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link Seeking feedback from indie filmmakers

Hello everyone. My brother and I are independent filmmakers creating an online marketplace for indie filmmakers to find stories and network with collaborators. For years, we've seen an increasing level of self-sufficiency in the film community without the use of major studios and so we want to help facilitate this by connecting creatives to the right networks that work for their needs and tastes, which will foster more opportunities for people like us to advance outside of the Hollywood circles.

This is a very exciting endeavor because in our hometown, alone, we interact with dozens of freelancers who do commercial work during the day and on nights and weekends go off with their friends to make creative films in the hopes of making something that can be seen by millions and enjoyed for years. The only thing that's missing? Yeah. Stories.

There's a lot of great filmmaking talent outside of Hollywood, but most people only have good ideas at best. Most don't know how to write and land their ideas on the page the way writers know how to. So they need help either with cementing their ideas into a workable script or in just finding a story they can fall in love with as if it were their own.

And writers need opportunities because let's face it. Most people don't want to read scripts, even the people who do it for a living. You basically have to pack up, move to L.A, a very expensive city, and hustle for years, working multiple jobs and long hours just to even have a chance to get your script read. Then, there are the script competitions, which are analogous to waiting behind a fence to get your meal while being surrounded by millions of starving people.

It's a tough industry for filmmakers and writers, which is why everyone moves to L.A because there are more opportunities. But, with the right kind of application, we can create our own opportunities right where we are so no one has to leave for L.A and answer to a major studio if they're even lucky enough to get into that position. Because with the right connections on the right ideas at the right place and time, great stories can be made and sold. And that's honestly, what most of us signed up for when we got into this.

We still have a lot of work to do before we get a working prototype, but currently, we're doing some customer research, so we were wondering if anyone would be interested in filling out a quick google survey to help us better understand the problem we're trying to solve?

If so, feel free to fill it out here. We'd seriously appreciate the input, as I know everyone is very busy, but doing so will provide us with the insight we need to get this off the ground and get more movies made and more talent discovered.

There's a lot of tech entrepreneurs doing similar things, but they're just trying to digitize the current industry. What we want to do is help transform the industry from centralized powerhouses creating, marketing, and distributing films, to a coalescence of independent film entrepreneurs working within networks to make films that are wanted, not by executives or agencies, but by the global brain and local communities. We want our films to reflect what we are and what we want, not what's given to us. And it starts with a simple app.

So again, if you're interested in answering a few short questions to help us on our mission please, check out the google survey right here.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and looking forward to your responses!
 
Your very first question is a required field and none of the answers apply to me. I could only complete 0% of the survey sorry.

I thought it was kinda funny you wrote six long paragraphs before saying you know how busy everyone is and finally getting around to your point.
 
It's weird that name is required. Strange survey. Do you really need to know how many "Johns" vs. "Freds" work in film? :lol:
 
In order to get more answers I would:
  • Take out name, what's it for? If you want to know gender just ask, and don't make it required.
  • Make age not required or use ranges (or people could just put fake ones which does not help you).
  • Add a fill in the black field so people like sfoster can answer. Or None, Does Not Apply.
  • Take out the last question! Your whole point is making an app. We know apps use and share our info in some instances already. It scares people. You are just going to get a bunch of Nos. Don't ask if we would mind you share our info if it means better jobs. Just ask if we would enjoy an app that does that. The information part is inherent to all apps but you are just going to scare people into No answers when in fact they very well may use the app. You are nulling your own survey. ;)
 
Your last questions should be something like:
  • Would you be interested in an app that (does all this?) Y/N
  • What would you be willing to pay for this app? Free/.99/More (Subscription fee? etc.)
 
In order to get more answers I would:
  • Take out name, what's it for? If you want to know gender just ask, and don't make it required.
  • Make age not required or use ranges (or people could just put fake ones which does not help you).
  • Add a fill in the black field so people like sfoster can answer. Or None, Does Not Apply.
  • Take out the last question! Your whole point is making an app. We know apps use and share our info in some instances already. It scares people. You are just going to get a bunch of Nos. Don't ask if we would mind you share our info if it means better jobs. Just ask if we would enjoy an app that does that. The information part is inherent to all apps but you are just going to scare people into No answers when in fact they very well may use the app. You are nulling your own survey. ;)

Thanks for the feedback - I'm taking this back to my partner to see if we can adjust the form a bit based on this. To address a few things you mentioned:

- the name was just to help us organize - it's not important for the survey as a whole.
- age is important for us as it will help get a sense on our target demographic. This will help us frame the marketplace design, branding, and marketing strategies.
-add a fill in the blank - great idea. We updated the survey.
- The last question is very important for us because you are correct. It does scare people. And we believe strongly that digital data can be used in a way not to manipulate you, but to make your life easier and more fulfilling. In order to do this ethically, people need to have a clear understanding on how all apps are using their data. We also believe that users should have the ability to opt-out of sharing their data if they choose. This is extremely important for us both from an ethical standpoint and from a functional standpoint for our app.

We need to have an understanding of the current view of our target market so we can better tailor our approach when we launch the site. This may involve educational campaigns in terms of the possibility of using digital data in an ethical manner.

So far, the average has been very open to the idea of this which is great.
 
Your goal is not to educate people on how data is used in apps as a whole.

Your goal is to interest people in your own app.

I'm sorry but your question is just going to scare people. If I want to open a restaurant I will poll people on the food, I will not ask them if they know the dangers of food poisoning, and I will not tell them we are working against it. Can data be used maliciously? Yes. Can you get food poisoning in a restaurant? Yes. Will you scare people even though you are trying to point out the positives? YES!
 
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