A social film is a type of
interactive film
An interactive film is a video game or other interactive media that has characteristics of a cinematic film. In the video game industry, the term refers to a movie game, a video game that presents its gameplay in a cinematic, scripted manner, o ...
that is presented through the lens of
social media
Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
. A social film is distributed digitally and integrates with a
social networking service
A social networking service (SNS), or social networking site, is a type of online social media platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interest ...
, such as
Facebook
Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
or
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. It combines features of
web video
Internet video (also known as online video) is digital video that is distributed over the internet. Internet video exists in several formats, the most notable being MPEG-4i AVC, AVCHD, FLV, and MP4.
There are several online video hosting ser ...
,
social network game
A social network game (sometimes simply referred to as a social media game, social gaming, or online social game) is a type of online game that is played through social networks or social media. They typically feature gamification systems with mu ...
s and social media.
Key elements
Social films are a more recent phenomenon, and, in turn, there are few precedents for their format. Although there are not many examples of this genre of film, the medium has certain identifiable elements:
*Casual entertainment
*Social media
*
User-generated content
User-generated content (UGC), alternatively known as user-created content (UCC), emerged from the rise of web services which allow a system's User (computing), users to create Content (media), content, such as images, videos, audio, text, testi ...
*
Game mechanics In tabletop games and video games, game mechanics define how a game works for players. Game mechanics are the rules or ludemes that govern and guide player actions, as well as the game's response to them. A rule is an instruction on how to play, whi ...
Using just one of these factors or a combination of them, a social film engages viewers to interact directly with the work. This can be done through usual social media functionality like comments and ranking or adding directly to the narrative itself.
Just as with
memes
A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ...
, social film distribution relies on the
viral
The word ''Viral'' means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents).
It may also refer to:
Viral behavior, or virality
Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example:
* Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spre ...
spread enabled by social media. This is based on the viral expansion loops model,
[Guest Post: Hal Siegel “My Film Has a Virus? WTF?” > Hope for Film](_blank)
/ref> in which a viewer benefits from sharing the application with friends, exponentially creating new viewers compelled to share the application.[The Four Viral App Objectives (a.k.a., “Social network application virality 101″) « FrameThink](_blank)
/ref>
History
One of the first social films to be created was from the YouTube channel ''lonelygirl15
''lonelygirl15'' is an American science fiction thriller web series created by Miles Beckett, Mesh Flinders, Greg Goodfried, and Amanda Goodfried. It was independently released on YouTube from June 16, 2006, to August 1, 2008, and was also bri ...
.'' This social film started in 2006 and was created by Miles Beckett , Mesh Flinders, and Greg Goodfried. They used YouTube posts to create an interactive video series about a fictional character who showcased her life in a vlog
A vlog (), also known as a video blog or video log, is a form of blog for which the medium is video. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in one ta ...
format. As the videos went on, more bizarre things would keep happening to the main character, Bree, before she just stopped uploading. This channel was not only the first viral social film, but went on to be one of the first viral YouTube channels to be created.
It did take a few years to see any more films in this genre, but 2011 saw many people start to try their hand at making these films. The first social film in this year was a film called '' Him, Her and Them'' which was produced and released by Murmur in April 2011. It was distributed exclusively through Facebook and promoted as the first “Facebook film.”[Him, Her and Them — The First Ever Facebook Film , The Creators Project](_blank)
/ref> The film is composed of short video clips and interactive slideshows, integrating Facebook's Social Graph
A social graph is a graph that represents social relations between entities. It is a model or representation of a social network. The social graph has been referred to as "the global mapping of everybody and how they're related".
The term w ...
API. Users participate via text-based additions to the story, which are viewable only by friends within their social network.
In May 2011, Canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western canon, th ...
and Ron Howard
Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American filmmaker and actor. Howard started his career as a child actor before transitioning to directing films. Over his six-decade career, Howard has received List of awards and nominations r ...
teamed up to create '' Project Imagin8ion'', which was a photo contest where photographers submitted photos and the top 8 photos would be the inspiration for a short film. This short film was called "When You Find Me" and could be found exclusively on YouTube.
