day’, Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or ‘Inside’, ‘The Beauty Inside’, ‘Springsteen & I’, ‘The Power part of this work for personal or classroom use is Inside’, and ’HitRECord on TV’, will be investigated through a granted without fee provided that copies are not made case study. All of which, in one way or another, have used or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and crowdsourcing in order to produce its work. They will be put in that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the relation to a literature study on participatory culture (see first page. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on Background) and its family of subcategories. This study also servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior seeks to understand what role social media has played in the specific permission and/or a fee. developing process of each case, and if any future trends can !1 be extrapolated for crowdsourcing in film. Thus, the result will Even though the director is often the creative leadership of a be of interest to anyone looking at alternative ways to develop project, filmmaking is essentially a collaborative art form since media content through new media technologies. Understanding it includes a great number of specialist professions that are media production (in this case film) in the context of online each responsible for their respective department in order to participation culture opens up