Change Is Gonna Come

Why Community is the Utility

As we step into the era of Film3, it’s clear that the future of entertainment is no longer defined by traditional power structures. The old models are being replaced by something much more dynamic: community. For almost four years, I’ve been advocating this shift. Community isn’t just one piece of the puzzle — it’s the core, driving every aspect of a project’s success. Whether through financing, co-creating, or amplifying the message, the community is the powerful force shaping the future of Film3.

Projects like Calladita, Doodles, and Pudgy Penguins exemplify how communities fuel both creative and financial success. These communities don’t just contribute to funding—they actively shape the narrative, marketing, and expansion of the IP. Similarly, traditional brands like Supreme and cultural phenomena like Taylor Swift’s fanbase, the Swifties, show the lasting power of a devoted community that amplifies a brand and turns it into a cultural movement.

In this new paradigm, participants aren’t passive observers—they’re co-creators, financiers, marketers, and more. They don’t just consume content; they build it, promote it, and ensure its success. Without the community at the core, none of this works. It is the community that provides the momentum to grow, the loyalty to sustain, and the creativity to innovate. Film3 shows us that community is not an afterthought—it’s the very foundation upon which the future of entertainment is being built.

The Collaborative Ecosystem: From Consumers to Co-Creators

Film3 transforms entertainment by turning passive consumers into active collaborators with skin in the game. In this collaborative ecosystem, community members take on roles traditionally reserved for creators, shaping projects from the ground up and investing their ideas and energy into the evolution of intellectual property (IP). Whether it’s contributing to decisions about merchandise, expansion into new media formats, or product collaborations, the community’s voice is a critical part of how these projects scale and evolve. By shifting the dynamic to one where participants have skin in the game, Film3 projects unlock the full potential of a community-led ecosystem, where everyone from the creators to the participants shares a vested interest in seeing the project succeed.

Doodles epitomizes this shift by giving NFT holders governance rights, allowing them to vote on key decisions that shape the project’s future. This layer of NFT governance provides the community with both financial and creative stakes, transforming them into co-architects of the brand. The model’s success underscores the importance of participants feeling a genuine sense of ownership, not just in financial returns but in contributing to a project’s creative identity.

The Coders Room elevates collaboration even further by functioning as a decentralized writers' room. Powered by Vox In, based in Colombia, this creative collective has produced works like Pregunta Al Gurú, WALK WITH ME and El Circulo, driven entirely by community input and shared storytelling. Members aren’t just submitting ideas; they are integral collaborators, working directly with filmmakers to shape the final narrative. This approach showcases the potential for decentralized storytelling to flourish in Film3, where community-driven creativity fuels projects with diverse perspectives and styles.

0N1 Force offers another powerful example of community-led storytelling through its recent comic release, “0N1 Hunter X”. By involving 77 dedicated holders alongside industry professionals like Eisner Award-winning writer Paul Jenkins and artist Von Randal, the project has built a narrative that extends its universe through collective imagination. This method not only enriches the story but also strengthens community bonds, illustrating how Film3 projects can leverage fan engagement to create multi-layered, immersive IPs.

Amplification Through Authentic Engagement

In Film3, marketing is no longer a separate function—it’s an extension of community participation. By fostering authentic engagement, Film3 projects naturally turn community members into passionate amplifiers and cultural brand ambassadors who spread the message organically. This shift from traditional advertising to community-driven promotion underlines how powerful community buy-in can be in expanding reach and impact.

Rather than relying on conventional marketing, projects like Pudgy Penguins harness community passion where fan-driven enthusiasm fuels engagement where members naturally create fan art, share on social media, and engage in conversations that build the brand’s presence. This grassroots approach grows the brand’s reach organically, allowing it to resonate widely without traditional advertising budgets. 

Pudgy Penguins exemplifies Film3’s unique approach to organic growth through active community engagement. By contrast, Supreme achieves amplification through exclusivity, with each product reinforcing the brand’s cultural cachet.

The Supreme Effect

Supreme’s traditional model exemplifies the reach of a brand when community members identify deeply with its values. Supreme’s customers don’t just wear the clothing; they become walking representations of the brand’s identity, turning it into a status symbol that broadcasts exclusivity and lifestyle. This model shows how a community can elevate a brand from a product line into a cultural movement, creating a unique form of visibility and loyalty. In Film3, this principle is amplified, as community members act not only as consumers but as partners who help shape the identity and ethos of a brand.

The Swifties: A Lesson in Passionate Advocacy

Taylor Swift’s Swifties illustrate the powerful potential of a community mobilized by shared values and emotional investment. The Swifties’ passionate promotion of Swift’s albums, tours, and brand exemplifies how community-driven marketing can turn fans into fervent advocates. This intense loyalty fosters a lasting relationship between artist and fan, a principle Film3 projects adopt, enabling communities to amplify content, build loyalty, and create a sense of belonging. I actually wrote about “The Power of Belonging” here.

