Inside the Factory — AMA with our Team.
TLDR: The Glue Factory is a project with a purpose.
CREATIVITY: Firstly, holding a Glue Factory NFT opens a new world of community creativity. We originally had our Community Writers’ Room, where holders were able to pitch ideas to our writing team through a series of fun assignments. We’re currently developing our second NFT drop SPACE FHORSE with our community through our Community Creators’ Room, and of course, all holders will be able to mint from this collection for free. This is going to be a little different to your conventional second drop, we’ve locked in an incredible illustration partner, and they’re in the process of creating the announcement asset. We cannot wait to share this in the next week.
REWARDS: We also have our Talent Fund — 2.5% of both initial and secondary sales will go back to reward holders. While this will have a first-round of distribution timed with the show release, this fund will continue and have an ongoing reward system for our holders.
CHARITY: From the initial mint, the community gave what we believe is the biggest ever NFT donation of $315 000 to Red Bucket Rescue, who work to save the slaughter-bound and abused horses who inspired this crazy idea. We are committed to this partnership and will be launching further initiatives to give back to this most incredible charity and support their life-changing work.
SHOW: Also, the show we’re making is legit — with incredible writers and actors from Superstore, SNL, Chicago Party Aunt, American Auto .. (it goes on). Whilst there have been slight delays in finalising episode 1 due to covid, there is an EPIC cast announcement coming and we will be holding a special preview for the Glue Gang in February. We have BIG plans for this series and where it will eventually end up. We’ve always likened this collection to a reverse Comic-Con — starting with the colt collectibles of this new animated show, and trailblazing a new mode of content creation.
It was a joy to get together with our awesome Community Manager Winx to discuss community questions and shed a little more light on what we are building together for the Glue Factory and beyond.
Winx: So awesome to have the opportunity to speak candidly with you and respond to the community. To get us started, is there anything you want to say off the bat?
We’d say don’t paint us with the same brush as other NFT projects. There are some projects that want to be everything to everyone but our vision is more specific and through specificity we will unlock the ultimate possibilities of Web3 and entertainment.
A little bit of alpha for you..
The Glue Factory is just the first part of our journey. One that we are committed to making a journey to success and not a race to failure. We are planning for the future and how we can take the concept of NFTs to the world through entertainment, working to break down the stigma that exists in the minds of those who are not yet initiated.
It might sound cliched — but we are still so early. There is but a fraction of wallets, and NFT holders to people who engage in pop culture, entertainment, cartoons, media, the works. THIS is our market — it includes our incredible community and the ‘early adopters’ of NFTs, but we have such a big pool to tap into — and this is really what excites us.
Winx: Let’s jump into some questions from the community. French Monkey asks — what has been the most challenging, and rewarding aspect of making this show?
Like most, of these past few years, it’s undeniably Covid. It’s completely out of our control and has disrupted our timelines that we can’t plan for especially in the recording and animation phases — with studio limits in the recording booths and travel restrictions.
Nevertheless, it has been mediated by the excitement of seeing this come together — from ideation, script-writing, community engagement through to the animation phase. We truly feel that this project has revolutionised the content creation process.
Through this project and making the show it’s also drawn attention to the horrible realities of so many horses — and we are hopeful of the good that this will continue to engender.
Winx: If you were to do this all over again, what would you change, what would you keep the same? (French Monkey)
To set out with a goal of bringing something to life at an incredible pace is one thing, but to realise the opportunity as it evolves, the phenomenal work from our Showrunner Jon Barinholtz, all our writers and producers to bring together a truly astonishing cast, and the opportunities that now presents us with, really makes putting initial deadlines and timelines out there a bit of an interesting conundrum. We are now are faced with infinitely more opportunity and credibility in what we have pulled together.
To see what is in front of us now, even in bringing the last few cast members together, has been game-changing. We wouldn’t change anything that has been done, but it’s fascinating to see how it’s evolved and what we can now dream — is in many ways bigger than where we were even in November last year.
