NFT in the film industry

How to use NFT in the film industry? We have compiled information based on the recent AMA session held by Playmuse founder Vladislav.

How are NFTs currently being used in the international market? What is the purpose of NFT merchandise? How to attract funding for a project? Can you monetize your love for cinema if you're behind the scenes? Read on to get the answers 👌🏼

What does the merchandise of Russian films or series look like now, if it exists at all? More often than not, it's not even a character figurine, but a simple T-shirt with a print, and certainly not an interesting mechanic.

Let's take a look at the foreign market.

The sphere of merchandise there is very well developed (for example, containers with merchandise are purchased at shows). Additionally, the film industry there has already begun using NFT.

Examples:

The first-ever series «Take My Muffin», created with the support of the crypto community (developed since 2018). 350 NFTs were sold, allowing the idea to be realized and an animated story to be produced for several seasons.

Quentin Tarantino offered NFTs of deleted scenes from «Pulp Fiction» for sale. These scenes had not been seen by any fan before, and they included special recordings with behind-the-scenes commentary from the brilliant director.

A short film by David Lynch. A few days before Tarantino announced the sale of deleted scenes in NFT format, Lynch announced that he would re-release his archival film «I Touch a Red Button Man» and sell it as an NFT collection. Originally, it was a video for the song «Lights» by the group Interpol, which was presented at Coachella in 2011. The final sale price was not disclosed, but it was known that participation was in the form of an auction: it was a series of seven NFTs in video format with original Lynch animation and the song «Lights» in a new rendition.

Another example: the film «Zero Contact» starring Anthony Hopkins in NFT format. The film was shot during the pandemic using Zoom. The film was released in several rounds. In each subsequent round, more NFTs were put up for sale, containing less exclusive content. There was an NFT that, in addition to access to the director's version, allowed for a Zoom call with the actors. And the digital artwork, which was the key to the puzzle, was sold for $56,000.

Now, let's understand the purpose of NFT in the film industry.

The answer is simple and clear: NFT solves the problem of additional monetization. You stop under-earning.

Those involved in the film industry know that after filming, there is a lot of material left over that is wasted in post-production. This material is simply discarded or at best ends up in a behind-the-scenes series (the one called «The Film About the Film»).

🎬 What does the interaction chain with the audience look like? People watch the series — remember a few quotes — perhaps create memes (or emojis/stickers). The cycle ends there.

Now imagine that a person buys NFT merchandise. From this point on, they have access to closed groups/channels created by the authors of the film or series, which means access to unique content.

Technically, it works like this: a person enters the community catalog and sees all the NFTs they have in their wallet. If it's in their wallet, they have access to the closed group. Within the group, a bot checks the ownership of the NFT for validity. By the way, we plan to launch TWA in this quarter.

It's important to understand: people have tired of NFT images; they have just become devalued. It's time for new mechanisms.

⚙️ Your NFTs can give the fan club unique access to content, a discount on physical merchandise. This could be a Telegram channel where actors or directors record videos, podcasts, and more. It benefits everyone because authors gain additional monetization (even without creating new content, but by using existing content that might otherwise go to waste), and users interact additionally with their favorite characters and heroes.

Furthermore, NFTs retain an audience — keeping them engaged between seasons, for example. In a closed community, anticipation becomes pleasant and passes unnoticed.

The main thing to understand is that NFTs can grant access somewhere and identify the user.

For example, if a film decides to raise funds on Playmuse and share profits with token holders, then the NFT becomes a unique means of identification.

If we are selling a cut scene: yes, it can be leaked on the internet, but the original token is in the user's wallet. It's like sneakers—You wouldn't buy collectible custom shoes at a Chinese market, right? Only the original has value.

Grab the idea 🧩

— create an NFT series that allows influencing the plot. For example, to kill off a character or undress an actress.

What is the need for NFT merchandise?

First and foremost, it is an opportunity to "belong" to the community.

By the way, to use the ideas we write about, you don't have to be a director or officially associated with the industry in general. You can be an independent fan club of a film and use your NFTs (just make sure to use images that are not copyrighted to avoid strikes).

🔥 Love a movie — create a community. This year, our entire infrastructure will be up and running. You don't have to be film authors; you can be fans. There are no limitations, you can be a fan of just one moment from a film, and do whatever you want inside a Telegram group.

How to attract funds for shooting using Playmuse?

If you decide to shoot a series or film, you can land on Playmuse's launchpad and attract funds to realize your idea.

What's needed for this?

• Shoot a teaser (at least a minute long, even on a phone)

• Write a synopsis

• Build a community around your idea

Teasers need to be of high quality. People who buy NFTs often don't understand much about film—they, like regular people, want visualization, they should share the idea, emotions, and mood; a synopsis alone won't be enough. Alternatively, the NFT should share profits (Playmuse will have this function so that smart contracts can make distributions), then the film must be interesting from financial and marketing perspectives. Yes, you will need to handle marketing, but these efforts will pay off.

You might wonder, what benefit can people get from investing in your film/clip/series idea? Everyone will have their own motivation. For example, it could be early access + credits.

And yes, people may not always be willing to pay $100, but many will be willing to pay $10. Investing in creativity is like making a donation that remains with you in the end. It's not crowdfunding. It's an opportunity to be involved in creating something interesting.

By the way, in TWA, there will be attribute divisions, where you can set the necessary settings—for example, the duration of access to a closed community depending on the NFT's cost.

💴 Telegram channels about cinema or related topics can also monetize. Want to release exclusives — issue NFT, use TWA.

Important: to use our TWA, you need to mint and sell NFTs through us. If sales are made through bots, we will hide them, and you won't be able to utilize our audience and marketplace.

Create NFTs and make closed groups. There are no conditions for authors; it's free. The only rule is that we are an entertainment service, no political topics. It's better to come with your own audience, but we also attract it for you. We are currently developing a promotional video, which will likely be released in December.