👋🏽 One of those filmmakers that made a movie off social media 11 years ago. Gotta say it truly is a struggle to hold on to / build an audience through platform changes and algorithmic vicissitudes while simply surviving this business. They’re both such demanding jobs. One where you make and develop work you’re not allowed to own or talk frankly about in public. The other an Olympics of authentic extroversion where the thing you’re best at (long form high production value mass media) rarely yields huge returns. Hopeful hearing there are real efforts to bridge this gap. Change is needed. 🤙🏽
Thank you for the comment Justin, Im a HUGE fan! DWP is true art man, and the series was an incredible expansion of the world you built in the film. Your journey with that material should be a roadmap for long form creators going forward.
Spike Lee knew this in the 80’s. A kid raised in a two parent home in a brownstone smartly played that down and shot ads of himself selling socks to make his films.
I grew up on the other side of Brooklyn in the projects. I was sold.
Even though I was 10 I was a fan. And being the 80’s we kids finagled the grapevine to get a copy of School Daze and Do the Right Thing.
His ad campaigns and his image locked us in.
He made merch for his films, who was doing that in the 80’s? He opens a store in pre gentrified, crack was king and in much deadlier Fort Green.
You had major drug crews just blocks from his store. The store like Apples store was a 24/7-365 advertisement for Spike and he’d have his current film painted on to the store front. He jumped on books which were just his film journals. Brilliant move.
He took the behind the scenes from its fly on the wall style and instead showed you how he built Sal’s Pizzeria on a live block not a studio lot.
He hired crackheads. He hired kids on the block. All of that was his way of creating a fan base.
How you think that block in Bed Stuy felt once Do The Right Thing debuted? And then they were like oh his store is two train stops away.
Spike has been ahead of this for decades. He borrowed from the music industry.
Go look at Def Jam merch and look at 40 Acres and Mule. He used that nimble nature of musicians-dad was a jazz artists-and applied it to film marketing.
He also was way ahead of earning a living outside of shooting films; the store, the books, the merch, and he also shot music videos and a whole bunch of ads for prominent ad firms in New York.
People only think he shot the Jordan ads. Nah son he was shot a lot of ads for years.
So what we need to do now is what he did just do it digitally.
Couldn’t agree more! He’s also the first filmmaker I know of that had a signature tag: a Spike Lee Joint. Brilliant branding and creation of a storytelling ecosystem.
While I agree with you, I also worry that a lot of docs will get lost because not every director can also build their audience. But it is the only path forward now.... there are not other options!
Agreed! It’s why I think there could be a real opportunity for someone from the creator world who understands the tools of audience building, as well as the particular strengths/weaknesses of doc filmmakers, to provide immense value to the film side!
I pivoted to helping filmmakers and distributors with marketing and social media after a decade as a social/marketing strategist in other industries and was SHOCKED how behind the curve film distro in general is when it comes to current landscape of social, digital, creator economy, branded entertainment. Hell, you're lucky if they create a few canva template assets for your film and post twice about it to another wise defunct instagram channel.
It's paint-by-numbers film support with zero creativity or understanding how the 2025 digital media world works or how audiences consume and it's terrifying to me how behind the curve so much of it is.
Your post hits the nail on the head. It's 2025. As a filmmaker there are a bazillion free/low cost tools yoy can now access to grow your own community, share your filmmaker story, attract and communicate with collaborators, exhibitors, investors and fans directly and authentically. Don't spend your money on old school distro houses. Build your own brand and master your own content strategy. 💯
LOVE THIS! We are working around the clock on this intersection of the creatorsphere for our Valentine’s Day nationwide release of YOU, ME & HER, our award winning independent feature opening on 250+ screens. Please show out to support our film, we are the Alpha Test for a groundbreaking new platform called Attend that is poised to disrupt the traditional model in a way that could benefit everyone!