In July 2011, Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...
and Toshiba
is a Japanese multinational electronics company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, elevators and escalators, electronic components, semiconductors ...
partnered together to create Hollywood's first Social Film experience, a thriller called ''Inside
Inside may refer to:
Film
* ''Inside'' (1996 film), an American television film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Eric Stoltz
* ''Inside'' (2002 film), a Canadian prison drama film
* ''Inside'' (2006 film), an American thriller film starri ...
'', directed by D.J. Caruso and starring Emmy Rossum
Emmanuelle Grey Rossum (born September 12, 1986) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. The accolades she has received include a Saturn Award and Critics' Choice Movie Award, alongside nominations for a Golden Globe Award, an Independ ...
. The project is broken up into several segments across multiple social media platforms including Facebook
Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
, YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
, and Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
. In this instance, the audience is challenged to help Emmy Rossum's character, Christina, safely make it out of the room she's been trapped in. This particular form of social film is a major undertaking in that it combines social media activity with A-list acting talent to create a user experience that all happens in real time.
Although not quite the same idea, Hollywood also started experimenting with the idea of interactive and crowd-sourced
Crowdsourcing involves a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services—including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances—for payment or as volunteers. Contemporary crowdsourcing often involves digit ...
films. One of the first examples of this was a short film called " Life In A Day" directed by Kevin Macdonald and produced by Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...
. Kevin asked people from all over the world to submit videos onto YouTube of what they were doing on July 24th, 2010. They combined all of the best videos that were submitted together to create one film of people doing different things all around the world, no matter how boring or simple those things seemed. They took this short to film festivals before releasing it to the public on YouTube in 2011.
In August 2012, Intel and Toshiba partnered again to create '' The Beauty Inside'', directed by Drake Doremus
Drake Doremus (; born March 29, 1983) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer best known for directing the films ''Like Crazy'' (2011), which won the Grand Jury Prize Dramatic at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, ''Douchebag (film) ...
, starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Mary Elizabeth Winstead (born November 28, 1984) is an American actress and singer. Her first major role was that of Jessica Bennett (Passions), Jessica Bennett on the NBC soap opera ''Passions'' (1999–2000). She came to wider attention for h ...
and Topher Grace
Christopher John Grace ( ; born July 12, 1978), known professionally as Topher Grace, is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Eric Forman in the teen sitcom ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2005) and Eddie Brock / Venom in Sam Raimi's s ...
. It's Hollywood's first social film that gives everyone in the audience a chance to play Alex, the lead role. The experience will be broken up into six filmed episodes interspersed with real-time interactive storytelling that all takes place on Alex's Facebook timeline.
In August 2013, Intel and Toshiba released their third entry into the category, ''The Power Inside
''The Power Inside'' is a 2013 comedy social film developed by Intel and Toshiba. It is Intel and Toshiba's third social film after '' The Beauty Inside'' (2012) and ''Inside'' (2011). Directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon and starring Harvey Keit ...
'', directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon and starring Harvey Keitel, Analeigh Tipton, and Craig Roberts. It's Hollywood's first social film that asks the audience to audition to help save or destroy the world. The experience is broken up into six filmed episodes interspersed with user-generated content and interactive storytelling on the main character's Facebook timeline.
In 2015, Intel partnered with Dell
Dell Inc. is an American technology company that develops, sells, repairs, and supports personal computers (PCs), Server (computing), servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, computer peripherals including printers and webcam ...
for their fourth entry, '' What Lives Inside'' directed by Robert Stromberg
Robert Stromberg is an American special effects artist, designer and Filmmaking, filmmaker.
His credits include films such as James Cameron's ''Avatar (2009 film), Avatar'', Tim Burton's ''Alice in Wonderland (2010 film), Alice in Wonderland'', ...
and starring Colin Hanks
Colin Lewes Hanks (born November 24, 1977) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his role as Gus Grimly on the FX crime series '' Fargo'' (2014–2015), which earned him nominations for a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy ...
, Catherine O'Hara
Catherine Anne O'Hara (born March 4, 1954) is a Canadian and American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She started her career in sketch comedy, sketch and improvisational comedy in film and television before expanding her career taking dra ...
, and J. K. Simmons
Jonathan Kimble Simmons (born January 9, 1955) is an American actor. Considered one of the most prolific and well-established character actors of his generation, he has amassed over 200 screen and stage credits since his 1986 debut. He won th ...
. The first of four episodes was released on Hulu
Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...
on March 25, 2015.
References
{{Reflist
Film genres
Social media