What Filmmaking Has Taught Me About the World of Marketing
As the marketing world evolves, it is the responsibility of marketing professionals to evolve as well. My story isn't exactly linear, but like a good movie, it has taken me on a journey that I would never had imagined. Seven years ago, I was sitting in my first Marketing class ever with professor Arnaldo at ESPM, a marketing-focused institute in Sao Paulo, Brazil. During that lecture, he taught me that marketing should satisfy costumer's wants and needs, and beyond that, someone could be happy being a Santos FC fan (Ok, it’s a Brazilian soccer joke but I couldn't leave it out). That particular day was the start of four amazing years in school.
With the end of my second year fast approaching, I had to start looking for an internship. Even before going to school, I already knew what internship I was going to aim for: A Sports Marketing Firm. I had the opportunity to interview for ESPN. The interview process was exhausting and I had made it to the final steps of the process, but they decided not to go with me. At that moment, I felt like I wasn’t going to make it in the industry. But as luck would have it, Red Bull had offered me an internship. HO*Y S*IT, we are talking about Red Bull, a very reputable brand in Brazil (And on top of that, I was able to brag to all of my buddies). A year and eight months of hard and relentless work went by, but what I got was a lifetime of incredible experiences. It paved the way for me to become a Marketing Specialist at 21, managing the Student Brand Managers team in Sao Paulo. By the time I turned 22, I was also looking after the Wings team (you probably have received a chilled can from them), as well as the Sports and Culture programs outside of Sao Paulo. It took four years of working in a branded content mecca to realize that content marketing was my sweetspot. Sports Marketing sounded cool, but have you ever noticed what a good story can do for attracting people to a brand?
You’d think that I had it all, but I found that there was something more that I wanted. I felt that there was more that I needed to learn. I decided to leave my fun and comfortable life in Brazil and make the move to Los Angeles to study Film and TV Development at UCLA Extension. Part of my decision to make this jump came from a chat with Martha Terenzzo, a professor at ESPM (who also happens to be the director of her own company, a freelance consultant and an author). Her experiences and opinions about what was going on in the marketing world convinced me to turn my attention towards cinema. More than her good advice, she has given me the opportunity to share my experience at UCLA Extension to her students at ESPM. So this is exactly what I will try to do.
Before I get started, there is necessary information that I need to impart to you. In my opinion, this is what made UCLA the best choice for the path I embarked upon:
1- There really aren’t any consolidated certificates specializing in Branded Content at academic institutions worldwide. (It just isn’t a thing)
2- Los Angeles -> Hollywood -> Storytelling
3- Basically the Film and Television Development certificate trains you to identify well written stories for Film and TV within a Hollywood context. Studios and networks, such as Sony and Netflix, either receive a lot of material on a daily basis, or invest a lot of resources to have writers focus on their next big bet. And that is the reason why the development process came to be necessary. It is at this point where scripts will be read, evaluated, and filtered, in which the good ones will be selected and fine tuned, in the hopes that production may begin.
4- UCLA Extension is one of the best cost-benefit options for long-term certificates overseas. Generally, it will take from nine months to a year.
As you may have noticed by now, this certificate is not about marketing. It is however, my goal to bring what I’ve learned in the course and connect it to the world of Branded Content Marketing.
The Script Development certificate is part of UCLA Extension’s Entertainment Studies program, which includes all fields related to Film and TV production. It is because of this that the certificate blends various aspects of the entertainment industry, like pre and post-production, and The Business of Entertainment. The program is set up so that you take these “foundation” courses in conjunction with courses that specialize in a particular field. Listed below are two links that showcase the courses you’re able to take at UCLA Extension.
ENTERTAINMENT STUDIES -> here
DEVELOPMENT COURSES -> now here
If you explore the Development link above, you will be able to check each course's description, which mirrors the in class experience. During the last few days before I moved to Los Angeles, I was constantly asked the million dollar question by family and friends: "What is it exactly that you're going to be doing in America?" To avoid long and awkward conversations, I simply replied "I'm studying content production at UCLA, learning how to tell better stories." End of story. I'd be lying if I told you that I knew exactly what I was going to be doing in America. But what I told everyone back home wasn't that far off from the truth.
The program's aim is to help identify the components of a good story and with the writer, highlighting these components in the development process, along with understanding how the Entertainment Industry works (Just to be clear, this isn't a screenwriting certificate). The development executive is one of the most important voices in bringing a script into production (AKA The famous green light).
HOLLYWOOD LOGIC
After being in the program for a while, you begin to understand the key components of the entertainment industry: Both the business side as well as the creative side.
The program's requirements include foundation courses which helps one understand the steps involved in the film and television process from its initial inception to its release on various platforms, so that you know exactly how projects like "Mother!" and "Game of Thrones" came to be. One of the most important courses in understanding the process is entitled Pre-Production and Production for Film and Television. Classes are taught from a producer's point of view in order to help you better understand what goes in to making a film or television show: From finding an idea or concept to be produced either from a book, a magazine article, or setting up an option with a writer, to breaking down the script to address wardrobe and prop needs. In short, the producer is responsible for connecting all the dots that will eventually make the project happen.
