Oh noes teh sky is falling!

[TravisTylerBlack]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

The only thing I am actually concerned about is how many kids today (which I interact with a lot as a teacher) barely watch movies at ALL. All they ever talk about are TV shows and watching shows on streaming services or youtube. When they rarely mention movies it is always the biggest blockbusters only. Even my wife, 28 years old, only watches TV and complains every time I ask her to watch a film. Hollywood types talk about how hard it is to get a smaller movie project funded now. THAT is what scares me.

So much truth here. Having worked in the film and TV industry the last 8 years I can tell you that it takes more blood, sweat, and tears to get an independent film funded and made than ever before.

It's sad because we have so many amazing actors and filmmakers alive today whose work is going largely unseen outside of film festivals, clips shown on the award shows, and industry screenings. The big studios would rather pour 200+ million into a few mega blockbusters than 15 million on an excellent drama or humanist story.

As television continues to get better and better, theatrical output has become less and less diverse. It's the give and take of the universe, I suppose. But nothing will ever surpass the theatrical experience.

[Strapped4Cash]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

Funny to see old grumps hating on the kids. The world changes and attitudes about media are going to change with them. When I was a kid everyone rented VHS tapes and that was fun, then in my 20s suddenly we were all buying DVD. Now people are slowly moving to watching everything on subscription services. It's all trends based on technology and it just is what it is. The vast majority of consumers (in any age group) don't give it much thought and just follow trends.

The key thing is that during all these areas there were outliers. In the VHS rental days some were buying laserdiscs or collecting VHS tapes. In the DVD boom some were still renting. In the current climate many are still collecting discs. BD sales for new movies are still very lucrative and UHD is off to a good start. We're going to be a niche market but THAT'S OKAY. People just need to accept it and embrace the benefits of it like cool Shout and Arrow special editions and neat limited edition sets.

The only thing I am actually concerned about is how many kids today (which I interact with a lot as a teacher) barely watch movies at ALL. All they ever talk about are TV shows and watching shows on streaming services or youtube. When they rarely mention movies it is always the biggest blockbusters only. Even my wife, 28 years old, only watches TV and complains every time I ask her to watch a film. Hollywood types talk about how hard it is to get a smaller movie project funded now. THAT is what scares me.

I agree that we now know the technology changes, but I hardly ever heard people talking like that back then. Almost no one had owned movies before, but they thought of VHS like books, and some would be lost or damaged but the rest were expected to last for decades, if not centuries. Everything was built to last, why wouldn't they? People couldn't anticipate the changes to come.

We sometimes sold hundreds of copies of a new VHS title in a week. Heck, sometimes in pre-orders alone there were 200-250 or more. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Home Alone, Fantasia (which was advertised as Never Again Being offered on home video, buy now or regret it for eternity). There were times we did more sales than rentals, and I'm talking units not dollars. There were outliers, but too many days of long lines of the masses buying the new titles, the hot titles, the Exercise videos and Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen to think that VHS buyers in general were. Speaking of those twins, I've heard they made $100 million or more career-wise, the bulk of it from VHS sales.

Originally Posted by TravisTylerBlack

It's true, I once met a woman at the video store I used to frequent back home who said she and her husband owned over 2000 VHS tapes. I still think about her from time to time and wonder how she reacted to the advent of DVD.

Yeah, I don't imagine that there were too many that went that far collection count wise, but I know people who didn't react at all well to the intro of DVD. Heck, some people out there are still buying VHS. But DVD was a huge shock to many, obvious now but not then, and I know that some never supported buying it the way they did DVD. And others were talked into it, grudgingly accepted it, but said never again. Some people will feel like complete suckers if they rebuy for the 3rd or 4th time with Blu-ray, so some never will.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

The only thing I am actually concerned about is how many kids today (which I interact with a lot as a teacher) barely watch movies at ALL. All they ever talk about are TV shows and watching shows on streaming services or youtube. When they rarely mention movies it is always the biggest blockbusters only. Even my wife, 28 years old, only watches TV and complains every time I ask her to watch a film. Hollywood types talk about how hard it is to get a smaller movie project funded now. THAT is what scares me.

You're right. You have to make a concerted effort with many kids now to expose them to anything pre-2000 or anything that is not part of the current cultural zeitgeist. Part of that is the increase in tech and part of it is how we, as a society, have come to view anything outside of the current cultural zeitgeist with an ironic slant or as an outdated viewpoint. And with social media and other forms of communication, there is so much for these kids to keep up with, that they likely feel like anything from the past isn't worth their time.

It's not a criticism of very young people now, just the reality of times we live in. When I was growing up (I'm 29), as I'm sure it is for most on these boards, there was a lot less to occupy our attention spans, so naturally we found a wider range of interests. I've had my 16 year old nephew watch a number older movies, and he's loved them, but it takes effort to expose him to them because he would never seek them out on his own.

[Rich1631]

I'm only 27...but watching the decline of physical media and shift to the future of "streaming" makes me sad and feel old, lol.

[PenguinMaster]

I know plenty of people in their 70s or 80s that watch everything via streaming; it's an epidemic among all age groups.

