An attention-grabbing session on the second day of Goafest 2022 was dedicated to the ‘OTT Superpower – Freedom and Nuances of Creativity’. Artistes Vikrant Massey and Ali Fazal (of Mirzapur fame) had been joined by Gautam Talwar, Chief Content material Officer, MX Participant in a session moderated by anchor and inventive director, Atika Farooqui.
Farooqui opened the session stating that Mirzapur was a turning level within the OTT house, particularly with regard to content material and creativity. Massey agreed that it was probably the most rewarding and endearing experiences of his life. “OTT within the final 5-6 years has given any type of story-telling a chance to be really inventive and pushed the boundaries with the viewers to the utmost, forcing not simply the story-tellers, the artistes but additionally the viewers to be nimble and adapt. It’s an thrilling time to be an artiste,” he mentioned. Fazal mentioned that cinema within the final 2-3 years had modified tremendously. “Whereas it has been gratifying to see our work being applauded and appreciated, we’re only one button away from rejection relating to OTT, as a result of proper subsequent door is one other critically acclaimed present,” he mentioned.
Farooqui then acknowledged that one other wonderful thing about OTT was that there was a number of actuality within the story-telling and being pretend meant instantaneous rejection by the viewers. She requested Talwar what decisions had MX Participant made with regard to content material to get forward. Talwar mentioned, “As an ecosystem, we perceive the 30-seconder, we perceive the 1,000-hour tv content material very properly, we perceive the 120-minute function movie format very properly. However I believe none of us know the 300 or 400-minute premium content material improvement house very properly. We’re at the start of this ecosystem and it’s a protracted studying curve for all of us. It’s undoubtedly a author’s medium. There may be a lot expertise the OTT house borrows from promoting, from tv and from movie to create this ecosystem. The authenticity of OTT comes from the melting pot of those three to create this fourth ecosystem.”
Fazal added that with OTT, there may be this want to get out of the formula-based construction. “A non formula-based strategy is the place OTT will get a little bit of freedom. That is the place we as actors are pushing the bar as a result of that’s the one approach we’ll get to inform authentic tales as fearlessly as we are able to.” He additionally added, “Cinema should not die. The concept of movie watching is about neighborhood watching. That have to be celebrated and stored alive. The concept of OTT is to have the ability to inform an increasing number of tales so that folks can get completely different views and be uncovered to completely different concepts and narratives.”
Massey mentioned, “Cinema has all the time been a part of our staple tradition. And that shouldn’t ever change. Nevertheless, one very sturdy benefit with OTT platforms is that all the things is so inter-connected that it’s virtually like a door-to-door medium like tv. The arrival of OTT has knocked us out as a result of the consumption sample of audiences has modified. Most people I do know who’ve watched Mirzapur, have watched it on their telephones. And that’s the consumption sample of audiences immediately.”
Farooqui requested if completely different mediums meant completely different guidelines for the actors. Fazal mentioned there isn’t a such factor as absolute freedom. “There are guidelines to every medium and but, every medium can be free to stick or change the foundations. However freedom comes with duty,” he added. Talwar, then again, mentioned, “I don’t suppose we inform a narrative just because we have now the liberty to inform it. OTT platforms have democratised story-telling and given the 18-22-year-old content material that he/she didn’t have earlier than. Tv content material is catered to the FMCG client, the lady of the home and even distant villager. Cinema is pricey and nice tales are few and much between. OTT has given the youth of this nation a medium and entry to genres that aren’t out there to them anyplace else. There may be now a brand new type of story-telling and we’re all attempting to determine this new ecosystem. Machine and information are giving us big insights and we’re continuously taking a look at what’s working and what’s not. Nevertheless, story-telling will all the time be from a intestine degree and can all the time be on the crux of all of this.”
Talking about private consumption versus household consumption within the OTT house, Farooqui talked about research that confirmed household viewing of OTT content material was gaining reputation. Talwar, nevertheless, mentioned, “OTT is a few private display, private selection of what to look at with a machine, we try to grasp what a person’s private selection is and to ship it. There isn’t any appointment viewing of OTT content material. A person can watch a selected episode whereas going to work and somebody within the household could watch the identical collection however be on a distinct episode. Shopper behaviour shift is going on in actual time.”
So, is OTT for household viewing or just for private viewing, requested Farooqui to the panel. Talwar mentioned there have been statistics that exposed that over 95% of most OTT content material throughout all platforms is cellular viewing. A really small proportion of the inhabitants watches OTT on huge screens or linked units. “OTT content material can be made for ‘Bharat’ – that one little boy sitting in Ludhiana, and even the Uber drivers in metros. These are the audiences which have the time. India is a time-rich and money-poor nation. That is the rationale why we create what we create. However on the similar time, we are trying for the primary time premium lengthy format content material. However will the 18-22 age group have the persistence for it? Sharechat tells us that three minutes is lengthy sufficient! It’s all very difficult. So, on this setting, household viewing is just a little distant,” acknowledged Talwar.
The panelists agreed that OTT has modified the best way we have a look at heroes immediately. Poisonous masculinity or bigger than life heroes had been admired from afar. However immediately, heroes are relatable. Fazal commented, “Story-telling is simply an extension of the world that we live in. Cinema has all the time held a mirror to society. Right this moment, we see extra tales speaking about equality, males who aren’t macho and have a delicate aspect. Narratives are altering and as actors, we’re all attempting to lift our voices very in a different way. Right this moment, we now not suppose that boys ought to be instructed ‘to not cry like a woman’. This angle has modified from the bottom up.” Massey mentioned that earlier, there was a robust hero worship tradition however now due to entry to completely different mediums, heroes too have change into extra accessible. “Story-telling displays society and society displays story-telling,” added Talwar. “Right this moment, you may have a number of expressions of masculinity, society is accepting what’s actual. That is what needs to be celebrated perpetually.”
Farooqui talked about {that a} latest research revealed that out of the 50 or 60 crore folks consuming OTT, lower than 10% are subscribed. What does this say for the enterprise mannequin? Talwar mentioned that’s the reason why MX Participant is a free platform. “In India, there’s by no means been an idea of paying for content material. As an alternative, we’ve all the time paid a cable man or a satellite tv for pc dish firm. If we have now to extract cash for content material from a time-rich and cash poor nation, it’s going to be a really robust battle. Proper now, everyone seems to be experimenting with completely different fashions and there’s a progress in subscriptions that may attain a sure level and plateau and everybody will finally have to determine the right way to generate income out of OTT. Proper now, that is at an funding part, however habits are shifting and as soon as that occurs considerably, like all true start-ups all over the world, we’ll see monetisation occur.”
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Revealed on: Saturday, Might 07, 2022, 11:13 AM IST
