But the ‘long tail’ effect Hewlett and Loughman have generated is a more complex beast than that. Visitors don’t merely log on to a website ‘selling’ A Dog’s Breakfast to print out flyers; they read and respond to Hewlett’s gregarious blog entries about the ongoing life of the project; hang out on his YouTube channel watching clips from the film; contribute poster design and marketing ideas of their own; create and shop merchandise; lobby for local screenings of the movie (where they can connect with other fans, even Hewlett and Loughman in person), and more.
They’re invited to become flag-bearers online and off – part of a club who’s nerd-in-chief genuinely loves and appreciates their contribution, at least in part because he’s been there.
“Making films and marketing films use to be about taking a product and selling it to people,” he says. But now, “largely because of the Internet, it’s become more community based. People don’t want to be sold things on the Internet. They want to learn things, they want to explore. And if there’s things they’re interested in, they’re dying to talk about it. I don’t need to be sold on YouTube. I go on You Tube, I enjoy You Tube. Of course I’m going to put my clips on You Tube.”
“It’s like when I was a kid in high school and it was always about trying to find the newest band that no one had ever heard of. And then once you found it, it was your job to get out there and tell everyone about it. I love the idea that we can do stuff and I can say, ‘I’m excited about this. If you guys like things I’ve done before, you’ll be excited about this too.’ And of course, it’s much more fun when you’re working with people than when people are working for you.”
One group of people you don’t need to explain this to is science fiction fans. Often marginalised by those who don’t share their passion, lovers of sci-fi are not unlike indie filmmakers – unafraid to follow their dream in the face of opposition. They also love to congregate.
“There are some people out there who are just totally unaware of the Stargate phenomenon and its massive community,” says Hewlett, unabashedly proud of his own membership. “These guys are online more than I am.”
So do fans appreciate the tight feedback loop he and Loughman have enabled?
“I hope so,” he says. “I feel guilty sometimes, because some of the postings I make are ‘guys, I really need your help on this’. I hope it is a two-way street, because I don’t want anyone to feel like I’m using them.”
One look at the Dog’s Breakfast Internet forum and you can see they don’t. Members swap success stories about spreading Dog’s gospel, plan social gatherings around screenings (some happily trekking for miles), and brainstorm new ways to support their hero. One fan who worked for NBC wrangled a camera crew and reporter to both a screening of the film and a Stargate convention where Hewlett, Loughman and team were conducting a Q & A about the project. The ‘squirrel minions’ were interviewed, as was Hewlett, and the resulting story made the nightly news (then promptly found its way onto You Tube). Another has created a mock fan-site for Starcrossed.
Eventually, MGM came calling and an international distribution deal was struck for the film. Hewlett was online in a flash to thank everyone for their help in making it happen.
In a gestalt of artistic and commercial intuition, promoting his creation is a natural extension of Hewlett's creative process – an experiential ‘add-on’ for the filmmaker himself, as well as the audience that enjoys his work. And technology, long a part of his life, seems a logical way to do it.
He wishes more artists would embrace this symbiosis.
“It’s so overlooked by people. Filmmakers are so desperate to get their films made, and then they go ‘phew, ok great, what’s next’. But there’s a whole other side to the story, and that’s just as fascinating as the pre-production, production and post-production of a project. I love seeing it all the way through, because it’s a business, and I love running it like a small business. I know business is still a dirty word for a lot of filmmakers, and yet, that’s the way it works.
Venessa Paech Venessa Paech - Editor & Founder. Venessa holds a BFA from NYU. She has done the arts to death, and has been in love with the web since she "discovered" it at a CyberCafe in NYC in '93. She wants to be a podcaster when she grows up.
Doctor Who is a long-running award-winning British science fiction television programme (and a 1996 television film) produced by the BBC. The series shows the adventures of a mysterious time-traveller known as "the Doctor", who explores time and space in his TARDIS time ship with his companions, solving problems and righting wrongs.
Perl is a cross-platform scripted programming languge
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Venessa Paech - Editor & Founder. Venessa holds a BFA from NYU. She has done the arts to death, and has been in love with the web since she "discovered" it at a CyberCafe in NYC in '93. She wants to be a podcaster when she grows up.
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