At the crux of this question also sits the tension between the 24/7 fast pace of NFTs and the slower and often more nuanced pace needed in traditional media. It’s a tightrope trying to balance that — in terms of the show creation process, providing updates to the community and also in terms of a push out to PR.
With hindsight, a key thing we could have explored differently is doing a PR push after launch — highlighting our incredible sale, a groundbreaking method of content creation and also the huge charity donation. We were also (and still are) moving a million miles a minute. This as a proof of concept is revolutionary, and so while we want to lock the project into the hearts and minds of the NFT community, our sights are also locked on establishing the Glue Factory as a mainstream brand that will bring value to our genesis collection.
We’ve also only joined forces with our incredible CM Winx in the last month. She’s been phenomenal, she totally gets this community and we love the activations she has already implemented and her future plans for the Glue Gang. It sounds like a campaign slogan but we’re all about Glue ‘22.
TALENT FUND + ECONOMICS
Winx: So, lots of interest in learning more about the talent fund. What can you reveal?
From the outset, it’s important to clarify that the talent fun has always been 2.5% of the initial mint sale and 2.5% of ongoing secondary sales. When we first set out, this notion of a talent fund was a key way to reward our holders for their belief in this concept, which admittedly at the time was a pretty wild idea and an amazingly talented team of writers.
Our plan has always been distribution to the community when the first series drops to reward our holders. This timing of this, being when the six episodes drop is to ensure there is a healthy pool for the rewards but we do note that the 2.5% is ongoing so the fund will be replenished.
One of the key issues that we’ve always been very mindful of is regulation and the difficulties of using NFT as financial instruments and how that’s viewed.
It’s crucial to stay within the grounds of regulation and legislation, and also provide ongoing value to the community. Legislation is murky though and on legal advice, we have held off on giving specifics because we do see this as an evolving space, and it is possible for regulators to retrospectively scrutinise. Our initial idea for the model was fairly straightforward in the distribution method of 2.5% to holders but we want to be safe and ensure it is a reward for active participation and not passive. We are talking to bigger brains than ours to nail it all but there will consideration for actions taken, such as participation in Writers & Creators Rooms, as well as future actions, say the interaction with our content — tweeting about episodes, sharing Youtube content, essentially activating our amazing community to spread the good word about Glue Factory when it is released. It’s a win for everyone!
A side note too, going out with the rewards too early would provide as much value as a fast food meal.
We set out with very clear intentions to push the boundaries of community creativity while also developing a proof of concept that shows you can use Web3 to reach Hollywood. While the NFT community has grown considerably, you don’t need to look far to find resistance to NFTs — people often fear what they don’t understand. We want to make this a safe environment that doesn’t come under fire from regulators or anything like that so that we can build the entertainment of the future and bring NFTs to the world in the process.
Winx: A question from JLBALL — Although we can say it’s unfortunate, it’s quite obvious that the community will grow if there are incentives (particularly financial ones) to hold horses beyond the simple pleasure of having them and watching the show, are you prepared to that?
The 2.5% Talent Fund is ongoing. Sales will always be committed to rewarding the community.
What’s super exciting for us is that the Glue Factory is a proof of concept in so many ways. In its use of NFTs to generate the show creation process, in the writing process which is based on those NFTs and for us, what was such a fun and unique aspect of this was the Discord native Community Writer’s Room. We feel we’re leading the charge here, and while there are other fantastic projects with community involvement, this collaboration is paving the way for our next moves, which will always seek to engage and reward holders.
Winx: Okay, so let’s chat IP and commercial rights. As this is always a key question that comes up in the NFT space.
We’ve gone down a slightly different model to some projects as we haven’t given IP. However, as per our terms of sale, our license permits holders to make commercial use of the art associated with your NFT up to a value of $100,000 per annum by means of derivative works.
This restriction exists to give this epic pilot series the best chance.
Winx: Oh and are those figurines still happening?
Oh yes! These are still definitely happening.
We’re also exploring some other fun merch items that we will announce very soon, some of which will be as part of future fundraising efforts for Red Bucket!