For creators, understanding this shift is crucial. The power of a community that genuinely believes in a project’s vision cannot be overstated. In Film3, this organic amplification is the foundation of any project’s success, making community the ultimate utility.

The Power of Skin in the Game

In Film3, having “skin in the game” extends beyond financial stakes to encompass a deep emotional stake in a project’s success. Members feel a personal connection, pride, and responsibility in the project’s journey. This engagement fosters a meaningful connection, where participants feel integral to the project’s evolution, contributing ideas and feedback that influence the brand’s identity.

For instance, Doodles empowers its NFT holders by giving them voting rights on key creative choices. This governance model allows participants to impact the project’s direction, making them co-creators in the brand’s ongoing story. Their involvement is more than an investment; it’s an expression of belonging and creative influence that deepens loyalty and connection to the project.

Similarly, Azuki strengthens its community bond by offering exclusive experiences and collaborative storytelling opportunities. This engagement fosters a shared identity and pride where community members feel that they are integral to Azuki’s journey, invested in its creative direction and narrative growth. Azuki fosters community-driven engagement by offering exclusive experiences, creating a sense of belonging where members feel essential to the project’s story and growth.

In both examples, participants aren’t just supporters — they’re valued collaborators, embodying Film3’s ethos of emotional engagement and collective ownership.

Platforms Fostering Participatory Impact

Platforms like Myco, Vabble, and RadTV further illustrate the Film3 model by enabling participatory impact in content distribution and engagement:

- Myco’s watch-to-earn model incentivizes engagement, rewarding users for their time, which elevates viewers from passive consumers to active contributors within the ecosystem.

- Vabble employs a decentralized curation model, empowering the community to select which projects gain funding, creating a collaborative approach to content distribution.

- RadTV uses Stream Pass NFTs for exclusive access, giving fans dynamic interaction with content on their own terms. These passes allow holders to buy, hold, or resell subscriptions, ensuring fans feel both invested and engaged.

These platforms demonstrate how Film3 expands community involvement, positioning participants as stakeholders with tangible and intangible returns on their engagement. [*not financial advice]

Pudgy Penguins, Doodles, and Supreme

Projects like Pudgy Penguins and Doodles illustrate how having “skin in the game” drives deeper engagement and connection within Web3. Pudgy Penguins has built a thriving community by integrating financial backing, creative collaboration, and social amplification, allowing members to shape the brand’s identity beyond digital assets and into physical merchandise. Doodles, meanwhile, has established a governance model that empowers NFT holders with voting rights over key project decisions, making the community essential to the project’s direction and success.

In traditional markets, Supreme has long cultivated a similar bond with its community by transforming customers into cultural ambassadors who embody the brand. This active engagement elevates Supreme into a status symbol and fosters loyalty that amplifies its reach and cultural relevance. Film3 builds on these principles, embedding communities as essential stakeholders who fuel the project’s evolution and growth.

In this way, projects like Doodles, Pudgy Penguins, and even Calladita demonstrate that “skin in the game” extends far beyond financial investment. It’s about creating a thriving, engaged community that feels pride and ownership in the project’s journey — where each member plays a pivotal role in shaping its identity and success. This transformation in ownership and engagement forms the core of Film3 entertainment, building an ecosystem where communities are indispensable to long-term growth and resilience.

The Interconnected Web of Creation

At the heart of Film3 and Web3 entertainment lies the concept of interconnectedness — a system where projects and communities collaborate to create a decentralized, shared ecosystem. This “network of networks” defines the Film3 model, where each project benefits from the contributions of others, amplifying growth and resilience across the space. By fostering collaborative engagement, Film3 projects build a collective environment where participants are not just viewers but active partners in creation and distribution.

Emergence by Crucible represents a pivotal development in this interconnected model. Designed to bring Web3’s promise of interoperability to life, Emergence enables assets like avatars, collectibles, and game items to move seamlessly across different virtual worlds. This capability allows Film3/Web3 participants to enjoy an expanded, immersive experience, where assets are no longer restricted to one platform but can be shared, repurposed, and interacted with across multiple environments. Emergence’s partnerships with Futureverse and Lamina1 support a metaverse ecosystem where users maintain control and continuity of their digital assets, enhancing cross-platform utility and agency.

Beyond simple asset transfer, Emergence opens doors to a “direct-to-avatar” economy in which community members have agency over how and where their assets are used, fostering an ownership-driven approach to content creation and engagement. This functionality aligns with Film3’s community-driven ethos, as it enables users to create and share within a broader metaverse, experiencing their contributions across multiple interconnected platforms. The flexibility and control Emergence provides reinforce the importance of community involvement, giving participants a tangible stake and creative influence over the evolving ecosystem of Web3 entertainment.

