Category Archives: The Mediascape

The problem with Canadian Film in one chart

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Stephen Follows, writing on Substack, asks Has Hollywood given up on the happy ending?

He defines a happy ending as what happens and how the last few minutes feel. His methodology:

“For what happens, I rated the plots of 7,384 movies on a six-point scale from happy to sad, depending on whether the protagonist survives and gets what they wanted, whether the couple ends up together, whether the villain wins. For how it feels, I ran a facial-expression model over 1.57 million close-ups of 10,421 named performers and compared each film’s final 10% with its 65% to 85% stretch (where the darkest hour traditionally lives). A positive ‘ending lift’ means the ending reads warmer on the actors’ faces than the third act. Two further checks, the music of the finale and the ending tags that humans apply in public databases, tell the same story.”

His conclusion? No, happy endings are somewhat up, unhappy endings are somewhat down, but it’s the bittersweet ending that has risen.

“Bittersweet endings have climbed from about a quarter of films in the 1980s to more than a third today.”

Stephen then adds country of origin to see if the “Hollywood happy ending” might be skewing the data and delivers this chart:

India is even more optimistic than the US.

But wait! What’s Canada doing in last place? The only country on the list with MORE sad films than happy. Ten percent more sad! What gives?

Could this be the smoking gun that explains why we have no national cinema in Canada? As a country we persist in making sad movies when the audience just wants to be entertained?

I reached out to Stephen for more insight. He replied:

“I used IMDb’s main country of origin for each film, identifying 168 films out of roughly 6,500. Horror makes up a fifth of the Canadian set, against one in twenty American films, and genre alone explains about half the gap. The 28 films that are Canadian alone are darker still (only four end happily), but they’re mostly Cronenberg, Black Christmas, Ginger Snaps and Xavier Dolan. That’s a strong Canadian tradition of horror and auteur drama.”

Thank you, Mr. Follows.

My take: it’s a complicated equation, but I think this data irrefutably points out that genre is critical to movies with happy endings that satisfy audiences — ones that can create a national cinema. Horror is a niche genre at the end of the day.

Forget Hollywood; brew up a craft beer indie film experience

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Elliot Grove of Raindance says, Hollywood Doesn’t Need Saving: It Needs Ignoring.

His belief is that:

“The answer (to Hollywood) is beer. Because beer figured this out decades ago, while filmmakers were still begging studios to love them back.”

He explains:

“Craft brewers didn’t try to beat Big Beer at scale. They made Big Beer irrelevant to people with taste. You are not here to replace Hollywood. You are here to make it look boring. Big Beer lives in supermarkets and football stadiums. Craft beer lives in taprooms.

Taprooms do three things Hollywood hates:

  1. They put makers in front of consumers.
  2. They reward experimentation.
  3. They create loyalty, not just transactions.

Make films so clearly yours that ten thousand people would riot if they disappeared. That’s the business model. Do this: Shorts. Micro-features. Proofs-of-concept. Rough work. Ugly work. Fast work. Momentum beats perfection every single time.

Independent Cinema needs:

  1. Events
  2. Mailing lists
  3. Subscriptions
  4. Touring screenings
  5. Education
  6. Merch
  7. Community

Here are the Three Golden Rules for success in today’s brave new world:

  1. Own your IP.
  2. Own your audience.
  3. Own your escape routes.

Hollywood is the supermarket aisle. The future of cinema is poured fresh, by stubborn people, in crowded rooms, to audiences who know exactly why they’re there. And it doesn’t need permission.”

My take: I’ve quoted liberally because this is such a great article. The analogy truly holds!

 

The numbers behind Telefilm’s Talent to Watch 2026-2027 projects

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Telefilm Canada has announced that Telefilm Canada invests nearly $3.6M in 16 Talent to Watch projects from 136 submissions.

It’s quite revealing to look at the numbers in detail.

Let’s start with Type.

Narrative 12
Documentary   4

The Narrative features break down thusly:

Drama 7
Horror 2
Comedy 1
Romantic Comedy 1
Mystery/Crime 1

Province?

Ontario 6
Quebec 4
British Columbia 2
Alberta 1
New Brunswick 1
Nova Scotia 1
Prince Edward Island 1

Screenwriter?

The Director 14
Not the Director   2

Let’s look at Language next.

English 6
English and Farsi 1
English and French 1
English and Japanese 1
English and Nisga’a 1
English, Spanish and French 1
French 4
French, English and Japanese 1

And let’s finish up with Stream.

Filmmaker Apply-Direct 6
Filmmaker Apply-Direct (OLMC project) 2
Filmmaker Apply-Direct (Indigenous component) 1
Industry Partner 4
Festival 3

In addition, if Gender is assumed from names:

Female approx. 17
Male approx. 17

Some observations:

  • The number of submissions is down from last year.
  • Documentary projects are way down this year.
  • Drama remains the most popular narrative genre.
  • Almost all of the successful projects are from Ontario and Quebec.
  • Only two projects have Screenwriters that are not the Directors.
  • Four projects are helmed by one individual filling the director, screenwriter and producer roles, rather than a team of two or more.
  • The vast majority of successful projects continue to be Filmmaker Apply-Direct, given that the Festival stream is de facto Filmmaker Apply-Direct.
  • One quarter of the successful projects are from Industry Partners.
  • After being shut out for two years in a row, Atlantic Canada roars back with three projects.

