Indie film market eyes digital future at Sundance

Filmmakers expect that new technology will loosen the grip that Hollywood's major studios have on film releasing and lower industry costs.

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[DVDJ]

Celling Feature Films

> ... it will be years before ... consumers truly enjoy watching a 2-hour movie on their cell phones.<

Now that I've stopped laughing incredulously at this absurd statement, I can state what should be obvious: fundamental changes in delivery channels inevitably generate new forms of content to fill those spaces. Were that not the case, we'd still be watching only feature-length, three-act narratives, vaudeville skits and repurposed radio programs on TV instead of 60-minute dramas and 30-minute sitcoms, which are native to the medium. Just as TV had to borrow from its show business antecedents until enough programming could be conceived that played to the new medium's strenghts -- and limitations -- so will vestpocket video exploit derivative content only as long as necessary. To assume that a critical mass of viewers will tolerate feature-length films on a handset years from now is to betray an astonishing lack of imagination, common sense and innate understanding of human behavior. Rest assured that the average consumer never will "truly enjoy" watching a two-hour movie on a cell phone. There will be no reason to with the proliferation of native handheld media that already is evolving.