this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2024
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Brandon Sanderson's theory on why the film industry is floundering (YouTube Short) (www.youtube.com)
submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by maegul@lemmy.ml to c/movies@lemm.ee
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Edit: Here's the exact same clip on the standard YouTube Watch page.

courtesy of zagorath

Brandon Sanderson the fantasy author

For those uninterested in watching a youtube short (sorry), the theory is pretty simple:

COVID and the death of theatres broke the film industry's controlled, simple and effective marketing pipeline (watch movie in theatres -> watch trailer before hand -> watch that tailer's movie in theatres ...) and so now films have the same problems books have always had which is that of finding a way to break through in a saturated market, grab people's attention and find an audience. Not being experienced with this, the film industry is floundering.

In just this clip he doesn't mention streaming and TV (perhaps he does in the full podcast), but that basically contributes to the same dynamic of saturation and noise.

Do note that Sanderson openly admits its a mostly unfounded theory.

For me personally, I'm not sure how effective the theatrical trailers have been in governing my movie watching choices for a long time. Certainly there was a time that they did. But since trailers went online (anyone remember Apple Trailers!?) it's been through YouTube and online spaces like this.

Perhaps that's relatively uncommon? Or perhaps COVID was just the straw that broke the camel's back? Or maybe there's a generational factor where now, compared to 10 years ago, the post X-Gen and "more online" demographic is relatively decisive of TV/Film sales?

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[–] Zagorath@aussie.zone 6 points 4 months ago (2 children)

I think the change in business model from theatre-exclusive for a long period of time to direct-to-streaming or fast-tracked streaming is related, which IIRC he/Dan mentioned in the full podcast. But I don't think this theory about trailers is correct. I've never known someone to get excited for a movie based on seeing the trailer before another movie. They find out in the news or on social media, and see the trailer on YouTube.

Streaming is just not as profitable as theatres, but it's a much more convenient way for people to watch. I've seen some people make suggestions on how to make the theatregoing experience better to entice people to go, but the biggest thing IMO is just the fact that it's on streaming early at all. From a personal perspective, I hope they don't do this, but I do think it would benefit movies' profitability to lock in much longer theatre-exclusive periods.

But also, less crappy studio-run films pls? Almost nothing Disney is putting out these days is worth seeing, because it's all lame remakes and sequels. We need studios to be brave and just trust good filmmakers to make good films, not constantly try to chase industry trends.

[–] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 5 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Before YouTube and social media, and for quite a few years after their advent, theater trailers were THE way to get a glimpse at an upcoming movie, and usually the ONLY way.

[–] maegul@lemmy.ml 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Yea I agree. Like I said in the OP text, there may have been a long drawn out transition that is only hitting hard enough now, especially because of age demographics. If true, you’d expect that we’ve reached the point where the internet generations (millennial and younger) are the majority of the potential cinema going audience.

Which feels right.

It seems to me that 90s kid millennials and their young children are the current “mainstream”. And boomers have just shifted out of dominance in the past 5 years or so. The pandemic may have masked this shift TBH and we may have been talking about it more if it weren’t for the pandemic.

[–] Zagorath@aussie.zone 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

It seems to me that 90s kid millennials and their young children are the current “mainstream”. And boomers have just shifted out of dominance in the past 5 years or so

Once again, poor Gen Xers get ignored.

[–] maegul@lemmy.ml 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Ha. Yea. Having a boomer generation does these sorts of things. Like both X and Y (millennial) gens have also transitioned sharply from being young (and “stupid”) to now actually old and ridiculed by younger gens. The dominance of the boomers gen in size allowed their perspective over X and Y to culturally persist.

[–] Zagorath@aussie.zone 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Yeah but at least we (millennials) exist in popular culture and the public discourse. You never even hear about gen X unless it's someone pointing out how you never hear about them.

[–] maegul@lemmy.ml 2 points 4 months ago

Or you sometimes hear about shitty they apparently are as people. Truly left behind.

[–] Zagorath@aussie.zone 2 points 4 months ago

Perhaps, but that would still mean Sanderson is wrong here in attributing the blame to straight-to-streaming, when it’s actually due to the rise of social media. Which has meant that for my age group (young millennials, going through teenage years through the mid-to-late ’00s to early ’10s) it’s been true the whole time we’ve been paying our own way to the movies.