My take: really nice that Telefilm got this announcement out in September, as last year folks were on tenterhooks for almost another month. This is the fifth year that filmmakers could apply directly and Telefilm has rewarded them well! Therefore, if you can apply direct, bypass your local industry partner, for odds of approximately one in 8 1/2.

How to spark ideas

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Simon Meyer, of Berlin, has just released How To Get Good Ideas For AI Films on YouTube.

Simon knows his stuff! He and co-creator Muhannad Nassar won the $150,000 grand prize at Higgsfield AI’s March 2026 Action Contest with their two-minute short film Grandma vs Wasp. Simon also won the Runway Big Ad Contest – twice.

Watch his video! And here are some quotes:

“The best way to have a good idea is to have a lots of ideas and throw the bad ones away.”

“There are a lot of creative techniques like the “What If” technique where you ask a question like, “What if cars could eat cake?” or the “Genre Mash Up” technique which is very popular on TikTok like mixing the horror genre with an ad for toothpaste.”

“I would recommend another technique using “The Opposite of What People Expect” — find the opposite of what everyone is expecting. That’s one of the strongest techniques, at least for me.”

“Another technique that I use quite often is the “Different Angle” technique. To everything, there are multiple angles. Is the glass half full or half empty? The optimist says it’s half full and the pessimist says it’s half empty. But those are just two angles everyone knows. A physicist would say the glass is always full. It’s half water and half air. Someone who just crossed a desert couldn’t care less about the level at all. To them, it’s survival…. The magic is never in the what — it is in who is looking at it.”

“The best advice I can give is make it personal. Make it yours. You can come up with whatever you want. You don’t need to stick to rules. Break the rules, be creative, and do whatever you want.”

My take: Great advice! Personally, inspiration strikes and I develop from there. But I can see that brainstorming many, many ideas first can unearth a real gem.

Cinematic AIGV Workflow

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Seattle’s Yutao Han, aka Tao Prompts, has just released a great resource called The Cheat Code to Cinematic AI Videos on a Budget.

He ranks ten factors that influence the realism of generated video. In order from least to most important, here they are:

  1. Resolution
  2. AI Video Model
  3. AI Image
  4. Sound Design
  5. AI Prompts
  6. Camera Shot
  7. Colour Grade
  8. Lighting
  9. Reference Materials
  10. Idea

Some takeaways:

  • Image to Video is the standard workflow. Create lots of cheaper images and then choose the right model to animate them. 1080p seems to be the sweet spot between speed, resolution and cost.
  • Start with a great image as an expensive video model won’t necessarily fix a poor one. To this end, using an LLM to reverse-engineer reference material can help.
  • Expect to recreate sound in your edit.

My take: What’s fascinating about this list is that the top five factors plus sound design are traditional filmmaking concepts. In Yutao’s mind, the technical aspects of AI generated cinematic videos are less important than starting with a great idea and wrapping it in the elements that will express it best. In other words, begin with a story worth telling.

Marketing Tips for Independent Films

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Maggie Bera tells us on FilmFreeway: How to Build Your Film’s Buzz Before You Call It a Wrap.

This no-nonsense, list-heavy article suggests seven areas indie filmmakers must address if they hope to get any attention focussed on their projects. Maggie says:

  • “Set up your film’s online home before you roll camera.
  • Assign someone to capture behind-the-scenes content.
  • Turn your cast and crew into ambassadors.
  • Plan your content before production begins.
  • Think beyond the trailer.
  • Build an email list before you need one.
  • Celebrate every milestone.”

She then lists many steps you can take to accomplish this:

  1. “Reserve your film’s website domain.
  2. Create an Instagram account (or dedicate a Highlight on your existing account).
  3. Write a one-sentence logline and short synopsis.
  4. Set up a simple landing page with an email signup.
  5. Choose a consistent username and visual branding.
  6. Hire a still photographer and capture pictures of: The slate on Day 1, Hair and makeup, Camera and lighting setups, The director working with actors, Crew members collaborating, The monitor during playback, Production design details, A wrap photo after each shooting day.
  7. Create social media content such as: Meet the cast, Meet the crew, Five questions with our cinematographer, Why I joined this project, Favorite moment from set; utilizing a reusable template in Canva so every cast and crew spotlight has a consistent look.
  8. Build a social media content creation calendar and add it to your production schedule, including activities like: your first table read, costume fittings, camera tests, location scouts, rehearsals, the first day on set, wrap day, editing sessions, your composer’s recording session, etc.
  9. Create and post a trailer.
  10. Also share: production stills, filmmaker interviews, screenplay excerpts, behind-the-scenes photography, and conversations about your creative process. This might include: Storyboards, Prop-building videos, Costume sketches, Lighting diagrams, Editing comparisons, Notes from your director’s notebook, etc.
  11. Invite people to join your Email List through: Your website, Crowdfunding campaigns, QR codes on business cards, Networking events, Your social media bio, a “Stay Updated” form on your website, etc.
  12. Share every milestone as a story worth celebrating, such as: Finishing the script, Wrapping principal photography, Picture lock, Composer recording sessions, Color grading, Festival submissions, Festival acceptances, Your first public screening, etc.”

