“Long live theatrical cinema!”: Dune: Part Two and the Importance of Preserving Cinemas and the Cinematic Experience Post-Pandemic (C2040733)

Figure 1: Timothee Chalamet as Paul Atreides in Dune: Part Two. Source: (comingsoon.net)

Dune: Part Two, which released in cinemas this weekend, is the definition of a cinematic experience. Seated in a packed-out cinema, I was mesmerized by the film’s masterful balance of the themes, gripping storyline, and stunning visuals that fill its almost three-hour run time. With this film, director Denis Villeneuve has crafted a sci-fi epic that feels destined to become one of the defining pieces of cinema of this decade. You can watch the trailer for the film below:

Source: Warner Bros. Pictures on YouTube (2023)

The experience was no doubt enhanced by the fact I saw the film in a near full cinema, with only a few empty seats in the house. There was something special about the collective experience, sharing in the moment and in the awe that the film inspired with a room full of fellow moviegoers. This made me reflect on my experience watching Part Two’s predecessor, the first instalment in the franchise, Dune.

The world was in a very different place back when the first film released. Few will need reminding that in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions were put in place that forced cinemas to temporarily close. This took a huge financial toll on cinemas, with Cineworld, the world’s second largest cinema chain, making a record £2.2bn loss in 2020. It is no surprise then that cinemas were eager to reopen their doors as soon as possible. In 2021, with cinemas allowed to reopen, restrictions easing, and a slate of blockbuster films set to release that year, theatre owners were optimistic moviegoing would return in full swing.

However, the pandemic saw the adoption of emerging digital technologies that opened new avenues to distribute and monetize content in the film industry. One such avenue being the simultaneous release, a new model of film distribution that several film studios adopted during the pandemic. In short, this is where a film is released both in cinemas and on a streaming service on the same day.

So how does this link back to Dune? Well, in a then unprecedented move, Warner Bros. announced in 2020 that their entire cinematic slate for 2021 would use this simultaneous release model, with 17 films hitting the studio’s streaming service HBO Max on the same day that they released in cinemas. This decision stirred massive controversy among theatre owners and filmmakers, upsetting a model of film distribution that had been in place for decades. Included amongst this 17-film slate was Dune, the decision to release the film on HBO Max enraging director Denis Villeneuve, who claimed it showed “no love for cinema”. Warner Bros. claimed this move was only temporary and was intended to provide an alternative option for consumers who did not yet feel safe to return to the cinema, but this did little to ease the concerns of struggling cinema owners and disheartened filmmakers.

The result of this decision was a decline in cinema attendance, with consumers favouring watching new films on a streaming service rather than going to the cinema. A survey found that 49% of individuals, who were considered regular pre-pandemic moviegoers, no longer went to the movies like they used to. Speaking from my own experience, you could almost feel this decline in film attendance when watching the first Dune movie. Watching the film in an almost empty cinema, where only 3 other groups felt the need to experience the similarly awe-inspiring first Dune film on the big screen, pales in comparison to my experience of watching Part Two, where I was surrounded by fellow moviegoers who were just as gripped by the film’s grandeur as I was.

Thankfully, due to COVID-19 restrictions now having been eased, Warner Bros. have ended their distribution of films through the simultaneous release model. Recently, they signed a deal requiring them to release their movies exclusively in cinemas for a minimum of 45 days. This has meant that Dune: Part Two is currently playing exclusively in cinemas, a release model that Denis Villeneuve has much preferred. You can see his comments on his more positive experience releasing the second film below:

Source: Kermode and Mayo’s Take on YouTube (2024)

Dune: Part Two has also been massively successful at the box office, raking in $178 million globally in its opening weekend alone, far outperforming its predecessor. This is a hugely positive sign for cinemas, who will get to keep around 50% of the profit from these ticket sales. What this shows is a willingness from audience members to return to the cinema and a renewed interest in experiencing films on the big screen following the pandemic. Hopefully this trend continues, and the cinema industry can fully recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that hit it so hard.

My experience of watching Dune: Part Two also shows that cinemas can still create a shared experience, a sort of “grand cultural happening” as Rubin puts it, something that streaming services simply cannot replicate. It is vital that cinemas and the cinematic experience are protected because, as Villeneuve himself states:

“Cinema on the big screen is more than a business, it is an art form that brings people together, celebrating humanity, enhancing our empathy for one another — it’s one of the very last artistic, in-person collective experiences we share as human beings”.

