Shamberg: THE NEW AUDIENCE IS AN EVERYWHERE AUDIENCE.
IT'S PEOPLE ENJOYING IT IN MOVIE THEATERS,
IT'S PEOPLE ENJOYING IT AT HOME,
IT'S PEOPLE ENJOYING IT ON DEVICES.
I THINK BECAUSE THE AUDIENCE HAS SO MUCH CHOICE NOW
IT MEANS THAT YOU'VE GOT TO REALLY HAVE SOMETHING SPECIAL
TO GET THEM INTO THE MOVIES.
Jenkins: FOR AS LONG AS THERE HAVE BEEN MOVIES,
PEOPLE HAVE WANTED TO WATCH MOVIES
OUTSIDE OF A COMMERCIAL EXHIBITION SETTING.
SO THE IDEA THAT WE MAY BE TAKING MOVIES
WITH US WHEREVER WE GO TODAY IS NOT A RADICAL IDEA.
Koppelman: THEY'RE KIND OF AGNOSTIC, PERHAPS,
ABOUT HOW THEY WATCH WHAT THEY'RE WATCHING.
Frank: WE'RE DISCOVERING THAT
THERE ARE MANY OTHER FORMS OF MEDIA AND USES OF MEDIA
THAT ARE ALSO REALLY IMPORTANT TO THE MODERN FABRIC OF SOCIETY,
AND GENERALLY, INDUSTRIES HAVE TO MAKE SPACE
FOR OTHER THINGS THAT HAVE VALUE.
PEOPLE USE MEDIA AS A WAY TO SHARE PARTS OF THEIR IDENTITY.
Shamberg: SHARING IN DIGITAL
IS THE SAME AS WORD OF MOUTH IN FILM
OR THE WATER-COOLER CONVERSATION IN TELEVISION.
YOU'LL HEAR OLDER PEOPLE SAY,
"OH, PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS ON THEIR DEVICES.
THEY'RE NOT TALKING TO EACH OTHER."
PEOPLE ARE CONNECTED TO THEIR FRIENDS EMOTIONALLY
PRETTY MUCH FULL TIME NOW THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA.
THAT EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE IS COMPETITIVE
WITH THE LONG-FORM NARRATIVE EXPERIENCE
OF THE HOLLYWOOD MOVIE,
BUT IT'S ALSO PART OF THAT EXPERIENCE.
Jenkins: MOVIES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN SOCIAL
IN THE SENSE THAT WE WENT TO THE MOVIES
TO ENGAGE IN CONVERSATIONS WITH EACH OTHER
ABOUT WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN OUR CULTURE.
THAT ACTIVITY NOW TAKES PLACE
THROUGH SOCIAL-MEDIA PLATFORMS.
TWITTER BUZZ BECOMES A REASONABLE PREDICTOR
OF WHAT THE BOX OFFICE IS GONNA LOOK LIKE THE FOLLOWING WEEKEND.
Shamberg: MOVIES ARE NOW COMPETING
WITH NOT JUST CONVENTIONAL TELEVISION OR CABLE.
THEY'RE WATCHING SHORT-FORM VIDEOS,
THEY'RE WATCHING YouTube, THEY'RE WATCHING VINES.
King: I THINK THOSE VIDEOS TOOK OFF
BECAUSE THEY'RE REALLY EASY TO CONSUME.
WHEN YOU'RE SCROLLING DOWN VINE, IT'S NOT A BIG COMMITMENT.
YOU SEE SIX SECONDS, AND IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT,
YOU MOVE ON AND YOU KEEP CONSUMING.
Shamberg: THESE DIGITAL ARTISTS
CAPTURE THE ZEITGEIST IN SOME WAYS BETTER THAN HOLLYWOOD
AND BECAUSE PEOPLE WANT STORIES ABOUT THEIR LIVES,
THAT EMOTIONAL PALETTE IS GONNA START TO INFLUENCE IT.
