I have been looking, yet again, into the current state of online content delivery and how it impacts on my great love in life, movies. When is the Internet really going to change the way we view movies? I mean really change it. And I came across a great quote that for me really summarises what we want as human beings, as voracious consumers of stories.
“YouTube is lean-forward content. Cinema and TV is lean-back. The longer something is, the more it fits into the lean-back model.” – Alexander Cohen, Founder, UndergroundFilm.org
That’s it for me. We will often take a punt on something short – a viral email quicktime or a link to a funny moment on YouTube – it’s usually sweet or sour, or sweet AND sour, and hey, never mind the quality, and also, don’t worry if it’s no good for you, it’s just a guilty little pleasure… a distraction for a moment in our busy day.
This is in stark contrast to our expectations with long form story telling.
For us as consumers, a feature length movie is an investment we make, in both time and money. Like a formal dinner round at a friends house, or a social event, watching a movie is a gathering that carries rituals (the ritual of a couple going to Blockbuster to choose a film, or of getting dressed up to go to the cinema). This human activity is part of what separates these ways of watching content, and therefore shapes and dictates that content. Of course there is digital media bleed, it’s seeping in everywhere, but right now, I still believe it is of lesser impact to the market than some pundits might have you believe. And hey, none of this distraction will get you any closer to the real holy grail, A GREAT STORY TOLD WELL!
Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com
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