About Film Shaper

Film Shaper explores metadata-driven filmmaking to enhance both discoverability and emotional resonance, bridging the gap between creation and audience.

At Film Shaper Lab, I am establishing a video-centric research approach dedicated to optimizing films for discoverability by employing holistic, interconnected strategies that go beyond traditional SEO. This lab complements my personal research interests in the field. As a filmmaker and researcher, I’m continuously learning how to bridge the gap between creative storytelling and digital optimization, striving to integrate these diverse disciplines into the filmmaking process from its earliest stages.

A Blueprint for Cinematic Matchmaking: The Art of Dual Storytelling or The Art of Film Shaping

We might craft compelling stories through our films, but if we don’t translate those stories into the language of search engines and recommendation algorithms, our films are essentially ‘naked’ in the digital world. They lack the vocabulary of the internet – keywords, links, metadata, and structured data – that create a rich web of information and connect content with audiences online. This is why it’s crucial to build a digital blueprint early on, weaving a narrative that resonates with both human viewers and the algorithms that guide them to our work.

This type of translation, film shaping, as I define it, demands a unique blend of skills and expertise, operating at the crossroads of cinema, marketing, computing sciences, and technology. In today’s digital landscape, filmmakers and producers must not only master storytelling but also navigate the intricacies of digital marketing, SEO, and audience engagement. This holistic approach is essential not only for creating discoverable films but also for aligning all phases in the film’s life and crafting compelling pitches that naturally attract stakeholders and secure the resources needed to bring cinematic visions to life.

From Chaos to Clarity.
Why Film Shaper?

As an independent filmmaker myself, I know firsthand the challenges we face in getting our films seen and heard. It’s a constant battle against algorithms, limited budgets, the struggle for distribution, and a seemingly endless sea of content. We pour our hearts and souls into our work, but sometimes it feels like our creations are lost in the vast digital wilderness, never finding their intended audience.

And let’s be real – we’re not all geniuses. We have moments of brilliance, sure, but we also have days when the creative well runs dry or times when our films are not the masterpieces we hoped for. We struggle with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and the fear that our work will never truly connect with viewers.

But here’s the thing: every film has a chance to shine. Every story, every vision, every unique perspective has a real opportunity to be discovered and appreciated. That’s why I created Film Shaper. Because with billions of web pages out there, a crushing majority (over 90%) don’t get any traffic – and that translates into a massive opportunity for filmmakers who are willing to take action. But it also means we need to truly understand how the online world works.

Film Shaper is more than just an experimental ground for my research – it’s a mission to empower independent filmmakers and video creators. It’s a laboratory of ideas, a playground for experimentation, and a community of like-minded creators, researchers, and SEO experts curious about the particularities of film production and online distribution who believe that filmmaking can be a sustainable career. Because in a world where video content and video marketing strategies prevail, it should be.

I’m not here to turn a film into a formulaic blockbuster. I’m here to help me and you refine and amplify our authentic voice as we discover and develop it, connect with the audience seeking our work, and start meaningful conversations.

I believe that with the right tools, strategies, and support, every filmmaker can overcome the challenges of the digital age and build a thriving career doing what they love. Or, at the very least, survive until that grand encounter with the opened doors of film distribution… or virality.

So, whether you’re a seasoned filmmaker or just starting, Film Shaper’s purpose is to help you understand the web’s mechanics and effortlessly navigate the ever-changing landscape of film promotion and distribution across online ecosystems.

We’ll focus on the basics: the optimization of film production process for organic visibility and discoverability.

The Art and Science of Film Optimization: A New Frontier for Filmmakers and a Paradigm Shift

In the current digital landscape, the success of a film is no longer solely determined by its artistic merit or theatrical release. The ability to navigate the vast online world and connect with the right audience is paramount. This is where film optimization comes into play, is a multi-faceted and holistic approach that encompasses various strategies from the first idea and word in a script to enhance a film’s organic discoverability, visibility, and engagement online.

Why Film Optimization Differs from Video Optimization

Film optimization diverges from traditional content and video optimization in several key ways:

• Complex Storytelling: Unlike a blog post or product description or video, a film is a complex narrative with multiple layers of information (plot, genre, characters, themes, visuals, cast, crew, equipments, locations, and many other evolving narratives) that need to be communicated effectively online.
• Multi-Platform Presence: Films exist across various platforms – websites, YouTube, social media, streaming services, movie shops, content aggregators, and more. Optimizing a film requires a holistic approach that considers each platform’s unique algorithms and audience behaviors, but also metadata planning and structuring data.
• Emotional Connection: Film is an art form that evokes emotions and creates connections with viewers. Optimization strategies must account for this emotional dimension, focusing on keywords and metadata that resonate with the target audience’s feelings and interests.
• Industry-Specific Challenges: The film industry has unique challenges, such as limited marketing budgets for independent films, active participation in development, fundraising programs and film festivals during various stages of production, reliance on word-of-mouth marketing, and the need to generate buzz and anticipation before a film’s release. Optimization strategies need to address these specific challenges right from the gate.