Koppelman: WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE NEXT TIME YOU SAT DOWN TO CREATE --
NOT EVERY TIME, JUST THE NEXT TIME,
ONCE TO START --
YOU DIDN'T TRY TO GUESS WHAT OTHER PEOPLE WOULD LIKE.
I LOVED THE WAY THAT YOU COULD HAVE AN IMMEDIATE DIALOGUE
WITH AN AUDIENCE THROUGH THIS MEDIUM.
King: IT'S AWESOME TO HAVE THE AUDIENCE
AT OUR FINGERTIPS WHEN WE'RE CREATING.
AND, LIKE, AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE'LL POST IT,
AND THEY CAN REACT TO IT INSTANTLY.
WE'LL GET A COUPLE HUNDRED THOUSAND LIKES
OR THOUSANDS OF COMMENTS IN THE FIRST COUPLE HOURS.
Koppelman: ONE OF THE BIGGEST GIFTS
OF THE MODERN MEDIA ECOSYSTEM
IS THAT WE CAN GET INFORMATION BACK,
THAT WE'RE NOT FLYING BLIND.
King: YOU KNOW, ON YouTube, WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE HOT SPOTS
AND, LIKE, WHEN PEOPLE ARE LEAVING
AND WHAT MOMENTS, LIKE, THEY GET BORED AT.
Jenkins: DIGITAL CREATES A SPACE WHERE WE CAN GO FROM WHATEVER --
10 SECONDS ON VINE -- TO 12 HOURS ON NETFLIX.
Koppelman: WHEN PEOPLE WILL BINGE-WATCH "HOUSE OF CARDS"
AND SPEND A WHOLE SATURDAY DOING THAT,
THAT DOESN'T TELL ME THEY HAVE A SHORT ATTENTION SPAN.
THAT TELLS ME THAT THEY HAVE A REALLY LONG ATTENTION SPAN
AS LONG AS YOU ARE ENTERTAINING THEM
AND INVOLVING THEM.
Shamberg: IT'S ALL INFUSED WITH A KIND OF OPTIMISM
THAT MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE EXPERIENCING CONTENT,
NOT LESS AND LESS.
Frank: WHAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW HAS THE POSSIBILITY
OF REINVIGORATING FILM IN A REALLY EXCITING WAY.
THERE IS THIS KIND OF ALMOST REBIRTH
OF ALL OF THESE ALTERNATIVE VIEWS
ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN.
AND THEN, WITH SOCIAL AND SHARING, THERE'S THE VEHICLE
BY WHICH THE STUFF CAN SPREAD TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE.
Koppelman: I HAVE A LOT OF FAITH IN OUR AUDIENCE.
IF YOU HAVE COMMAND OF YOUR CRAFT,
THEY'RE GONNA TURN OFF THEIR PHONES AND THEY'RE GONNA WATCH.
Jenkins: WE ARE SEEING FEWER MOVIES IN THE CINEMA.
IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE'RE NOT MAKING
BOX-OFFICE RECORDS, RIGHT?
SO THAT SENSE OF THERE BEING AN EVENT
THAT PEOPLE WANT TO SEE TOGETHER,
THAT THEY WANT TO SEE NOW,
THEY WANT TO SEE THE MINUTE IT'S AVAILABLE TO THEM,
AND THAT THERE'S A VISCERAL EXCITEMENT
THAT TRAVELS THROUGH THE THEATER
AS WE WATCH THAT FILM BEGIN TO APPEAR
ON THE BIG SCREEN FOR THE FIRST TIME.
Shamberg: MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE EXPERIENCING CONTENT,
NOT LESS AND LESS.
THE LONG-FORM STORY, IT'S PRIMAL.
IT'S BIOLOGICAL.
IT'S PEOPLE WANTING TO SIT AROUND A CAMPFIRE
AND HEAR STORIES.
IT'S HOMER AND THE "ODYSSEY" AND THE "ILIAD."
THERE'S JUST AN INNATE BIOLOGICAL NEED
FOR A TRANSFORMING, EMOTIONALLY INVOLVING STORY.