THE SHOW
Winx: Okay, let’s move onto one of the most exciting parts of this project — the creation of the show. How did you decide on the method of roll out?
Well first and foremost, we know everyone is SUPER keen to see the show. Believe us, we want to share it too. We flew half-way across the world to start pitching it — we just want it to be on point.
The decision to do an early release of the first pilot episode has always been a way of rewarding the community for their patience. While we know this has been a lightning pace of creation — from ideation, to writing, to recording and now the current animation stage but also recognise that these mere months can feel like an eternity in the fast-paced NFT space.
Unfortunately, and with full transparency, January has been a real pain with covid related delays. Due to that instead of the end of January, we are going to just push it back a little until February. We know this is frustrating, and we are itching to show the community, but there is a need to get this right. Also, the reality of creating a show is that there are often delays.
Once it’s all locked and loaded we will announce the screening, and paired with the cast announcement, it will be a double whammy to really get everyone excited.
The rest of the series will drop once it’s all ready to go, and the release schedule will be announced once there are clearer updated animation timelines, but this special preview is our way of thanking our community and giving them insight on what’s to come.
Winx: Can you talk through the selection of characters and traits for the show?
The writers wrote the show looking at the collection! It is directly inspired bythis series of NFTs.
During the world-building process there was a need for some creative license. 10 000 horses is a whole lot of possibilities. Some traits had to be removed for simplification and as part of the world building process — removing headless humans was important for our main characters! If certain traits aren’t used in Series 1, as it’s been written there is plenty of scope to look to the next chapters.
This is also why, in response to another question — metadata for the original blue factory collection will not be changed for the horses, even if they have a name on the show.
Winx: How many voice actors will we have on the show?
Our team has done an incredible job of securing TWENTY voice actors — and there are some HUGE names in this list — including some household names. The full cast announcement will be dropping very soon and we know it’s going to generate a whole new wave of excitement.
We know there is a habit or desire in the NFT world to get alpha at every turn, but this is a key tension when you’re also making bigger media plays that need a more considered and crafted approach. We have been dying to share the cast as they have come on, it’s been so exciting to see the names flow in, but we had to hold to allow for maximum impact.
Winx: Wow, I cannot wait for the cast announcement. DanNortSo wonders if there are any non-professionals — perhaps from the NFT space included in this list?
Great question! There is indeed a special cameo from someone pretty big in the NFT space, voicing a character that very much aligns with who we imagine they might be in this equine world. We’ll leave you guessing on that one…
Winx: Let’s chat about the production process — there are a few questions around establishing production, the use of the mint to cover costs and the animation.
Even a humble operation has many parts! We have a production company and are a small team (for the world of show creation) but share a lot of different responsibilities. This first series has been covered by the mint and encompasses our awesome writers, producers, actors, directors, our animation and illustration team etc. We are Screen Actors Guild certified too.
Our ultimate goal is to get picked up by a streamer or network and bring in a larger production team. We’re excited to see what happens as we take this proof of concept and pitch it to networks to see how much bigger it can become.
Winx: JLBALL also asks about whether there is a collaboration between ZED and GFS?
Yes, there is! This was announced last year ‘More Horsing Around: The Glue Factory Partners with Virtually Human Studio’. The full details on what this means will be revealed in the lead up the airing of our full series. Keen eyes might be able to spot a certain dashing racehorse or two in future Glue’s Clues.
Winx: Okay, let’s move onto some questions surrounding the Writers’ Room. This was such a unique and cool part of your project.
The Writers’ Room was truly such an exciting part of creating the show and we think what really set this project apart. We were really able to test the waters of what you can do when you bring community together with a team that has a traditional writing for TV background.
You’ve seen in the teaser of the mall we shared for ‘Glue’s Clues’ that there have been some cool ways to infuse the community suggestions. Of course, we will be looking to credit our community contributions.
This is also something that we are working to build upon. While the Community Creators’ room might still be in its infancy we can’t what to share more on what is coming to life with the community when the time is right. Watch this space as we continue to pioneer new ways to harness community creativity through Web3.