By connecting individual Film3 projects into a cohesive whole, Emergence demonstrates the potential of Web3 to build resilient, interconnected communities. Each project’s success fuels the growth of others, creating a self-reinforcing system where creators, participants, and platforms are all invested in the collective growth of the network. This model exemplifies the future of decentralized entertainment — where community engagement is both foundational and transformative. Emergence supports a community-driven model, offering participants sustained control and engagement across compatible platforms, a hallmark of Film3’s interoperable vision.

Network of Networks

Projects like Doodles and Pudgy Penguins aren’t standalone successes; they form part of a broader, interconnected web of communities. Each group’s achievements reinforce and inspire others, creating a network effect that amplifies success across the Web3 landscape. This approach cultivates a self-reinforcing system of innovation, where communities not only support but also contribute to the growth of Film3’s decentralized ecosystem.

Scaling Creator Led Studios

The growth of pioneers like Doodles, Pudgy Penguins, The Coders Room and 0N1 Force offers blueprints for scaling creator-led studios. These projects demonstrate that engaging the community at every level—from funding to creative development—creates a scalable studio model. In these Film3-driven models, community participation is the engine of growth and expansion. It’s not simply a byproduct of success; it’s the utility that fuels every aspect, from development to distribution. By harnessing community input and collaboration, Film3 projects sustain growth through shared effort and collective vision, establishing a foundation for future Film3 IPs to thrive in a decentralized landscape.

Here are key strategies for scaling Film3 projects by leveraging community contributions and feedback:

1. Leverage Community Contributions to Build Ownership:

Scaling begins by ensuring the community feels a genuine sense of ownership. Projects like Doodles and Pudgy Penguins engage their communities as co-creators, granting governance rights that empower participants to vote on significant decisions. Similarly, The Coders Room functions as a decentralized writers’ room, where members actively shape content. This model of co-ownership strengthens engagement and maintains community investment in the project’s ongoing success.

2. Create Feedback Loops for Continuous Evolution:

Establishing a continuous feedback loop allows creators to integrate community input into the project in real time. Through community voting, governance models, and social interaction, projects evolve organically based on the community's preferences. This agile approach keeps the project dynamic and responsive, sustaining long-term engagement. 0N1 Force’s community-written comic is a prime example of this, demonstrating how community input can drive storytelling.

3. Expand into New Formats with Community-Driven Momentum:

Successful scaling requires expanding beyond the project’s initial format. Pudgy Penguins exemplifies this by evolving from NFTs into merchandise and animation, all fueled by community enthusiasm. By exploring new media like gaming, physical products, or other forms, creators can tap into multiple revenue streams while remaining true to their community’s interests.

4. Incentivize Participation Through Tangible Rewards

To sustain engagement, Film3 projects go beyond emotional connection, offering tangible rewards that provide practical value to participants. Projects like Azuki deepen community loyalty by offering tokenized incentives, exclusive content, or licensing opportunities, Azuki engages community members with benefits that provide direct, practical value, making participation both a privilege and an opportunity for unique benefits. For instance, holders gain access to limited-edition merchandise, private events, and unique digital experiences. These meaningful rewards encourage sustained participation, making community members feel that their involvement is valued and rewarded in both symbolic and practical ways. By providing a mix of financial, social, and experiential perks, projects like Azuki create an ecosystem where participation is both a privilege and an opportunity for valuable, real-world engagement.

5. Leverage Decentralized Platforms for Global Reach:

Platforms like Myco, Vabble, and RadTV embody decentralized distribution in Film3, empowering community members to engage with content across traditional boundaries. This open distribution empowers the community to promote content organically across networks.

Myco: Myco uses a watch-to-earn model to make community engagement rewarding, where audiences are incentivized for their time and input, creating a mutually beneficial cycle of viewership and rewards.

Vabble: Vabble applies a decentralized curation model, empowering its community to help select and fund projects, fostering a participatory approach to content distribution.

RadTV: RadTV integrates Stream Pass NFTs, which allow for exclusive, resellable access to content, offering community members both flexibility and deeper engagement with Film3 projects.

Community as the Ultimate Utility

This transformation in the entertainment landscape reveals that community isn’t just an asset; it’s the driving force of Film3 entertainment. The shift from passive viewership to active participation marks a profound change, where community members don’t just support projects—they co-create, amplify, and sustain them. Community becomes the utility, the foundation that fuels every stage of a project’s journey, from funding and storytelling to distribution and impact.

As we look to the future, Film3 exemplifies how projects built on this collaborative model can thrive. In this new paradigm, creators and fans form a partnership that empowers both the IP and the community to grow together, creating a sustainable model where ownership, influence, and creativity reside with those who bring the project to life. This change isn’t just coming — it’s already here, and it’s redefining what it means to belong in the entertainment world. In Film3, community doesn’t just support content; it’s the heart of a new era in entertainment, where every project thrives on collective creation, shared ownership, and the limitless potential of community-driven innovation.