Digital Metrics for Filmmakers

Old World filmmakers were (are still?) focussed on festival premieres and getting a distribution deal with an established studio.

New World filmmakers are pioneering new models for circulation and revenue - and they're using new tools for measuring how their films and marketing messages are landing and being shared.

A July 10th, 2013 post to Mashable serves as a great intro to the techniques some New World storytellers are using to measure engagement and spreadability.  Although the July 10th, 2013 Mashable post doesn't cover specific online motion picture analytics (some of which are proving especially valuable to New World filmmakers - like the Audience Retention graph available from YouTube, see image above), the Mashable post will serve as a starting point for filmmakers just dipping their toes into the New World.

If you want your film (or the message about the availability of your film on traditional platforms) to spread online, your understanding of Key Performance Indicators can be crucial.

And it isn't just analyzing your own data that can inform how you market your film. If you understand the metrics and know where to look, you can use the experiences of prior motion picture marketers to plan your social media campaign to optimize the spread of your videos online. So, for example, if you're not sure when to drop your new video online, there is some data that suggests that Wednesdays might just be "the optimal day for launch."

Many film schools and film teachers have been slow to appreciate how the old paradigms are being replaced by new practices and ideas. But some New World film educators are beginning to share tips and ideas about the available analytic tools. And using data to tweak your online presence (e.g., recent data indicates that social networks can be activated to spread your film, simply by adding a social sharing button to emails to core fans) is rapidly becoming a core competency for New World filmmakers.