WHAT NEXT
Winx: A great question from Cryptomaples — given how surprised you were at the quality of community writing contributions, will there be an increased opportunity for GFS holders to be involved in creating more of the future eps?
Our goal is to narrow in on community creativity and build platforms and systems for harnessing creativity. We’ve loved the responses to writing assignments and want to provide more opportunities like this. Shall we say, that the Glue Factory Show is just the first horse out of the gate?
Winx: Oh yes, of course — we have the community collaboration as part of SPACE FHORSE
Space FHorse is an example of taking this one step further and we believe that there is an opportunity here to develop something that is built with the community from the ground up. We are excited to say that we have locked in our illustration partner for Space FHorse. Not only do they have a killer illustration style and creativity, but it is so exciting to see how they can engage with the community to capture their content creation process. They will be drawing ideas to respond to the community feedback, if not in real-time in very close proximity.
This evolution of Space FHorse is going to be such fun. We are just working on the announcement assets but will be announcing this partnership VERY soon.
Winx: So, you visited Red Bucket Rescue yesterday. Tell us, how was this?
Yesterday, was the most incredible affirmation of the purpose that has driven this project. It has always been born from a desire to spotlight the horrible realities of so many poor horses. It was a privilege to visit Red Bucket and see the life-changing work that they do every day.
While we believe our $315 000 donation was the biggest of any NFT project, it was so salient to see how needed the money was, and the ongoing need to support their work. We will be doing a full write-up of the visit to better share with the community the value of this donation, and want to also explore community input into how we can continue to support the incredible work of Red Bucket Rescue.
Winx: So, a quite a few questions about what next. Lets chat release method and network aspirations?
In terms of network, currently, this is a proof of concept. We are producing the six episodes that will exist on the web. However, we are also pitching this show and are confident with the team who have brought the show to life and the talent they have brought in to voice the horses.
It’s also important to clarify that unless it’s an official Netflix production no one can guarantee that they’re going to end up on Netflix. Just putting the logo in a roadmap is not going to get you there.
However, we have an incredible team of writers that have a history of selling shows to Netflix — Katie and Jon wrote, created, voiced and sold Chicago Party Aunt to Netflix. Jon is in NBC’s marquee new show American Auto — and that’s not even talking about the rest of the writers’ accomplishments. We are very well placed to get in front of the right people!
Ultimately, we want to see the Glue Factory on televisions across the world and will continue to work hard to make that happen. This is the ultimate goal, and why we are structuring things the way we are, why we are announcing things in such a way. We love the NFT space, but our hope is for this project to exist beyond this, and to draw new people into the world of NFTs.
Winx: What comes after the pilot release, what’s the long term goal and will we be seeing horses in the metaverse?
We would love to see horses in the metaverse! Which one though? We are yet to decide on how this comes to life but are interested to see how this evolves.
In terms of what’s next. We are building — an entertainment brand, but also new modes to harness and further community creativity.
You can’t spell web3 without we, and we have big plans as being the convergence of community and creativity.
Winx: Okay, we’ve covered so much here. I think this is the perfect question to end on. It comes from JLBall:
The community is always asking for more, but you could also have some thoughts about this community. What would you like, and do you need help?
We are so grateful for the support of our incredible community to date. We know what we are building not a 24-hour flip. The community’s patience, embracing of this new model of creativity and of course, their support of Red Bucket, has been so empowering and uplifting.
We’ve also got a Google Form— for people to give us anonymous feedback or suggestions on what they would like to see from the Glue Factory.
In terms of what we want from the community — now, that we are hitting the key phase in terms of announcements and previews, we need to community to help us spread the glue.
This is really what 2022 is all about — your support in explaining the ultimate vision of building the future of entertainment to all the newcomers when they inevitably arrive in the coming months is what the Glue Gang and Web3 is all about.
Together we can aim beyond what is happening in this NFT microcosm and power forward with the future of entertainment with Web3 and community creativity at the forefront.
