Community Run Forums for Starship SF - Twilight (for 35mm film)

Reply #90 - Mar 12^th, 2013 at 2:45pm

L.A. Connection Offline
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I've been a part of a discussion of whether even DVDS will exist for much longer, let alone 35mm.

The short answer is "for a while." As record companies have found out, digital downloads aren't as profitable as physical media. Last year was the first time in several years that profits went up. There will always be some form of a "Collector's Market" out there, however small it may become (i.e. Lps).

The larger question about digital streaming, downloads, VOD and the "cloud" is whether movies released exclusively digitally can really be considered "real movies" at all. Since the silent era there have always been orphan films without lasting ownership that have fallen through the cracks. If those orphans didn't find their way to Videotape or TV broadcasts in some way, most became "lost films." In the 80s there was a whole generation of 'Straight to Video' (DTV) productions. Again, if those DTV films didn't get "preserved" on DVD (or TV broadcasts), many only exist in dusty VHS collections or your local Goodwill bins.

Now, we have a situation where some of these so-called "Movies" only exist digitally. They will likely never be broadcast on Cable or Local TV (VOD doesn't count for the purpose of this discussion) - and forget about Theatrical showings. There won't be a DVD/Blu Ray. It's great for a DIY filmmaker to have some outlet online for his work to be seen via streaming or download; But, ten years from now, will those films really still EXIST? Many of the websites that the DIY filmmakers have set up will either no longer exist or become forgotten and/or abandoned like those millions of MySpace accounts. Will mega-sites like Amazon still offer streaming or downloads for a film that has "sold" 1 or 2 streams in the past 5 years? No cable outlet will broadcast such an under-the-radar title. Without a physical DVD or Theatrical showings, how many major publications or websites will have reviewed these films? Sure, an obscure website or blog (if it's still functioning) may have mentioned the movie, but, who will notice?? Of course, there will be the one exception that someone will point out of a superior movie that is remembered, but, what of the hundreds and thousands of others??

Of course, these movies will still "exist" in some form or another on a quantum level, so one could theoretically track it down on a torrent site or in some future cloud database - but, 10 years from now, how will anybody even know about the movie to track it down? Does a movie really exist if nobody knows about it? And, there are already MAJOR questions about file formats, digital storage and compatibility issues. Will a tiny movie on an obscure digital format from 18 years earlier still be playable on future computers?

These are some of the philosophical questions that the new non-physical media world poses. As I noted, it's great for DIY movie-makers to have some outlet to show their work. But, if they are shown only in the most ephemeral of ways, are they really "Movies" in the way we have known them for the past 100+ years?