On the other side of the spectrum, Post-Production for film and Television focuses on the last stages of a project, in particular the editing and finishing processes. Now, you won't walk out of this class an amazing editor, but you will learn that the first step of editing is entitled "offline", that the director, producer and studios will secure their spots in the cutting schedule, and furthermore, color correction, sound design, and VFX magic will take place during the "online" stage. To be honest, it isn't the most exciting class I've ever taken, but it brought a higher understanding of the overall process of productions for someone who isn't familiar with it. It also is of great beneift when working with post production staff on a Branded content project. In addition to learning about the post production process, I had the great fortune of visiting two of the largest companies in the Entertainment industry, Technicolor and Sony Studios. At Sony, I was able to witness one of the coolest jobs ever, a Folley artist. Watch this video and you will understand what I am talking about.
While still on the business side, I chose an Entertainment Marketing Course as an elective. The entertainment and marketing industries are very similar in that they both try to get something out of the other: Marketing takes advantage of film and television by viewing what the industry is creating and tries to emulate it in their projects, while the Entertainment industry uses marketing as a tool to entice people to head to the theaters. The class is filled with an eclectic mix of people: there are the young filmmakers who are trying to figure out the best way to promote their work, as well as the marketing group who are looking for a better understanding on how to best sell projects, whether in film or television. The first thing that caught my attention was the concept of "marketability", in other words how selllable are the key elements of a film. These elements include the plot, as well as casting. It could be an amazing script, but if it isn't marketable to a broad audience, it would then become a harder sell. In today's industry, Marketing executives play an extremely important part in the decision making process. They are able to determine whether or not a particular project has a target audience. The marketing industry is no longer seen as a foreigner in Hollywood…
Now, as someone who's worked in the marketing industry, what caught my attention was the film industry's use of VR, or Virtual Reality as a tool for promoting a film. To be honest, it was pretty shocking to see how powerful it is becoming and how it is increasingly being explored as a marketing tool to attract a broader audience. There is a lot to be discussed on this issue due to the fact that they are still testing the marketing effects of VR, and how the industry can use VR's full potential to attract larger audiences. I won't delve into this topic here but I have included two links so that you're able to see how films have made use of VR to promote their film launches within the past year. It'll be even better if you have an Oculus Rift by your side.
Alien: Covenant — In Utero Experience
Shifting the gear towards the creative side (aka Hollywood storytelling), the courses in the program place a priority on a key element (which sometimes is disassociated with art of filmmaking), which is the reliance on process, in otherwords, having a screenwriting blueprint. The best course I've taken up until this point, delves into script structure. It looks at how to properly break down a script, and what goals are each plot point supposed to fulfill. Story Analysis breaks down the three act structure of a film and the plot points that exist within each act. In the first act, the protagonist will be struck to their core by an incident, and will have to make a decision that will alter their life path. This decision drives the story further, building conflict and raising the stakes of the character until the climax of the film. Quoting one of my teachers; "You put the cat up in a tree. You set the tree on fire. The cat now has to learn how to escape by itself." Evil? Perhaps, but the concept sticks to your mind.
Luckily for those of us who can't stand the three act film structure that's been cemented in our pysche, the course also showcases films that have played with the structure and have been extremely successful as a result. An example of this (and also a shout out to a film that has a terrible name when translated into portuguese, but is still one of my favorites of all time) is Silver Linings Playbook. The course also examines the key components of film and the differences between Film and a Television show's structure.
Speaking of films that blend comedy and drama, I had the pleasure of taking a course entitled "Understanding Genre: How to make Hollywood Classics". Each genre carries its own conventions, and being aware of them allows you to be more creative as a storyteller. If speaking about comedy, a contrast between characters might be the best key to reaching the ultimate goal: laughter. If you need a bit more clarity on this topic, this link should help. When speaking of fantasy, keeping in mind that the audience will only take ONE big lie is important, and will assure you that you'll have their attention until the very last frame of the film. Moving on to drama, character is key. Knowing where to begin your character's story and where to end it is of extreme importance. It may sound basic but it makes a world of a difference. I return to the example of "Mother!" because I feel that this is a worthy example. Many moviegoers went in thinking they were viewing a horror story but in reality, the film was going in so many directions that it couldn't be framed as a conventional horror picture. This might be one of the reasons for its lackluster reviews.
I'm a quarter away from graduating but I still have courses and interesting topics to cover such as the "Visual and Narrative strategies for Film and TV", and "Producing Documentaries". My friends always asked me what I was going to be doing in America, and thanks to this program, I have a better understanding of what that is.
OK, BUT WHERE IS MY PACKSHOT?
After only seeing the word "Marketing" mentioned in one course, I assume that there are a number of people in my industry wondering when the impactuful four second signature logo will pop out. They're thinking "Where does Marketing fit into this discussion?". The truth is that it isn't welcomed in the program. This program is about filmmaking. It's about telling a story and allowing the viewers to escape their daily lives and indulge in fantasy for a couple of hours or so. And so is what Branded content is trying to be. Brand become the creator. There are times when I question myself if I made the right choice by studying filmmaking, but everytime that I notice that I now know how to tell a better story thanks to this program, I feel that I'm following the right path. I can go forward knowing that whether I'm working on a four minute short for a brand with an agency, writing a script to send to a client, or brainstorming about a Branded Content's film cinematography, I'll have an upper hand in the matters, and because of that, the future looks very exciting.
I would like to have all the answers right now so I could share them with you. Unfortunately it isn't yet possible. That is why you should save this link and come back in the near future so you can check my updates about the rest of my adventure.
Written by Luigi Madormo.
For the Portuguese version, click here.
