Filmmaking in the Digital Era: What Does the Future Hold for Movie Studios?
By Rob Scott
July 31, 2012
July 31, 2012
Jeff B. Cohen, partner and co-founder of the Beverly Hills-based law firm Cohen Gardner LLP, writes in a guest blog for CNBC about the current direction of movie finance, production, distribution and marketing in a digital era.- Cohen references Ben Silverman, chairman of Electus, who recently spoke at an industry summit in Los Angeles: “Ben noted that 100 years ago in order to make a film you needed 50 acres of land in the San Fernando Valley, an army of various craftsmen, sprawling soundstages, expensive specialized cameras, film labs and more.”
- “He went on to say that in order to produce a film today you could likely do it with five dedicated artists, $30,000 worth of equipment and an office in Santa Monica with a green screen,” adds Cohen.
- The changes underway in our evolving digital world make Cohen ask the question: “Are motion picture studios becoming irrelevant and what does the future hold for the business of filmed entertainment?”
- Cohen cites how Netflix, Amazon and YouTube are financing original content to compete with traditional fare — and notes how crowdfunding is putting pressure on the studios’ role as financier. He also addresses the “democratization of distribution” enabled by Internet technologies and the impact of social media on traditional marketing practices.
- “Technology is empowering a new generation of content creators to produce quality projects with little capital and even less permission. It will be fascinating to see how this democratization of financing, production and distribution impacts the art of filmed entertainment,” writes Cohen. “Will these factors fundamentally disrupt the economic and power dynamic of the traditionally studio dominated entertainment industry? It already has.”
- “This article echoes what was written 10+ years ago about the music industry, and what became the reality of the music industry much faster than the labels could adapt to,” notes ETCentric staffer Phil Lelyveld.
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