Validating the idea

In the startup world, validating a new business idea before investing significant capital or time in a new product is hugely important. Either validating by performing the actions an app would perform manually, without hiring engineers to build a working prototype. Or by testing the marketplace with Facebook ads.

I don't see why this isn't more prevalent in film. In film, many times you invest a huge amount of capital and time in a film, all based on a hunch that you think it's a good idea. It's inefficient with huge potential downside.

Comedians frequently talk about not knowing whether or not a joke is going to be funny until they tell it on stage, in front of an audience. And they can spend years honing the joke, all based on a combination of feedback from the audience and their artistry.

I know musicians have been caught off guard, thinking a song wasn't that great, but it ended up being the most popular song on the album.

But when you talk about filmmakers adjusting their film based on feedback from the audience, people get squirrely. It's as if people expect a 2 hour story to come straight out of the filmmakers mind, fully and perfectly formed. It's unrealistic.

Comedians = jokes, worked out on stage
Musicians = songs, worked out on stage
Filmmakers = shorts, worked out online 

The only problem with this formula, is with comedians and musicians you've got a paying audience. And the behavior of a paying customer is much different than the opinion of someone getting something for free. They go over this in Eric Ries's, The Lean Startup. Paying customers for a new product are early adopters. And watching the behavior of early adopters, who are interested enough in your idea to spend their hard earned money is much different than getting the opinion of someone who has enough time on their hands to be part of a focus group. It's an entirely different set of people, in addition to watching behavior versus getting someone's opinion.

Maybe I should charge for the shorts, as a way to gauge interest and make sure I only get paying, early adopter behavior.

But I'm hesitant to charge for shorts. I'll probably end up testing both ways.