(This page is only one section of the thesis. To view the full thesis, click here.)

The Relationship Between Filmmaker and Followers

As has been discussed throughout the industry analysis and the thesis so far, the relationship between an independent documentary filmmaker and the social media followers is a crucial part of bringing awareness to a film and giving the ultimate social cohesion and insight into a particular topic; for I am Belmaya, this topic was the focused on the difficult life of women in Nepal. When it comes to understanding the importance that a filmmaker has with their followers, the main factors are trustworthiness, credibility, and authenticity because these potential viewers see films that possess an important value which can enrich both their minds and spirits (Chuu et al., 2009) . These factors are what establish a strong relationship on social media between the filmmaker/film, and followers/viewers.

The three factors—trustworthiness, credibility, and authenticity—are what will be used to have a better understanding into the engagement of the posts made on the I am Belmaya social media accounts. As Hajili (2014) states, “in the context of online communities, trust can facilitate the interaction of individuals.” To follow up on that, the interaction of individuals within the independent documentary community is the most useful way to facilitate discussion about a film’s topic. This is supported by Karlin and Johnson (2011) as they mention that the “media landscape both allows and impels the film’s impact on individual viewers and the broader culture in which they are imbedded.” Based on those claims, it can be argued that today’s modern age of social media interaction can influence the impact a film has on individuals who watch those independent documentaries. Combined the online social media interaction, and depending on the topic, the documentary has the opportunity to complete its “ultimate goal” of social change (Karlin & Johnson 2011).

Based on a survey done focusing on documentary film viewers in Europe, it was mentioned that the most impactful documentaries involved “extraordinary individuals” (Jones 2020). When specifically understanding the relationship between viewers and I am Belmaya, the film has the unique opportunity to connect with viewers to a greater extent because of the specific topic the film covers; the film I am Belmaya, follows an individual who lives a difficult life, ultimately reaching her goals through an incredible journey. This link between watching an individual’s journey in a documentary and having an impact on the viewer, directly reflects the similar idea of following the same film’s campaign on social media and viewing the effects of engagement with those similar individuals. Audiences who view these films see it as a lifestyle, and this creates a different, but stronger relationship when compared to commercial entertainment films (Chuu et al., 2009). This study focuses on which types of posts may have they greatest display of that relationship through social engagement, ultimately leading to greater social awareness for the topics brought up within the film.

Overall, it is important to understand that the social media campaign for an independent documentary film is best understood through the engagement followers have with the content being posted. This social engagement serves as sign as to understand how strong the established relationship that is established through trust, credibility, and authenticity. An in-depth look into this relationship is viewed through the next sections (Qualitative Analysis and Quantitative Analysis). Conclusively, the main task of this examination is to find which types of posts on social media create the most engagement among followers and the possible reasons for that outcome.

Qualitative Analysis: Categorizing Posts

During the I am Belmaya social media campaign, there had been hundreds of posts per social platform, with many forms of engagement for each of the posts. In order to determine whether the social media posts had been successful in creating engagement, the best option was to create different categories for the content being posted. By creating categories for the different social media content, it creates the possibility to recognize trends or patterns that may surface from what has been posted. Being able to extract the information from these patterns allows for the determination of which types of post are more successful in creating engagement between the film account and its followers, specifically for an independent documentary film. The social media content from all accounts has been divided into three categories—emotional posts, open promotion posts, and workplace posts.

Beginning with emotional posts, this category focuses on the more personal content being posted. Examples of these emotional posts include content such as personal stories that talk about Belmaya Nepali (the subject of the film) or Sue Carpenter (the director), inspiring or thought provoking quotes, or posts containing information of Belmaya’s journey after the filming of the documentary. The purpose of these posts are to create discussion on the social platforms, but also with the possibility of discussion outside of these platforms, because the act of sharing this emotional content creates a relationship of trust between the film account and the followers. Below are examples of emotional posts:

The next category of content would be the open promotion posts. The content included in this category are what would be seen as traditional marketing for most films. For example, open promotion posts would include film posters, film trailers, advertisements for film screenings, interviews, and even fundraising announcements. All this content is posted to create awareness for the film through traditional marketing methods. Below are examples of open promotion posts:

The final category of content would be the workplace posts. Workplace posts have the specific tasks of allowing followers to receive updates on the filmmaking process, this can include posts that are focusing on development, production, or post-production of the film. By giving followers the ability to have a “behind-the-scenes” look into the filmmaking process, it creates a sense of authenticity and credibility for the filmmakers, creating a positive relationship for the followers of these social accounts. Below are examples of workplace posts:

It is important to state that there are posts that do overlap into multiple categories. Although this was rarely found throughout the content that was examined, it is still covered within the data collected. In an overview, by having three categories—emotional posts, open promotion posts, and workplace posts—it allows for a more comprehensive understanding into which posts are best for creating engagement from followers for an independent documentary film campaign on social media.

Quantitative Analysis: Understanding Follower Engagement

After dividing the posts into three categories, a qualitative analysis of the study is done in order to determine which type of posts create the most amount of engagement from followers. Within this study, engagement will be determined through the amount of likes, comments, and views (for videos). For Twitter, the amount of retweets will be included and for Facebook, the amount of shares will be included.

The best way to determine engagement for each of the categories will be through following the process below:

1. Examine all posts and determine which posts go into the proper category.
2. Once posts are categorized, determine how many posts are within each category.
3. After the number of posts are determined per category, each category is then separately analyzed for engagement.
   1. 1. 1. Count the amount of “Likes” on all platforms
         2. Count the amount of “Comments” on all platforms
         3. Count the amount of “Views” on all platforms (videos only)
         4. Count the amount of “Retweets” on Twitter (100 recent tweets)
         5. Count the amount of “Shares” on all Facebook posts
4. Once the amount of engagements per category is quantified, that value is divided by the amount of posts within that specific category. This value will give the average number of engagement per posts for a specific category (see equation below).

Total number of engagements ÷ Total number of posts = Average Engagements per Post

All data will be recorded into charts. An example of the layout for the charts is below: