With the film and TV industry employing increasingly sophisticated methods in tracking audience behaviours, Greenlight Essentials founder Jack Zhang believes he is tapping into the next evolution in screen-based entertainment: augmented intelligence.

Not to be confused with its better-known sibling, artificial intelligence (whereby a computer algorithm can be used to generate entire scripts, among other futuristic applications), Zhang’s application of augmented intelligence involves using a data and analytics tool that he created to generate storylines with plot attributes that audiences respond favourably to. A (human) screenwriter then pens the script based on the plot sequence suggested by the program.

The first project to emerge from Zhang’s program is horror feature Impossible Things, which is written by screenwriter Michelle Medvedoff and based on a story arc generated by the software Zhang created.

Using a database that measures the performances of previously released films, Zhang’s program is an algorithm that strips away factors that might boost box office numbers. By taking into consideration influences such as the impact of print and advertising, or the additional impact of a certain star, the algorithm identifies films that have over- and under-performed at the box, and then analyzes the plot attributes featured in the films.

This information is then overlaid with social media data, which shows where the demand is in terms of demographics, age groups and geographical locations of its audience.

“So before a single word was written or a frame was shot, we used the software to suggest the plot combinations that really work in the horror genre,” Zhang told Playback Daily. The result was Impossible Things, which tells the story of a mother who, after the death of her daughter, begins to hear voices and see visions of a deranged woman and child ghost.

The trailer – a concept video made on a budget of just $30 – has garnered more than 700,000 views on Facebook since it was posted in June. And all this before the script has been finished and with no cast yet attached to the film.

Impossible Things is currently at the third-draft stage, with production on the film expected to begin in Ontario in Q1 of 2017, according to Productivity Media CEO, William Santor.

The film has already drawn interest from the industry, with production and financing company Productivity Media and marketing and distribution firm Concourse Media jointly acquiring the worldwide rights to the project earlier this year. Productivity has also partnered with Zhang’s company Greenlight to develop additional projects using the software.

Zhang introduced his software initially at TIFF ’14, where he said the general response was not particularly warm as industry members did not see the value in a program that held sway over the creative process. However, when he returned to TIFF last month, he said the industry as a whole has warmed to the idea of maximizing the use of computer technology.

“I think the Netflix and Amazons of the world have changed how producers are looking at data. Now that Netflix is actively producing – we’d be foolish to think they aren’t data-mining a lot of their user behaviour before they decide to greenlight, for example, Stranger Things,” Santor said. “Especially in the independent world, we only have so much money, so much time, and can only achieve so much, so we need to optimize that data to its greatest potential. We will never be able to take out the creative element to a creative endeavour, but what we can do is provide info that will help you do your job better.”

The program has a number of applications beyond simply generating plotlines for film and TV projects, said Santor. Chief among these is the ability to give financiers a more comprehensive understanding of the appetite for a certain project in various markets.

“As a lender, we saw the opportunity to de-risk part of our lending portfolio using data,” said Santor of becoming involved with Zhang’s program. “We’re always interested in helping the producer and the sales agent understand what the target market is for the placement of a property. This allows us to make more sophisticated decisions about any project that we’re looking to become involved in,” added Santor.

Another use for Zhang’s program is to apply it to screenplays that have already been written and advise the writer(s) on what plot attributes can make the project more attractive to audiences. An example Santor gives is of an animated children’s film that was pitched to Productivity and Greenlight about animals in the circus. Zhang’s software showed that if the screenplay focused more on the father-daughter relationship in the story, audiences would respond more enthusiastically to it. Productivity and Greenlight were then able to advise the screenwriter on how to draw that element out in a subsequent draft of the project.

“This allows us to enhance a project at all stages of the process,” said Santor.

Image: Shutterstock