Garden Snaps: A Reply To Ted Hope's Studio Challenge
Ted Hope from Hope For Film has posed an interesting challenge to his subscribers:
‘I personally like the idea that we are taking over an existing studio, with some legacy businesses and a streaming arm. I know you’d do something different if we were a true start-up, but we can explore that later. For now, we’ve been given such a company.
Since all of this is a dream, you can decide what businesses they are in or not. Make some big choices, but you can only display five.’
The dream scenario. A carte blanche thinking exercise that has put Team Open Gardens in the driver’s seat of a major Hollywood studio.
But — only five ideas? How can we really transform a legacy studio with only five initiatives?
Don’t worry - we’ll play by the rules.
Thank you Ted for the opportunity to turn Open Gardens into a major film studio.
Let’s look into the future.
If you took over an existing (fictitious film company), what five things would you do to drive it to success?
Empower Creators with 360 Deals and a Record Label Approach
We'd adopt comprehensive 360 deals inspired by the nurturing model of record labels, directly supporting creators by providing and managing opportunities across multiple platforms—films, series, podcasts, merchandise, direct-to-consumer offerings, live events, and more.
Rather than simply encouraging creators to explore these avenues on their own, our studio would actively build and manage the necessary infrastructure, initiatives, and business relationships. This approach ensures creators have seamless access to diverse revenue streams and platforms without having to independently navigate each opportunity. By positioning creators—from directors and writers to actors and YouTubers—as long-term brand partners, we'd invest deeply in their sustained creative development, transforming their work into cultural impacters.
Imagine more indie geared filmmakers like Sean Baker—not just studio giants like Jordan Peele or Jon Chu—being empowered as holistic creators. By providing someone like Baker with direct access to podcasting, merchandise, direct-to-consumer distribution, and other platforms, he could maintain continuous dialogue and engagement with his audience, driving loyalty and generating revenue. This would enable him to take greater creative risks, expanding the scope and ambition of his films while nurturing a dedicated fanbase.
Champion Unbridled Creative Freedom
Our studio would be a sanctuary for audacious storytelling, welcoming filmmakers and new-age creators such as YouTubers, podcasters, and digital storytellers alike. Taking inspiration from A24’s creator-centric approach, we'd prioritize unique voices that challenge conventions, provoke thought and resonate across diverse digital platforms. By reducing bureaucratic constraints and embracing bold narratives from both traditional filmmakers and digital content creators, we would cultivate an environment where innovation thrives, and stories leave indelible marks on culture — and we would never get in the way of it.
Integrate AI as a Collaborative Tool, Keeping Humanity at the Core
In the spirit of innovators like Jason Zada, we'd harness AI to augment the creative process without overshadowing the human touch. AI can streamline production, offer insights and open new realms of storytelling — but the heart of our narratives would remain profoundly human. By setting ethical guidelines and fostering collaboration between technology and artistry we would ensure that our stories resonate authentically.
Social Media Built into Our DNA
Taking a page from Latin America's vibrant digital renaissance, our strategy would start by clearly identifying the audiences we want to target when selecting new projects. Once we've pinpointed these audiences, we'd carefully select creators and social media influencers who already have genuine connections and overlapping interests with those communities. Bringing these creators on board as creative partners from the earliest stage, they'd join our team as producers to actively shape the storytelling process, ensuring the narratives authentically appeal to their specific audiences. They'd also be instrumental in guiding our marketing approach, helping us tailor messaging and promotional strategies that seamlessly resonate with these target groups.
Initiatives could include influencer-driven virtual premieres, interactive live Q&A sessions, engaging watch parties, and ongoing online community-building. This approach would not only elevate each project's visibility but also cultivate deeply engaged, loyal communities around our content, transforming passive viewers into passionate fans.
Lean Into Niche Verticals, Not Just Sequels
Audiences today are increasingly fragmented, forming tight-knit communities around specific interests—not just broad genres, but niche sub-genres and unique content categories. Instead of stretching franchises thin with endless sequels, we'd strategically identify and cultivate verticals around these niche communities.
Using Fast & Furious as an example: recognizing the passionate fanbase built around stunt driving, we'd proactively build a dedicated vertical to capture and engage this audience beyond the franchise's conclusion. Initially, we'd leverage digital platforms to deliver tailored content like Impossible Driving Stunts, a dynamic digital hub showcasing mind-blowing tricks, iconic scene breakdowns, and interactive AI-driven challenges. Next, we'd expand this engagement through live events, competitions, and global stunt-driving spectacles streamed online with strategic brand partnerships.
By continuously nurturing this community and incorporating their input and feedback, we'd naturally develop the foundation for launching a refreshed, community-driven iteration of the Fast & Furious franchise. This model can be replicated across diverse sub-genres—be it specific categories within horror, action, musicals, or animation—allowing us to build lasting, loyal audiences and maximize the creative and commercial potential of each niche community.
Here at Open Gardens Studio, we’d like to emulate a modern media company. Of course, we will produce and offer premium long form content. But, our work will center around empowering creators of all kinds, cultivating community and most importantly not hindering output from our stable of storytellers. Our goal is to be nimble, to activate revenue streams across multiple verticals and most importantly develop and champion storytellers for years to come.
I wish the cinema gods left me a pot of gold so I could invest in Open Gardens now. I hope I don't have to wait to long to see you build this! Thanks for taking the challenge!