Cinema Present and Prospects

by Duan Xiaosha and Wo Kexin

About 13，000 film and television production companies in China have folded or dissolved since the beginning of 2020. Hollywood production shut down for three months from March to June. Next years Oscars ceremony， scheduled for February 2021， will be postponed for two months due to the film shortage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Facing such a grim reality， filmmakers are struggling to survive. Production techniques and viewing habits are evolving rapidly as online videos reach viewers with unprecedented convenience after theaters shut down. Furthermore， previous pursuits for new frontiers of filmmaking and nagging problems hindering the development of film have been significantly magnified. What is film？ What roles do movies play in our world？ What will be possible for movies in the future？ Those questions are worth rethinking.

The rapid development of science and technology has stimulated the creation of a variety of media outside of movies and profoundly rewritten the rules of production. Filmmakers are quickly learning how to adapt to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the global film industry and the reality of countless movie theaters screeching to a halt while online streaming surges.

The boundaries of film have been further broadened and even navigated to unchartered artistic territories as film merges with contemporary art practices such as artificial intelligence， games， streaming media， video installations， and image behavior. For example， VR movies and movies at 120 fps represent innovative film production. Interactive movies create a fresh viewing experience. New video editing forms are emerging， such as vertical movies， desktop movies， and mobile apps like TikTok and Kwai that encourage users to incorporate complete narrative， montages， and special effects into short videos. Viewers can now watch movies through streaming media in homes， cars， galleries， and museums. Alternate viewing locations have really gained popularity during the pandemic.

The definition of film proposed by Thomas Elsaesser， an influential Germanborn film scholar， directly addresses the question “What is film？” and forecasts its future. Film is ubiquitous not only on the screen but also in any space.

The quest for the essence of film in the digital era has shifted from the simple question “What is film？” to“What can film be？” at a cognitive level. This shift in perception is regarded as a catastrophe by some with ontological understanding of cinema. They declare that “movies are dead.”

Are movies really dead？

Cinephiles have been attempting to recreate offline viewing procedures through group chats from ticket buying and checking to virtual seat-taking， real-time comments and review sharing to make the home viewing experience as ceremonious as the cinema atmosphere. Some online platforms build the illusion of group watching by allowing movie viewers to share real-time voice comments. However， at physical theaters， both hardcore movie aficionados and casual viewers hate distractions from others. When moviegoers cannot be physically present in the cinemas， they have to regain the identity of a moviegoer by making their comments seen by all. This compromise speaks volumes for the irreplaceability of physical cinemas.

Though offline facilities like cinemas are irreplaceable， the profits reaped by the online film and television industry have been the silver lining of the epidemic plight. Data shows that compared to the period before the epidemic， Chinas online video platforms iQiyi and Mango TV enjoyed a paid subscription increase of 1，079 percent and 708 percent， respectively. The U.S. video streaming platform Netfix reduced the default image quality in many countries and regions to ease pressure on bandwidth. Breaking through the limitations of the theater market may bring new vitality to the film and television industry and expand the definition of film as viewers embrace the new mode of“Internet Plus” film and television.