Denis Villeneuve (2020)

To quote Villeneuve one last time, “Long live theatrical cinema!”

All images and media are used under fair usage for educational purposes.

Is Crowdfunding the Independent Filmmakers’ financial saving grace? (C21116531)

Cover image by Cottonbro Studio via Pexels.com

Despite positive change and development within the creative industries, the post-pandemic era occasionally reminds us of its ongoing disruptions, affecting the resources many have relied upon in support of their creative endeavours. Independent filmmakers who already faced many challenges beforehand are now met with a greater burden in securing traditional means in financing their work within the UK due to the decline in support and financial success of independent films.

Finding funding for films has always been a challenge, more so for independent projects that heavily rely on creative grants offered by organisations such as Film Cymru Wales or seeking financial support from private investors. As the UK enters another recession, the cost-of-living crisis has presented itself as another blow towards independent filmmakers, with many private investors and companies already reconsidering their investments in independent film projects due to production costs increasing by around 20% during Covid-19. A further blow facing the sector is the funding cuts by the British Film Institution (BFI). Back in September of 2023, a 10-year strategy Screen Culture 2033 was revealed, heavily affecting the funding towards independent filmmakers. The new BFI Filmmaking Fund’s budget is around £18 million per year, a 28% decrease compared to the £25 million per year under the previous round of funding.

These financial and economic setbacks do pose a threat towards the ‘sustainability’ of the independent film sector, with many organisations voicing their concern about its future as it undeniably progresses towards “market failure”. However, this new reality has caused many independent filmmakers to look at alternative ways and practices towards financing their projects.  

Crowdfunding has provided the independent sector with new prospects for finance and visibility, giving it reason to be optimistic. These creative environments, which are centred on community-based finance, provide an alternative to modern financial institutions and governments. These new internet platforms now provide independent creatives with access to a wide pool of donors to support their niches and small-scale initiatives, while circumventing traditional gatekeepers.

Independent filmmakers now have the opportunity to create and build their own community which has expanded their reach and possibilities for support and success beyond their friendnetworks. Crowdfunding has become an important source for creating value, these platforms as such have removed the middleman and created a more intimate bridge between the artist and its audience. Unlike traditional practices of filmmaking, crowdfunding allows individuals or project backers to participate in the films development as they receive updates on the project’s progress. Most crowdfunding projects in exchange for support reward their donors by creating packages. These rewards vary depending on the amount donated, acknowledging the individuals participation towards the project.

Crowdfunding has given the independent filmmakers greater creative freedom and control over their projects. Some traditional settings would see filmmakers wait months before receiving news if their funding was approved or not. These Platforms now allow creatives to set financial targets, whereby they can visually monitor their progress. Other benefits of these platforms such as Kickstarter, Seed&Spark, and Greenlit ensure your visibility by creating creative-only spaces that give filmmakers a better chance of funding, while other crowdfunding platforms such as Filmocracy offer a streaming service for filmmakers to showcase their finished works.

Shutterstock

However, the guarantee of funding through these platforms is not as simple as it may seem. This community-based funding requires filmmakers to build online communities through other social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as the crowdfunding space alone won’t guarantee the financial support and success of the project. In effect, the use of other socials stimulates a type of “herding”, as new contributors are likely to follow the actions of earlier donors due to peer influence, which has been shown to produce a better successful rating in projects meeting their financial targets.

Filmmaker Isaac Tomiczek ( I Just Stabbed Someone, and Tyler) took to setting up a Kickstarter to fund his project Blockbuster Boys. Tomiczek’s previous works had received backing from grants and investors yet when asked in an interview why the shift to using a crowdfunding platform, his response echoed the growing concerns for the independent film industry.

A few years ago, development funds in the UK film industry were rife… Post-Covid, that culture is nearly non-existent in the UK – Isaac Tomiczek

Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, Tomiczek was unsuccessful in reaching his financial goal.

Source: Blockbuster Boys by Isaac Tomiczek via YouTube

The campaign itself managed to raise £37,134 of its £39,000 target backed by 231 donations. Despite 95% of the funding raised, due to Kickstarter’s “all or nothing” policy, any campaign that fails to reach its financial target within the 30-day window will lose access to all made pledges.  

