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(MySpace) Odyssey

One of the most recent success stories in the movie industry was The Blair Witch Project. With a miniscule budget, the then unknown horror film used the Internet to promote itself. The film fuelled its own rumours as to its origins – with questions raised as to its authenticity. The Blair Witch Project went on to make $248 million worldwide at a cost of only $50,000.

The film industry has continued to rely on the web to create anticipation for upcoming films. This can be in the form of on-set blogs, production shots, or creating conversation and gossip through social networking sites.

Last week, Paramount Pictures and Facebook launched a new application which allowed members to access free film content. Known as VooZoo, users are able to pick favourite clips from movies such as Forrest Gump and display it on their page or send to their friends. They will then be able to purchase the full film by clicking on a button at the end of the clip.

Paramount is also hoping to use the application to promote new films such as the fourth Indiana Jones movie and the partnership is a first for Hollywood studios. There has always been a reluctance to part with their IP, but studio execs are finally realising the power of the conversation when it comes to marketing their films.

“The short clips for a movie that you’ve already seen before helps you relive the moment,” Paramount senior vice president of entertainment, Derek Broes told Associated Press. “My benchmark for success is that people are joining and sending.”

Nostalgia, intrigue and in some respects, bragging will all play a part in the success of the application. Social networks will amplify all these characteristics, in the same way the music industry has flourished in the social media space.

Last year’s popular comedy Superbad, used YouTube as a promotional tool. Its own YouTube channel was created which featured extended profiles of the main characters from the film as well as trailers and clips. Footage later appeared on the site purporting to show one of the main stars, Jonah Hill losing his temper at a British interviewer for posing inappropriate questions. As expected, the blogosphere buzzed with rumour and reaction. However, the rude Brit happened to be Shaun of the Dead director, Edgar Wright and the clip was staged. It later appeared on the extras section of the DVD.

More recently, Cloverfield used a variety of social media tools to create a buzz surrounding the movie. Cryptic websites, and the creation of fictitious companies were used along with MySpace pages for the characters and a teaser trailer. A blog site dedicated to revealing clues in the build up to the film was designed and continues to operate in the build up to the DVD release. These all worked to create a back story to the characters so that audiences were aware of the characters before knowing anything about it. This has been done offline countless times previously. The BBC show, How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria? and the X Factor have given audiences background knowledge on an artist before a song had been recorded or a show played.

However, it was the Internet which helped fuel the rumour mill with blogs and message boards operating like a game of Chinese whispers recorded and available to over a billion Internet users around the world. It has also allowed the movie experience to be more interactive, rather than having audiences merely waiting for the film’s release.

According to Jordan Stone, social media leader at PR agency Text 100, movie studios are beginning to realise that online marketing can do more than communicate the core facts of film.

“An important point is that none of Cloverfield’s marketing worked in isolation, and ultimately the success of the film was down to its online and viral campaign, helped along by fair bit of editorial support and an audience that was engaged, wanted to find out more and most importantly, wanted to talk about it. I’m looking forward to seeing a movie or studio that can top that,” he said.

Online marketing agency, Digital Outlook has created a loyal following on Bebo for nearly two years for the film, High School Musical. Katie Barber, buzz director of Digital Outlook predicts more film studios will follow Paramount’s initiative.

“Social media brings many opportunities for film marketers to reach out to fans and communities online. People make connections and share information with their online network all the time. This is incredibly important to film companies because people trust other people’s recommendations,” said Barber.

“The studios can no longer be precious about their content. Letting go of control has been a significant shift in film marketing. We have come to expect and in fact, feel good about those people who mash up film content and create their own customised versions. After all, the more times they are recreated, the more exposure that film will get,” she continued.