[ThisIsJonny]

Physical > streaming

It is easier to just point and click, but as far as buying/owning media, I prefer to have something tangible that I can do whatever I'd like with. Streaming services can shutdown, remove certain titles or force ads and you obviously need an internet connection. I also just do not like the idea of purchasing a file/stream unless it's convenient or there is no blu-ray available yet.

[Battra92]

Originally Posted by TravisTylerBlack

It's true, I once met a woman at the video store I used to frequent back home who said she and her husband owned over 2000 VHS tapes. I still think about her from time to time and wonder how she reacted to the advent of DVD.

My family didn't have *that* many but including tapes we recorded off the TV we probably came close.

When DVD came out we didn't toss our VHS tapes, we just bought new ones on DVD which is more or less what I've done with Blu Ray. My parents never got an HDTV (still rocking the CRTs) so they stopped at DVD.

[motorheadache95]

Originally Posted by Strapped4Cash

I worked in video stores for over 5 years in the early to mid 90's, a TON of people bought huge collections of VHS. Most didn't even imagine that the tapes might ever degrade, or that another technology would come along. I can't tell you how many times I heard people talk about their pride in their collections. People spending hundreds of dollars at a time. Women talking about how that Disney tape would join all the others and be a cherished heirloom handed down for generations. "My great granddaughter is going to watch this, I might not be around, but it'll be there for her" said one woman, with the glimmer of tears in her eyes.

"Enthusiasts" are happy to have bought Beta, then VHS, then LD, then DVD, then HD DVD, then Blu-ray, then 3D, then 4K and will jump on 8K if it ever gets here. If some people only bought a couple/few of those steps and so are also happy to keep buying then great, I want physical media to stick around. But I don't see how misremembering the past benefits any of us.

Well I can only go by my own experience, but it definitely seemed to me like there was a huge increase in Buyer/Collector mentality when DVD became popular. Of course people bought movies on VHS (I had a little collection myself back in the day) but that DVD era was a whole different ball game. Before DVD it never even occurred to me that owning complete TV series in season sets was a feasible thing. And studios were making bank with those elaborate Special Edition double and sometimes triple dips.

But the market is usually always split among people that buy and collect and those who don't. Back in the 80's and 90's you would rent movies from the video store or catch them on TV or HBO or whatever. Streaming services like Netflix are just the modern equivalent, and sales of physical media are more leveled back to the way they were before. Obviously people are still buying up discs, which is why they make and sell them, but they aren't going back to the sales peaks that DVD were reaching.

[motorheadache95]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

The only thing I am actually concerned about is how many kids today (which I interact with a lot as a teacher) barely watch movies at ALL. All they ever talk about are TV shows and watching shows on streaming services or youtube. When they rarely mention movies it is always the biggest blockbusters only. Even my wife, 28 years old, only watches TV and complains every time I ask her to watch a film. Hollywood types talk about how hard it is to get a smaller movie project funded now. THAT is what scares me.

To be fair, we're currently in a time where I feel television has really gotten better creatively than it ever was before, and the movie industry feels like its getting worse. There's plenty of good movies coming out, of course, but it seems like TV is starting to be the place to go where the more creative things are happening and risks are being taken. A perfect example is looking at Marvel's Netflix shows versus their films. I mean, I like my MCU movies, but any of their Netflix shows are IMO way superior to, say, Avengers: Age of Ultron.

[GasmaskAvenger]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

The only thing I am actually concerned about is how many kids today (which I interact with a lot as a teacher) barely watch movies at ALL. All they ever talk about are TV shows and watching shows on streaming services or youtube. When they rarely mention movies it is always the biggest blockbusters only. Even my wife, 28 years old, only watches TV and complains every time I ask her to watch a film. Hollywood types talk about how hard it is to get a smaller movie project funded now. THAT is what scares me.

That is indeed troubling and even though I enjoy watching some shows, I just find binge watching TV episodes to be mostly a chore.

I'd take marathoning a damn good film series or several unrelated movies over binging episodes of a show (depending on what show we're talking about, but even with shows I absolutely love, I get fatigued with binging about three or four episodes in).

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by motorheadache95

To be fair, we're currently in a time where I feel television has really gotten better creatively than it ever was before, and the movie industry feels like its getting worse. There's plenty of good movies coming out, of course, but it seems like TV is starting to be the place to go where the more creative things are happening and risks are being taken. A perfect example is looking at Marvel's Netflix shows versus their films. I mean, I like my MCU movies, but any of their Netflix shows are IMO way superior to, say, Avengers: Age of Ultron.

jeez, so is the latest Adam Sandler comedy with that comparison!

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by motorheadache95

But the market is usually always split among people that buy and collect and those who don't. Back in the 80's and 90's you would rent movies from the video store or catch them on TV or HBO or whatever. Streaming services like Netflix are just the modern equivalent, and sales of physical media are more leveled back to the way they were before. Obviously people are still buying up discs, which is why they make and sell them, but they aren't going back to the sales peaks that DVD were reaching.

While people who are only interested in watching a movie or TV show once were never buying physical media, now streaming has stopped some rewatchers from buying physical media as well.

