The LA Times publishes a mediocre article on the possibilities inherent in digital video formats, particularly as they have developed for DVDs (Press Play to Access the Future). Not surprisingly for the LA Times, the article focuses on the commercial prospects for DVD "extras," including interactivity - where the viewer actually gets to make some limited choices as to the film they will see. The article essentially makes the point that Hollywood has discovered that they can make money with these extras, that consumers want them and there will probably be even more interactivity in the future (if it remains profitable). The article does touch briefly on the possibility of consumers getting into the editing process, with an allusion to the "Phantom Edit," but concludes with the condescending statement that, "Desktop filmmaking tools may never produce another 'Citizen Kane.'" What the author clearly fails to realize is that all movies will be edited on a desktop in the relatively near future and professional editing tools will be available to the average consumer. Although most mainstream movies will remain expensive and massively collaborative enterprises, it is not hard to imagine that many excellent movies will come from more obscure venues. Moreover, the author doesn't mention the (The MST3K Syndrome) and how consumers will be providing their own commentaries and extras for DVDs.
In its favor, the article does talk to a number of filmmakers, most of whom look on this technology favorably. If the reporter had only listened, the one filmmaker who really understands the possibility of the technology is the director of two movies that are near equals of Citizen Kane, Francis Ford Coppola, who also alludes to the Phantom Edit and states, "Once computers become married with film, the form becomes promiscuous, and that can bring about new ways of making movies that the studios can't control." Many of the younger directors are also enthusiastic, and DVD producer Van Ling (Terminator 2 and The Abyss) calls DVDs a "film school in a can." On the other hand, some, such as Laurent Bouzereau, a maker of "Making of" documentaries, just don't get it. "There is a risk of completely demystifying the [filmmaking] process, which is why it [DVD production] needs to be controlled by the filmmaker," says Bouzereau. Slashdot readers take on the article (DVD Format Changing Movie-making). In a separate piece, ZDNet News carries an announcement of a new holographic DVD format that stores 100GB of information (enough storage for about 20 movies or my MP3 collection) (Newest storage tech--holographic DVD). For information on how technology can be used to thwart such innovative uses of DVDs, stay tuned to LawMeme and see EFF's blog on the Broadcast Protection Discussion Group Consensus at Lawyerpoint.