The Problem with Optimizing Only Completed Films

Currently, many filmmakers and film distributors approach optimization as an afterthought, focusing on promoting a film only after it’s completed. This is often a less effective approach. Optimizing a film only after it’s finished is like trying to build a house on a faulty foundation. While some improvements can be made, the fundamental structure is already set. It limits your options and leads to missed opportunities.

The Power of Pre-Distribution Optimization

By incorporating an optimization process from the very beginning of the filmmaking process, we can create a “distribution-ready” film that is primed for organic discoverabilty. This involves:

• Keyword Research: Analyzing the search demand by identifying relevant keywords and incorporating them into the script, treatment, logline, tagline, synopsis, and other early marketing, festival, film markets and fundraising materials.
• Metadata Planning: Strategically crafting film’s metadata that align with the film’s target audiences in its various stages of production in the context of search and AI-driven digital infrastructure.
• Structured Data: Enhancing the online discoverability of films and their stories by leveraging innovative approaches to Schema Markup language.
• Visual Storytelling with SEO in Mind: Considering elements that resonate with the target audience and search terms during writing, filming, editing, early website pages, teasers, trailers, interviews, film festivals submissions, and press releases.
• Early Audience Building: Developing an online presence, engaging and growing the target audience before the film’s release and its entrance in film festivals circuit.
• Website Optimization: Building a film website that is aligned with the filmmaker’s vision, optimized for search engines and designed to capture leads and build anticipation right from the start.
• Monitoring, analyzing, and adjusting optimization strategies with data analytics

Film Shaper is at the forefront of this paradigm shift, advocating for a more holistic and proactive approach to independent film marketing and communication. By adopting a pre-distribution approach and incorporating film shaping strategies throughout its entire lifecycle, we can create a film that is not only creatively fulfilling but also strategically positioned to reach its full potential in the digital landscape. We practically extend its narrative and audiences, it’s lifecycle.

After all, every film, regardless of its critical acclaim or artistic merit, has its own unique audience waiting to discover it. That’s the driving force behind Film Shaper. Simple as that.

Reimagining Film Marketing: An Experiment in Progress

As a filmmaker and researcher, I’m fascinated about the fusion of creativity and technology. Film Shaper is my playground for exploring this intersection, where I combine the artistic passion of filmmaking with the analytical rigor of research, my problem-solving skills honed in open innovation, and my business acumen to empower myself and other filmmakers in the digital age.

Film Shaper research-driven approach facilitates my experiments with real-world promotional strategies and track the results. This allows me to uncover hidden patterns, identify what works (and what doesn’t), enhance my creativity and my relationship with AI tools, and develop personalized digital blueprints that can help films and filmmakers connect with their audiences from present and future.

I believe that by combining my creative instincts with data-driven and business insights, I can offer myself and other independent filmmakers a unique and effective approach to expand a film’s outreach and lifespan. I test, I refine, and I share my findings openly.

Films as Evolving and Adaptable Narratives

The concept of adaptable narratives is all about the idea that films should not be isolated experiences that fade into obscurity after their premiere. Instead, they should be treated as evolving stories that grow and develop alongside algorithms, AI, and audience tastes and behaviours, staying relevant and discoverable on virtual shelves for years to come. It’s about creating emotional intelligent films: resonant, resilient and relevant.

The goal is to learn how to equip any film for online visibility and discoverability, regardless of its cinematic quality or our personal opinions about it.

By embracing the concept of films as adaptable narratives, we can breathe new life into our creations, ensuring they continue to captivate and inspire audiences for years to come. Not only through optimization, but also through leveraging AI-powered tools and new technologies.

The Role of AI in Film Optimization: A Match Made in the Digital Heavens

Beyond traditional web optimization methods like Schema.Org, metadata standards, and other computing-guided strategies, I utilize an array of AI-powered tools in my film shaping journey. Gemini AI Studio, Adobe Express, Suno.AI, and Color.IO are just a few accesible companions aiding me in this endeavor. They help fill in the blanks, analyze trends, uncover hidden patterns, and tailor strategies to connect films with their audiences.

These tools also play a crucial role in generating artwork, sounds, music, and visuals, while simultaneously enhancing the overall film production process and fostering creativity. By harnessing the power of AI, I can achieve a level of speed and efficiency that would be impossible working alone. It’s a collaborative effort between human creativity and artificial intelligence, fueled by a shared passion for exploring new frontiers in filmmaking and indie film promotion.

I leverage AI tools also to bridge the gap between human creativity and algorithmic logic, but also between various AI algorithms, ensuring that my research-driven efforts resonate with both audiences and search engines. By harnessing the power of AI, I’m also exploring new ways to make the complex world of digital marketing more accessible and understandable for myself and other filmmakers.

Think of it as a modern-day alchemist’s workshop, but instead of gold, we’re crafting digital underlying strategies that sparkle and shine to forge new connections between art, humans and technology.

… and instead of Post Scriptum

As this may overlap in some points with my ongoing doctoral research, I won’t be able to share all my findings, analysis, strategies and thoughts at once, but I’ll be updating the Film Shaper Lab regularly with new experiments and insights. If you’re a filmmaker and want to enroll your film in my experiments or an IT or SEO expert who want to help, just let me know! We might end up co-writing several papers and who knows what else.