For any show that is available on Netflix or Amazon Prime the sales for the seasons on physical media have gone way down. Plus for those who are impatient they just buy the show on iTunes or Amazon as it airs and never buy the discs.

Previously many of those people would watch the show as it aired on TV broadcasts and then buy the DVDs when they were released if they were interested in rewatching. But streaming has cut into that market as well.

While TV broadcasts and theater viewings are even worse for helping titles remain available in the future, I never saw them as competition for physical media... they don't cater to anyone interested in rewatching movies and TV shows. But streaming and downloads do cater to that group: they are competition for physical media.

[LeeFanatic007]

Originally Posted by GasmaskAvenger

That is indeed troubling and even though I enjoy watching some shows, I just find binge watching TV episodes to be mostly a chore.

I'd take marathoning a damn good film series or several unrelated movies over binging episodes of a show (depending on what show we're talking about, but even with shows I absolutely love, I get fatigued with binging about three or four episodes in).

Feel the same way on binging TV shows, 3-4 episodes regardless of show is my limit, I just get to the point where I'm clock watching hoping for the episode to be over. I love some TV shows, but film is my true passion, I watch a couple films a night, sometimes 3-4 if I get started early enough.

I did get through all of The X-Files over about 8 months with a few lengthy breaks when I was getting tired of the show. Working on the original Star Trek series now. In season 3, but stopped to watch strictly horror in October and current TV shows I keep up with.

[tenia]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

The only thing I am actually concerned about is how many kids today (which I interact with a lot as a teacher) barely watch movies at ALL. All they ever talk about are TV shows and watching shows on streaming services or youtube. When they rarely mention movies it is always the biggest blockbusters only. Even my wife, 28 years old, only watches TV and complains every time I ask her to watch a film. Hollywood types talk about how hard it is to get a smaller movie project funded now. THAT is what scares me.

This is very interesting because the 2014 MPAA figures about US/Canada moviegoers demographics state that the 2-24 are making for 31% of the 2014 moviegoers. They account for 41% of the frequent moviegoers (goes to cinema once a month or more). However, "The number of frequent
moviegoers increased or remained flat among 40+ age groups, but fell or remained constant for younger age groups, including the largest frequent-moviegoing age groups (18-24 year olds and 25-39 year olds)".

I found the 2015 figures and it’s still 31% / 40% so it very much remained flat. It was 32% / 47% in 2013.

I found some 2010 census data which states that 0 – 24 yo represents 35.3% of the US population, so the category doesn’t seem under- or over-represented in the general theatre moviegoers, only slightly over-represented in the frequent moviegoers market share.

In any case, in terms of absolute figures, this points towards younger people, including kids, as pretty much watching movies just as much as anybody else, at least in theaters. I thus suppose that whatever they're watching at home only piles up on top of these watchings in theaters.

EDIT : just thinking about my close family, and the younger ones (12-25) also go at least once a month to the theaters. And having been myself to a few family-oriented movies showings lately, I definitely can state there were many many kids there ! (too many for my taste )

EDIT 2 : the "difficulty of having smaller budget movies funded" : it isn't the case. There were in 2013 twice the number of independant movies released in the US compared to 2003. It may be more difficult to gather than in the past, but in practice, they DO get funded and released in the end, much more than before.

In 2003, in the US, there were 455 movies released including 275 indépendant one --> 31% of the production share. In 2013, 677 movies including 549 indépendant ones --> 24% of the production share. That's twice the amount for 7% less production share.

[Steedeel]

As discussed in another thread, broadband homes have dropped from 70% to 67% in just 3 years. Meanwhile, those homes have mobile only subscriptions and mobile contract only has risen to 13% I believe.

This backs up EVERYTHING I have been saying for the last few years.

Small screens winning out, the death of movies on the big screen and even the smartwatch theory I have. After all, 50 inch screen to 5 inch screen? These guys don't care.

[Mr. Mojo]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

As discussed in another thread, broadband homes have dropped from 70% to 67% in just 3 years. Meanwhile, those homes have mobile only subscriptions and mobile contract only has risen to 13% I believe.

This backs up EVERY THING I have been saying for the last few years.

Small screens winning out, the death of movies on the big screen and even the smartwatch theory I have. After all, 50 inch screen to 5 inch screen? These guys don't care.

[OI8T12]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

As discussed in another thread, broadband homes have dropped from 70% to 67% in just 3 years. Meanwhile, those homes have mobile only subscriptions and mobile contract only has risen to 13% I believe.

This backs up EVERY THING I have been saying for the last few years.

Small screens winning out, the death of movies on the big screen and even the smartwatch theory I have. After all, 50 inch screen to 5 inch screen? These guys don't care.

You better hurry up and buy all the physical media you can find before everything disappears. Do you ever listen to what other people say about this? It's like it goes in one ear, and out the other. Or in this case, in one eye and out the other. Stop being so paranoid.

[Steedeel]

Facts are facts. That is a trend. so canyou explain how you would watch a film on a projector or tv in a all digital world, if your home doesn't have broadband fibre?

[dadaluholla]

Eh, film had a good run. We all gotta go sometime.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Mr. Mojo

End of the world? Not quite. End of my world? You betcha!