In 2004, I binge watched The West Wing to catch up to the current episodes (it ran for two more seasons). I used my Netflix account to get the DVDs. Super cool for me since I grew up in a generation where if you did not watch a particular show it was gone unless you maybe caught some reruns in the summer or on syndicated TV.
Today, of course, binge watching and the ability to catch up to current episodes are what we all do or can do. Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and now Apple are banking on our insatiable desire for immediate content. You might think that all it means is we are able to consume more of what we want when we want it. And the Grand Canyon is a little hole in the desert.
Because our consumption for media, for story has changed, so too has the way stories are told. Here is an interview with the makers of Bloodline, another Netflix series, talking about how they changed the pacing of the story to capture the audiences that they knew were watching the series in huge chunks. They understood that engaging this audience, who controls consumption, is fundamentally different from engaging an audience where the storyteller controls consumption. Reveals are slower, character development much more nuanced, the climb to the final act multi-layered.
Oh if this were only a millennial story. Except 64% of Netflix’s audience is either Generation X or Baby Boomer. Our culture has shifted. About a billion people use Facebook every day, most for more than 20 minutes. And on and on I can go.
What does it mean for your creative business? Using my dear friend, Rebecca Grinnals, favorite quote from Will Rogers, “Even if you are on the right track, if you stand still, you are going to get run over.”
You have to believe that, if the way we all consume media has shifted, so too does the way we expect you, your art and your creative business to move us. Pretty is irrelevant if there is no meaning behind it. Why? Pretty is everywhere and it is getting cheaper every day. Whether you are a baker, a designer (graphic, event, interior, fashion, etc.), photographer (especially photographers) or architect, demonstrating the story you intend to tell, how you are going to tell it and why, is every bit as important as actually telling the story.
The tools you need to convey what your story will be are growing ever more powerful and accessible – 3D Printing, Digital Rendering, etc. The tools themselves will NEVER be the story. But do not kid yourself into thinking your story will remain relevant without them.
Ever wonder why Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc. are in the business of creating original content? Because they spend an enormous amount of time figuring out who will watch what they create BEFORE they create it. The Long Tail is firmly here and here to stay.
The lesson: spend as much time as you can focusing on the clients that want to hear and be part of the story you want to tell for them, then do all that you can to show them what that story will be and how you will tell it. Actually telling the story is and will continue to be the foregone conclusion. More importantly, the actual story will not be enough to earn you the right to tell another story. Live on your portfolio at your own risk.
The world shifts under our feet whether we like it or not. It is a brave new world if you choose it to be. I pray that you do.
