Author Don Tapscott started his presentation at a recent producers’ conference noting it’s a tough time to be a tyrant right now. He remarked that in the countries Tunisia, Egypt and Libya where there are social revolutions taking place – people under 30 are leading the demand for rights.
Not surprisingly, they are the ones most familiar with social media and its power. He suggested that it’s the first time in history young people are the authorities in such a transformational revolution of all our institutions.
He then went on to talk about television and film.
First that the age of the television viewers is becoming older – as anyone who has kids knows. ABC Nightly News average age is 65.
As TV becomes increasingly digital, anytime is primetime. Netflix is a game changer. In its first four months in Canada it already has 900,000 subscribers, almost as many as pay The Movie Network. In the States, Netflix has over 20 million subscribers.
With new digital platforms like Apple TV and Google TV coming on stream, viewers are their own curators of their their tv experience.
The same is true for film 2.0. Tapscott thinks that movie theatres are a form of abuse with their dirty seats and greasy popcorn and looks to exhibitors to create value for the future. For instance in Singapore, film theatres have reclining seats where servers bring you drinks and food to your seat. Theatre chain, AMC in the States is experimenting with seat side food.
He also said there’s a new model for the narrative. We are about 18 months away from real time rendering. The audience can be involved in the plot, characters and action instantaneously, bringing a whole new level of immersion and engagement with viewers.
