HITS

By Devendra Mishra, Chief Strategist, MESA –

Hollywood is on an epic journey to deliver its content direct-to-consumer (D2C), a journey that will not only transform distribution, but also the content itself as the creation process is increasingly informed by technology, and by data reflecting the demographics, lifestyles and even inspirations of content consumers.

The population experiencing content has never been more far-reaching, diverse, global, time-constrained and digitally savvy. Content must evolve to satisfy their insatiable demand for entertainment.

At this point in time, with two major new D2C services from Apple and Disney launched to compete with Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, and at least two more coming next year (HBO Max and Peacock), there are still more questions than answers about the longterm effect that this new distribution paradigm will have on content creation.

Technology has taken the film industry from silent, black-and-white films to high- definition movies that are capable of making the audience feel as if they are there. Deployment of technology to enhance creativity in content production is in its embryonic stage. Just like it has for a lot of other industries, technology has completely changed the film industry — from the ways movies get made, to how they are edited, to the ways audiences watch them. It’s amazing how much digital technology is transforming the film industry in terms of deployment of drones, 4K cameras, the cloud, and voice recognition, to name a few.

Will films exhibited at a multiplex become to consumers in the future what arcade now are to video games? For audiences, it’s no longer necessary to go to a theater in the neighborhood to see the one nightly showing of a movie. On-demand, streaming services and TV have allowed viewers to experience their favorite entertainment whenever, and wherever, they want without time restrictions and imposed schedules.

Or will content be transformed in the spirit of IDEO CEO Tim Brown’s “Design Thinking” in which change is driven from the customer’s point of view, and innovative content will emerge?

We see some trends.

The growing role of technology

For a considerable period now, Netflix has been developing content driven by data analytics of consumer viewing habits, preferences and desires. The augmentation of the creative process with data analytics certainly maximizes the market size for the content where the ability to be truly creative is questionable. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) continue to be experimented with in the post-3D world to create an immersive experience. Professionals are utilizing 4K 3D cameras to film movies for VR playing. Prognosticators point out that a headset-less VR or AR will provide escape velocity for the format.

Video game connections grow

Nearly a decade ago, interactive story telling was sought to provide a quantum leap in consumer experience, but the efforts of studios and others failed. Attempts to collaborate with video game companies also failed.

But today it appears that TV programmers are beginning to successfully build shows based on video games. Netflix’s The Witcher and 17 other video games destined to be made into films and TV shows appear promising. The streaming player has also announced it will work with developer Next Games to create a third mobile game based on its hit series Stranger Things. The confluence of video games and TV may lead to the type of interactive entertainment that has eluded us thus far.

Despite attempts over the decades, only a few films and television shows have been successful in bringing the fun of gaming to the big screen. Here the overlaps between new media and media interfaces are becoming significant, as games technologies and practices are becoming more pervasive as commonplace social practices.

Catering to short attention spans

YouTube has made user-generated videos a staple food for America, and a reality in which the consumer creates their own professional content for mass consumption may not be elusive.

Short-form premium content viewed in 10 minutes or less will be delivered by Quibi to mobile phone users. Telecom and cable companies, which now nourish the umbilical cord between content and consumer, are exerting their power in the value chain. They hope content will satisfy the multi-tasking young consumers who expect instant gratification on their mobile smart phones.

Diversity of material, POV

It’s refreshing to witness how sources of stories inspire and strengthen production of film and TV content. Modern Love, a new series from Amazon, takes its name, theme and most of the main characters and storylines from a weekly column in the Style section of The New York Times, in which guest writers tell a personal tale of love. It is also a podcast in which well-known actors read the columns.

Similarly, the silver screen has been successfully tapping magazines. When Jessica Pressler was reporting her story in New York Magazine, she had the sense that her story about a group of strippers-turned-criminals was the stuff movies are made of. STX produced Hustlers, a movie based on the writer’s piece.

Describing the current management in Hollywood studios, Jenno Topping, president of film and television at Chernin Entertainment observed: “They are largely white, middle-upper and middle-class groups of people, and way more men than women, especially the higher up the ranks you go.

It this lends itself to an environment akin to an echo chamber — often insular in taste, perspective, ideas, and problem- solving methodology.” Imagine the impact on content creation when greater diversity is brought to the executive ranks of film production, marketing and distribution where these functions are woefully homogeneous!

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