My take: Maggie’s task breakdown for the social media marketing of an indie film is great, both thorough and concise. I love that its unspoken goal is to capture attention online and attract future viewers into the world of your film, to ultimately convert them into super-fans so that they become your ambassadors. Remember, word of mouth is the best form of promotion.

First original film of the 2020s to pass $500M

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Curry Barker‘s horror hit, ‘Obsession’ Becomes Hollywood’s First Original Film of 2020s to Gross $500 Million Worldwide, according to Jeremy Fuster of TheWrap.

According to The Numbers, it made $263,451,715 in the US and Canada and $238,212,000 in the rest of the world for a total of over $501,663,715.

Barker’s advice to young filmmakers, via Jake Coyle of The Associated Press:

“I went to a film school for a year out in L.A. and I watched people paralyze themselves with the pressure of: I’ve told people I’m a director so now I have to direct something that has to be good. If it’s not good, everyone’s going to judge me. The result of that thinking is two years on one short film. You can’t put too much pressure on an idea. You just got to make it.”

My take: so, not a good first date flick.

To what extent does nepotism help movies get made in the industry?

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Stephen Follows on Substack just asked What percentage of Hollywood film professionals are nepo babies?

He researched the top 100 movies of this millennium to find out.

He “counted someone as having family ties if a parent or close blood relative (i.e. a sibling, grandparent, uncle, aunt or cousin) worked in film or television before that person’s own entry into the industry.”

And there are a lot of key creatives with family in the industry already: 28% of top actors, 26% of directors and 18% of writers.

Crunching the numbers, Stephen concludes:

“Seven in ten of the biggest films of the past 25 years had at least one person with industry family at the heart of their creative team.”

The full post is worth reading because Stephen looks at the trend, if the films perform better and career impact. He finishes with:

“Family ties get you a modest start earlier, keep you in the game longer, and buy you another roll of the dice when a film disappoints. The surname is more of a safety net than some kind of accelerator or guarantee.”

My take: this is a new spin on, “It’s about who you know.” But it does go far in explaining why Hollywood seems slow to adapt to new trends. I just wish @stephenfollows would break out these stats for Canada, the UK and Australia.

Is Generative AI Video at the Bad CGI stage?

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Recently, I wondered about the parallels between VFX and GAIV. I found two interesting YouTube videos:

Breakdowns & Blockbusters laments that CGI is getting Worse.

In Is Traditional VFX Dying? ErikDoesVFX went head to head with Higgsfield, pitting modern VFX against GAIV. His wife claims victory, but then he reveals Higgsfield’s second, more creative version:

My take: the genie is out of the bottle and GAIV is just another tool that creators now have in their toolkit. I predict Hollywood will quickly become its biggest user simply because their schedules and budgets will render traditional VFX unfeasible.

Book Publishing Trends for Indie Filmmakers

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Following up on how we can adapt the Indie Music Fan Playlist for indie film, Jo Light on No Film School offers 3 Book Publishing Trends Screenwriters Should Steal.

After watching John Matthew Fox’s video that breaks down five trends reshaping the publishing industry in 2026, she thinks three can also apply to indie filmmaking.

John’s five topics, and Jo’s three comments are:

1. Selling Direct is the Future: “…rethinking funding and distribution; instead of chasing traditional distribution deals that take 30-50% (or more) of your revenue, you can sell directly to audiences and keep most of what you earn.” Check out her article to see which outlets she suggests.

2. How to Deal with the AI Explosion: “The fact that you are a human writer can be the thing that sets you apart.”

3. Growth of Deluxe Editions and Collectibles: Jo skips this but I think the comparables for film are: printed scripts, posters, and DVDs with BTS extras. Could also be the unique props in your movie!

4. BookTok is the Goliath in the Room: FilmTok “content can be diverse — thirst traps, reviews, dramatic or comedic edits, even picture slides.”

5. The Audiobook Takeover: Jo skips this but I think the comparable for film is an episodic Podcast version of the feature.

Jo sums up her summary with:

“Gatekeepers matter less. Direct audience relationships matter more.”

My take: I think the parallels between books and features are stronger than those between music and movies. Both books and films require undivided attention by the audience for extended periods of time. Both have exclusive, established industries that in are the middle of adapting to the digital future. I think the audiobook/podcast option holds a lot of promise.