I am now in early in the process of directing (producing) my first feature and the one major change in my mindset is to focus on audience building and doing the mental gymnastics to reversing engineer budget to meet that goal of being financial sound /reasonable but keeping my artistic/commercial aspirations still pointed forward. I m actively thinking of my creative marketing even while I'm still in the script stage. It feels like it's absolutely necessary in today's environment.
I find your comments about the filmaker being part of the audience they're developing very interesting. I'm in development on my first documentary on activists. As a longtime activist I know these people intimately. I want to learn more about this approach. Can you ellucidate further or point me in the right direction?
As someone who built a 1.7M-follower audience from a chiropractic table working on animals and people, I couldn’t agree more.
The creator economy didn’t just change distribution—it rewired storytelling itself. You learn quickly that the edit bay starts the moment you press record, and that trust with your audience is your distribution. I see filmmakers and creators finally meeting in the same space: where authenticity, ownership, and connection matter more than permission.
I recently had a reminder of how far apart those worlds still are. An old-school producer tried to lock me into a “standard” long-term deal (10 years!)—without even acknowledging that my audience, content, and brand are the IP.
I should’ve known where it was headed when he kept calling YouTube “U-Tube.”
That mindset is the exact disconnect you’re describing: the refusal to see that creators aren’t waiting for a gatekeeper anymore—we’ve already built our own gates.
Depends if this creator economy is just pushing “content” vs. a “creative output”. Person doing flips off a yacht vs. careful time spent articulating their lives and stories.
This highlights the disconnect between traditional gatekeepers and the innovative, audience-first mindset of modern creators. While some are stuck in old-school distribution models, others are thriving by embracing authenticity, experimentation, and direct engagement. It’s almost like… listening to your audience, being authentic and adapting works? Wild concept. � #AdaptOrGetLeftBehind
👋🏽 One of those filmmakers that made a movie off social media 11 years ago. Gotta say it truly is a struggle to hold on to / build an audience through platform changes and algorithmic vicissitudes while simply surviving this business. They’re both such demanding jobs. One where you make and develop work you’re not allowed to own or talk frankly about in public. The other an Olympics of authentic extroversion where the thing you’re best at (long form high production value mass media) rarely yields huge returns. Hopeful hearing there are real efforts to bridge this gap. Change is needed. 🤙🏽
Thank you for the comment Justin, Im a HUGE fan! DWP is true art man, and the series was an incredible expansion of the world you built in the film. Your journey with that material should be a roadmap for long form creators going forward.
Spike Lee knew this in the 80’s. A kid raised in a two parent home in a brownstone smartly played that down and shot ads of himself selling socks to make his films.
I grew up on the other side of Brooklyn in the projects. I was sold.
Even though I was 10 I was a fan. And being the 80’s we kids finagled the grapevine to get a copy of School Daze and Do the Right Thing.
His ad campaigns and his image locked us in.
He made merch for his films, who was doing that in the 80’s? He opens a store in pre gentrified, crack was king and in much deadlier Fort Green.
You had major drug crews just blocks from his store. The store like Apples store was a 24/7-365 advertisement for Spike and he’d have his current film painted on to the store front. He jumped on books which were just his film journals. Brilliant move.
He took the behind the scenes from its fly on the wall style and instead showed you how he built Sal’s Pizzeria on a live block not a studio lot.
He hired crackheads. He hired kids on the block. All of that was his way of creating a fan base.
How you think that block in Bed Stuy felt once Do The Right Thing debuted? And then they were like oh his store is two train stops away.
Spike has been ahead of this for decades. He borrowed from the music industry.
Go look at Def Jam merch and look at 40 Acres and Mule. He used that nimble nature of musicians-dad was a jazz artists-and applied it to film marketing.
He also was way ahead of earning a living outside of shooting films; the store, the books, the merch, and he also shot music videos and a whole bunch of ads for prominent ad firms in New York.
People only think he shot the Jordan ads. Nah son he was shot a lot of ads for years.
So what we need to do now is what he did just do it digitally.
