Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia is constantly supporting up-and-coming filmmakers around the world. With the changing climate in the era of cryptocurrency, SSFF & ASIA wants to break down how this shift in funding can benefit those who are looking to break into the industry.
SSFF & ASIA teamed up with Visual Voices Inc. to launch its newest project, NFT Global Cinema Market, to educate filmmakers about the dark secrets and expectations of cryptocurrency. The changing landscape is something all filmmakers and fans of cinema should be aware of as it will more than likely be the future of filmmaking.
At the online seminar, “NFT and Cinema,” festival president Tetsuya Bessho was joined by Taichi (director of EDLEAD) and Takahito Kagami (CEO of CoinPost Co., Ltd.) to talk about new filmmaking methods in the Web 3.0 era.
You can watch the entire discussion on blockchain and NFT technology in modern-day filmmaking below, and we will highlight our takeaways from it.
The internet has made it easier for everyone to consume media and content. Each day, more and more content is uploaded to Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, while filmmakers start to feel frustrated by time-consuming and seemingly never-ending film production.
Kagami spoke about the current state of film production, saying, “When something is difficult to make, we usually expect better results because of the time and money we spend. By connecting the creators and their fans, it will make the production process easier and will shed a light [on] many creators.”
Taichi said, “Until now, there was no verbalization of the process of filmmaking, and Japan tends to not speak clearly. However, when this generation changes and uses NFT, it is possible to optimize the production.”
The industry is going through a major shift as cryptocurrency and online media become more and more dominant in our world. The film industry has always struggled to keep up with the times, and director Taichi believes it is time to make the industry more flexible for up-and-coming filmmakers.
“It is the matter of how we will adapt and change [the industry] to the 21st century, and how NFTs come into it all,” Bessho said during the film festival. One way to make production easier for filmmakers is through crowdfunding or selling NFTs.
Until recently, movies had to be traded as copyrighted works or completely funded from the pockets of the filmmakers. But crowdfunding and NFTs give the artist the power to have their films funded by their audiences and supporters.
It is important to understand the differences between crowdfunding and NFTs when sourcing revenue for your production.
According to Kagami, “Crowdfunding is a contract between individuals and movies. Making it a sell-and-buy contract.”
Crowdfunding is an indie filmmaker’s typical way of funding a film, but it is typically limited to a local community. Unlike crowdfunding, NFTs can be sold globally, allowing filmmakers to connect and interact with a wider audience. NFTs belong to a semi-anonymous community of supporters.
“Individuals can participate in problems and issues while making movies together,” Kagami said. “The management side can make operational changes that directly and continuously give and receive benefits.”
Kagami said of selling NFTs to fund a project, “When co-producing an animation, even if the audience rating of the first series were not good, knowing that there are fans will allow them to continue making seasons.”
Funding is a huge issue when it comes to filmmaking. It is one of the most difficult processes of pre-production. Investors will hesitate to give a lot of money to a project if they don’t believe they will get their money back. But NFTs can help eliminate some of that stress of finding funding that many indie filmmakers are all too familiar with.
“With NFT, it is possible to know the people who have been participating from the beginning, so when there is a big profit from the box office, it is possible to set up a large return to early investors,” Kagami said.
There is a large market for those interested in NFTs and who are looking to help filmmakers without committing to investing a large sum of money.
“Movies are made by humans. By using NFT technology and its techniques, each artist can be valued more,” Taichi said. “For example, the cycle of movie directors having to find sponsors to fund their movies will be broken down.”
Since NFTs can be sold to anyone around the globe, the market for investors is ultimately larger. Kagami explained, “Centralized leaders are absolutely necessary for film production, but creators want to try more things and search for people that have the same ideas. I think it will be important to create an environment where we can network.”
The future of filmmaking involves the audience’s participation in the creation of work they want to see. Studio executives will not hold as much power over what is or is not made because the funding is coming from the audience.
When considering creating an NFT to fund your project, Kagami said there are four characteristics to keep in mind. Those four characteristics are:
The investors of a film’s production and the community that is interested in supporting filmmaking have great value in the future of the industry. Kagami believes that the unprecedented innovations of community management are based on the creator’s own rules of the NFT.
Taichi said at the end of the panel, “There is a chance for every artist to be famous.”
Bessho added, “You can be the player to watch,” by purchasing the artist’s NFT.
You can check out The Rhetoric Star project to learn more about creating NFTs to fund your future projects. This is a new adventure that everyone is learning to navigate together, but don’t be afraid to take that risk and start the conversation in your filmmaking community.
Let us know what you think in the comments!
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