There's really not enough of the product on the landing page. Instead of random photos of DPs behind cameras on each feature tab, show us animations of the actual site in use. Even after watching the video I didn't get to see the actual product, unacceptable. What you are showing me here is simply the idea of the product (which is exciting and potentially useful), but I need to see the product to want to actually sign up for the beta.
Not bad. The app looks great and your page copy is very effectively targeted. However, there isn't enough of it. when I click one of the items in the cycling list of features, then I expect a new page or a significant amount of extra detail 'below the fold' - not a stock photo with a one-line explanation of a concept that is already self-explanatory to anyone working in the industry.
there are other features that I want that I don't see, which are increasingly important to ADs. These are not as critical as the 5 primaries identified already, but which in my view are essential for buy-in. If they're absent or not planned for, then a competitor is going to be able to add duplicate your existing features with little difficulty, add others not available here, and generally leverage their brand to drink your milkshake. The first-mover advantage is very slim, especially in a cutthroat business staffed by technological conservatives who are used to overpaying because they're spending OPM. If an existing provider goes mobile within the next 1-2 years (and they will) their install base will swamp yours. Delays to market will be explained away as 'making sure the product is really ready'.
So what are those missing features?
o screenwriting software integration - Final Draft at a minimum, also Adobe Story and other competitors. FD can generate breakdown lists, and being able to import these will reduce the work needed for breakdown by 80-90%.
o screenplay/breakdown versioning - on large projects, changes in shooting order or rewritten scenes are the norm. Assume they will occur and make sure the process of 'forking' is as easy as possible.
o Storyboards. I can't believe you don't have 2-way integration of location scouting and breakdown with mobile cameras.
o export to media/printing - in a remote location, you cannot safely assume access to the internet, cloud, or universal availability of smartphones or internet-capable devices among the cast and crew. You will still need to be able to produce sides and fall back on more primitive methods. On long nights in the middle of nowhere with terrible weather, paper, pencil and flashlight are going to be around for a while yet. When it comes to charging electronic devices, cameras and sound recorders are going to take priority over ipads and cellphones.
o allow for retroactive changes to be made under the cirucmstances described above; sometimes a weary crew will come back to base camp with a list of necessary changes that are handed to a confused production manager, and which must be entered correctly for the following days' shooting schedule to work.
o contact management - naturally you want to have that information centralized, but nobody likes having to enter everybody's contact details into a yet another database program with yet another set of misspellings, incorrect phone numbers, yadda yadda. Allow contact import from GMail, Facebook, google+ hotmail, and other major providers. Allow the creation of a contact address that automatically harvests email information and builds the mailing list. Provide call sheets that include hyperlinks and/or graphical maps leveraging some popular mapping API. Use email, Twilio, Twitter, checkin and location services to automagically alert and monitor call times, navigation planning, ride-sharing, and general logistics.
o Ensure that the logistical functionality also applies to location/prop management, gear rental, suppliers and so forth.
o Include templates for model, location and service releases and allow for digital signature and post-production hard-copy transmission to reduce presale clearance issues. Releases matter, but to so few people on set that they are frequently overlooked during production, leading to expensive headaches later. The closer to sale or release, the more expensive the headache.
o Pre/post breakdowns - breakdowns are such a hassle that they are often prepared only for production, while project management before and after principal photography is often done on the back of an envelope. Get pro with this from the outset. Which also means...
o input for shooting logs from the AC/Sound team
o digital slating - again, this should be out front - scene/shot # and shot clock on an iPad or Android tablet are a no-brainer, and a key visual sell for your branding. A major missed opportunity in your existing design.
o Not to mention GPS on mobile devices. Don't just do an electronic implementation of what's already on paper or a laptop and then make people manually add information from digital sensors.
o Hell, start planning now for being an input vector for video/audio recording. I have posted audio that was recorded on an iPod because the director suddenly got inspired while he was having coffee with one of the actors and had the means of production in his pocket.
o Platform agnosticism - although Apple dominates in the film world, it is by no means universal. Don't confine yourself to a single platform, especially when 95% of your functionality can be achieved with html, css, and node.js.
o Build marketing in from the getgo. Eastwood should also be the tool of choice for image tagging tagging, media assets, managing a social media, and driving your marketing campaign from pre-production onwards using the most enthusiastic and committed members of your team - your cast and crew, who stand to benefit directly from the film's success. You'll also need to coordinate their availability for post-production, sales, and release phases, from wrap parties to reshoots to private screenings.
o I'm not 100% sure about your branding; the name 'Eastwood' is very clever but might be misinterpreted as implying the authorship or endorsement of a certain Famous Actor...who has more money, fans, and legal experience than your whole team put together. If I were your lawyer, which I am not and which I could not be because I am not a lawyer, then I would advise against infringing on Clint Eastwood's right of publicity because that would basically require you to give him a Large Amount of Money or ownership of the company in lieu. Great name, now pick another. Sorry.
Excellent points to add to our big list of planned features. Quite a few in there we had never thought of. We are still trying to go down the path of minimum viable product right now, unfortunately that MVP has grown and grown as we have learned about the industry.
We have a guy on board (Matt Drake) who has worked extensively within the film industry directing and acting and who really opened up our eyes in terms of what the industry actually needs. Our original product would have fallen very short of being useful to anyone making a real film.
_Platform agnosticism_ The product is entirely web based. I think the landing page needs to emphasise this more as all the Apple stuff makes it seem like it's an Apple only thing. Down the track we will look into making native clients for iPhone/iPad and Android. But the product will always be a "cloud" thing.
In regards to the name, we have been speaking internally about this and are split over whether or not to change the name. Appreciate the advice, any lawyers out there who want to chime in, any extra information would be welcomed.
Thanks so much for the feedback. You have some great points anigbrowl, and trust us when I say we have thought of - and wish to include - most of those. Things like FD implementation are a must, I agree. As Brian says, it's really a matter of selecting the minimum required value and using that as our first goalpost with Eastwood. Rest assured that we have our sights set high on how we think Eastwood will affect the industry and how many ways it can be implemented effectively with different forms of technology.
Thank you again for the feedback. I look forward to hearing it all.
To follow up on anigbrowl's last point, Clint Eastwood is not just an actor. He's also a director, producer, and probably/certainly involved to varying degrees in editing and authorship.
As such, he may be deemed (I don't know) to be professionally involved in technical/business areas that directly overlap those that you occupy. A dispute over trademark or commercial use of personal image might find you in a weak position. (Again, I don't know, but I'd be tempted to run it by an attorney specializing in this area.)
My impression is that Clint Eastwood is fairly aggressive in protecting his image and endorsements. (I seem to vaguely recall an incident involving a bar or restaurant in... Half Moon Bay?, or somewhere in that area, a few years ago. I may be mis-recollecting, though.) I wouldn't count on him just letting such issues go.
He lives in Carmel, which is just south of Half Moon Bay. and yes, he's very aggressive in defending his right to publicity - not least because he largely avoids adverts and endorsements completely.
Of course, this is all a bit academic since the name of the product can change. But it's a good excuse to suggest reading a bio of Clint Eastwood, who's a great role model for anyone on HN - a smart, skilled person who also turned out to have shrewd business instincts and worked his way to the top in a very competitive industry.
