I make handmade shoes as a hobby and I can definitely attest that there aren't very many of us left (only about 5 true bespoke shoemakers in the US - I'll hopefully make it 6 soon). We all worry about the craft dying out completely, but paradoxically, all the shoemakers I know have wait lists a mile long. My hypothesis is that a craft nearly dies out when less costly substitutes become available, but eventually the craftspeople realize they're no longer competing with those substitutes, raise their prices, and sell to those few enthusiasts with the most inelastic demand. The people that buy bespoke shoes these days generally don't do it for their utility - they buy in the same way an art collector would buy a piece of art. John Lobb in London starts their shoes at 8,000 GBP. My follow-up question is - would this pattern sustain a small group of human movie writers? Bespoke shoes, vinyl records, handmade furniture, etc. are all very tangible things that remain in our possession after we buy them. I wonder if cinephiles would pay exorbitant premiums to watch a fully human made movie that doesn't physically stick with them after the show. Would there be enough demand for theaters to consider screening them? Perhaps it could work over streaming since that removes the theater problem, but that doesn't strike me as a preferred outcome for cinephiles?
I make handmade shoes as a hobby and I can definitely attest that there aren't very many of us left (only about 5 true bespoke shoemakers in the US - I'll hopefully make it 6 soon). We all worry about the craft dying out completely, but paradoxically, all the shoemakers I know have wait lists a mile long. My hypothesis is that a craft nearly dies out when less costly substitutes become available, but eventually the craftspeople realize they're no longer competing with those substitutes, raise their prices, and sell to those few enthusiasts with the most inelastic demand. The people that buy bespoke shoes these days generally don't do it for their utility - they buy in the same way an art collector would buy a piece of art. John Lobb in London starts their shoes at 8,000 GBP. My follow-up question is - would this pattern sustain a small group of human movie writers? Bespoke shoes, vinyl records, handmade furniture, etc. are all very tangible things that remain in our possession after we buy them. I wonder if cinephiles would pay exorbitant premiums to watch a fully human made movie that doesn't physically stick with them after the show. Would there be enough demand for theaters to consider screening them? Perhaps it could work over streaming since that removes the theater problem, but that doesn't strike me as a preferred outcome for cinephiles?
Perhaps they would pay several thousand dollars and get listed in the credits or attend a premiere and meet the director and cast.