Couldn’t agree more! He’s also the first filmmaker I know of that had a signature tag: a Spike Lee Joint. Brilliant branding and creation of a storytelling ecosystem.
Omg THIS! Spike Lee was a cool merch and culture brand 50 years ago already, total legend! He knew what was what and he built his own path!
While I agree with you, I also worry that a lot of docs will get lost because not every director can also build their audience. But it is the only path forward now.... there are not other options!
Agreed! It’s why I think there could be a real opportunity for someone from the creator world who understands the tools of audience building, as well as the particular strengths/weaknesses of doc filmmakers, to provide immense value to the film side!
Really appreciate this article.
I pivoted to helping filmmakers and distributors with marketing and social media after a decade as a social/marketing strategist in other industries and was SHOCKED how behind the curve film distro in general is when it comes to current landscape of social, digital, creator economy, branded entertainment. Hell, you're lucky if they create a few canva template assets for your film and post twice about it to another wise defunct instagram channel.
It's paint-by-numbers film support with zero creativity or understanding how the 2025 digital media world works or how audiences consume and it's terrifying to me how behind the curve so much of it is.
Your post hits the nail on the head. It's 2025. As a filmmaker there are a bazillion free/low cost tools yoy can now access to grow your own community, share your filmmaker story, attract and communicate with collaborators, exhibitors, investors and fans directly and authentically. Don't spend your money on old school distro houses. Build your own brand and master your own content strategy. 💯
Spoken like my kind of filmmaker.
Let’s talk Emma! Would love to hear more about your approach!
LOVE THIS! We are working around the clock on this intersection of the creatorsphere for our Valentine’s Day nationwide release of YOU, ME & HER, our award winning independent feature opening on 250+ screens. Please show out to support our film, we are the Alpha Test for a groundbreaking new platform called Attend that is poised to disrupt the traditional model in a way that could benefit everyone!
https://www.indiewire.com/news/business/you-me-her-20-brand-partners-selina-ringel-interview-1235092328/
I am now in early in the process of directing (producing) my first feature and the one major change in my mindset is to focus on audience building and doing the mental gymnastics to reversing engineer budget to meet that goal of being financial sound /reasonable but keeping my artistic/commercial aspirations still pointed forward. I m actively thinking of my creative marketing even while I'm still in the script stage. It feels like it's absolutely necessary in today's environment.
I find your comments about the filmaker being part of the audience they're developing very interesting. I'm in development on my first documentary on activists. As a longtime activist I know these people intimately. I want to learn more about this approach. Can you ellucidate further or point me in the right direction?
As someone who built a 1.7M-follower audience from a chiropractic table working on animals and people, I couldn’t agree more.
The creator economy didn’t just change distribution—it rewired storytelling itself. You learn quickly that the edit bay starts the moment you press record, and that trust with your audience is your distribution. I see filmmakers and creators finally meeting in the same space: where authenticity, ownership, and connection matter more than permission.
I recently had a reminder of how far apart those worlds still are. An old-school producer tried to lock me into a “standard” long-term deal (10 years!)—without even acknowledging that my audience, content, and brand are the IP.
I should’ve known where it was headed when he kept calling YouTube “U-Tube.”
That mindset is the exact disconnect you’re describing: the refusal to see that creators aren’t waiting for a gatekeeper anymore—we’ve already built our own gates.
Fuck Sundance. It has nothing that represents true indie filmmakers. And is simply a promo vehicle for A list passion projects.
Depends if this creator economy is just pushing “content” vs. a “creative output”. Person doing flips off a yacht vs. careful time spent articulating their lives and stories.
This highlights the disconnect between traditional gatekeepers and the innovative, audience-first mindset of modern creators. While some are stuck in old-school distribution models, others are thriving by embracing authenticity, experimentation, and direct engagement. It’s almost like… listening to your audience, being authentic and adapting works? Wild concept. � #AdaptOrGetLeftBehind