I know writing about media distribution channels that don’t seem to “get it” on Wikinomics can be like shooting fish in a barrel, but I was compelled to write this post based on two experiences I’ve had with the film industry recently, and I wonder what your take on them is…
The first came while traveling in Orlando, after a recent Talent 2.0 conference. Andrea and I decided to spend a few hours visiting Mickey and Co. at the Magic Kingdom before returning to Toronto, and on the way out, I visited the giftshop looking for some souvenirs to take home, along with an entertaining DVD to watch on the flight back to Toronto. I had my sights set on Wall-E, after having really enjoyed it in the theatre, and having also seen a sign for Disney’s new feature, DisneyFile, which allows you to make a digital copy of a movie to watch on a portable device.
Perfect! I thought…I will get the DVD and upload the movie to my iPhone, so that I won’t have to deal with my laptop on the plane. I was internally commending Disney for being among the early ones to let owners view the media they had purchased in the format of their choice. That was, until I found the DVD and realized that the DisneyFile was actually part of a premium 3-disc addition, that would cost another $10 for the DisneyFile transfer disc (which could be transferred to 1 portable device, using a one-time activation code).
I understand that the additional coding and technology required to provide the DisneyFile does not come for free, and that there is a price to be paid for convenience - but at what price should I be able to “own” the media that I have paid to view, in whichever format I choose? I had already paid $13.75 to see the movie in the theatre, and combined with the special edition DVD purchase at $32.95 + tax, I was looking at nearly $50.00 to be able to enjoy one of my new favourite movies as I wished.
The second experience came when reading about an $8 million theatre overhaul in Toronto that is taking an old revue cinema (late first-run movies, smaller screens) and transforming it in to a new destination, featuring “business-class” loveseats and high-end concessions (like sushi and liquor - not so new in many places). Now I may be alone here, but as a less than frequent movie-goer, what’s kept me out of the theatre hasn’t been the lack of higher-end food or uncomfortable seats - it’s been a lack of value proposition on other fronts - i.e. lack of showtimes, lack of social interaction (film festivals get this one right and encourage discussion around a film, feature speakers etc.) and, the 10 minutes of commercials that come before the previews and feature film.
Personally, the quality of home theatre systems is not much of a detractor for me, as I do appreciate the picture and audio quality of a true theatre, but many comments on the article seem to point to the fact that “it’s just not my living room” as the main reason for not going “to the movies,” anymore.
Maybe I’m just cheap, or it could be my Net Gen drive for customization, but each of these experiences has left me less than impressed, and made me just that bit less concerned for an industry that is still crying foul at piracy and declining profits.
I, for one, would be a strong supporter of a middle of the road payment, say $25 - $30, that would allow me to see a movie in the theatres, and later have the rights to the DVD and its viewing (in all formats), once the disc(s) became available. With the time between a movie’s release and its digital availability decreasing, in both legitimate and illegitimate format, it’s time for a new pricing model that (re)engages movie-goers, even if it does take some collaboration between studios and exhibitors.
How much would you pay for “ownership” of full format-viewing capabilities of the latest flick?
How would you help save the experience of “going to the movies?” Is it a tradition worth saving?
Ian, Great post! Changes are coming, and I wanted to let you know about some of the work that we are doing with Fadow, the Toronto-based media distribution company that I co-founded.
We’ve developed a media distribution kiosk, initially targeted to transit venues like airports and train stations - with the idea that you can transfer media to a USB storage device or your smartphone direct from the kiosk. This is partly about offering significantly faster downloads, but also creates new opportunities to “merchandising” the web.
A solution like ours might have solved your issue with Disney, but what I really wanted to comment on were your comments on movie-going. We’re focused right now on our pilot at Boston Logan airport, but movie theaters are on our roadmap as one of our next steps. I see a tremendouns opportunity in making movie-going a more social experience; leveraging social media for advertising and the community for movie selection and for sourcing of a panel to discuss the film. The interest on our part is that this opens up movie-going to catalog movies; customers would pay a similar ticket price to watching a new release, but would be able to take a copy of the movie home with them, picked up from one of our kiosks at the venue.
Check us out at fadow.com; we’re just getting started, and you will be seeing lots of exciting innovation coming out of our team.
For me, going to the movies is all about getting out of the house to enjoy a movie in a format that’s difficult to match at home. The quality of film is just so much better than watching pixels on your tv, and the sound systems are great too (although maybe if I had a better home theater the difference would be narrower). Fancy seats and sushi mean very little to me, I’d look at it as needless overhead that I’m paying for. But a brighter picture, higher framerates, giant wrap around screens, moving floors (for special effects)… now we’re talking!
An interesting case for the ‘in-theatre experience’ would be the newest Batman movie, “The Dark Knight”. It was the first film to use IMAX film for the action sequences and the cityscape shots. If you saw the movie in IMAX at the theatre then rented it on DVD later (…because I would never download it…), you would undoubtedly agree that Christopher Nolan was able to use this new(ish) technology to create a noticeably more vibrant cinema experience.
As a net-gener, I agree with Alan that the bells and whistles of this executive-style movie theatre don’t really entice me. I’m more than happy with buying my Super Nibs across the street at the convenience store and smuggling them in.
End-game: I want to be entertained DURING the film, but if I want shaking seats and water splashing in my face while it rains on screen, I’ll go to Disney Land with Ian. Give me a memorable trip to the theatre through inventive camera work and technology that I can’t replicate in my house or on my computer, and I can assure you that I’ll be back for the sequel.
[...] Moving towards the 2.0 “movie-going” experience - Ian Da Silva poses a thoughtful question about the future of movie distribution. This parallels many of the "converged" purchase models that I have discussed with my media clients. It will be interesting to see how long it is before you purchase your ticket at a theater and are given the option to pay an extra fee to download the video when it is released online… [...]