The current climate within the creative industries is proving to cause a significant strain on funding that might potentially affect the future sustainability of independent filmmakers. Crowdfunding in many ways has been a saving grace in opening forms of funding, whereas other means are no longer possible. However, with many filmmakers turning to platforms such as Kickstarter with a high failing rate of 60%, “Film and video” contributing to 30% of projects seeking funding on the platform, conversations within the industry must take place in looking at alternatives in finding ways to support independent filmmakers to protect the future of the independent film industry.

All images and media are used under fair usage for educational purposes.

Power to the Prosumer: TikTok and the Music Industry Landscape Post-Pandemic (C2046859)

Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

TikTok has dramatically changed the landscape for musicians since rising to popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital disruption went hand in hand with the pandemic, and has continued in a post-pandemic digital environment. Stay At Home pandemic requirements meant people moved online for work, hobbies, and as an escape.

The rise in digital consumption led to an increase in both user-creativity and businesses utilising a captive internet audience. By putting focus on the prosumer – with features of remixing and the reuse and recreation of other users content – TikTok has become an integral way for independent creators to advertise themselves. The importance of music on TikTok has allowed anyone with something worth listening to access to an audience. 

What is TikTok?

TikTok centres itself around short-form video content and sound clips. Reels, a short-form video feature on Instagram is similar to TikTok, but TikTok’s AI algorithm offers a unique user experience, learning what videos the user likes, and putting them on their ‘for you’ page. While Instagram also features a feed, TikTok encourages users to view content they may not have seen before. During the pandemic, TikTok offered endless content on one platform.

A study carried out by IFPI revealed that time spent listening to music during the pandemic increased by 18 hours – an average of 18.4 hours a week – and listening driving innovations in short-form video, with users spending 68% of the time on short-form video apps. Music on TikTok allows users to discover new artists, and create their own content from sounds they found on the app. 

A Changing Music Landscape?

Music consumption has changed over recent decades, with the fall of physical album purchases making way for streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. For musicians, TikTok offers an alternative route into the mainstream music scene away from major record labels who have dominated both physical album sales and spaces on streaming platforms that expose artists to target audiences.

Photo by Filip on Unsplash

“Social media has practically eliminated the need for a record label to make it big” – Levi Gans.

Before the pandemic, record labels were important for new musicians to gain an audience and make a living off their work, however, TikTok has put the control back into the creators, who can now seek out their own audience and make money off content creation on TikTok. TikTok’s newest service, SoundOn, designed specifically for undiscovered artists, allows musicians to upload songs directly to the app and receive royalties. Now independent musicians can make money without the need for a major record label, while also appealing to those labels as an established artist with a following.  

The Appeal of TikTok for Musicians 

“TikTok has become a go-to platform for discovering music” – Dan Whateley.

A study by MRC Data found 75% of TikTok users say they discover new artists through the platform, and 67% are more likely to seek out a song they heard on TikTok on a music streaming platform.

The freedom TikTok gives creators to produce, interact with and remix content appeals to small musicians seeking an audience. For those who are yet to be picked up by a major record label, TikTok offers exposure to labels and a global audience. The pandemic has reshaped the creator economy, pushing us to stay online and inspiring creators to start sharing their work, building relationships with their audiences. 

TikTok’s hashtag feature, specifically #MusicTok, is a key way creators can target certain audience. Prosumers are another way songs become viral on the app, with remixes and sped-up versions of songs becoming trends that simultaneously lead to a rise in streams of the song itself. 

American songwriter Lizzy McAlpine’s song “Ceilings” went viral as a sped-up version, inspiring a trend of users along to the song. While the track was not a single from her album, the song entered the Billboard hot 100 in March 2023. McAlpine did not create the trend or the sped-up version of the song, but the user-creativity of TikTok promoted her song and helped her reach a global audience. 

Power to the Prosumer

Artist’s can now go viral without promoting their work. If a user uses their song for a trend, their song will likely receive an increase in streams. TikTok viral sounds translate into streaming numbers and the Billboard charts. A Study into this influence shows more than 100 songs that initially rose to fame on the app have made it onto the Billboard charts. TikTok’s influence has seen artists like Meghan Trainor, who lost popularity in recent years, rise onto the charts through TikTok trends.

@meghantrainor

WHEN THE DIVERS DO THE #MOTHER DANCE WITH SHARKS 🦈😭🤿 😍@brookieandjessie #iamyourmother

♬ Mother – Meghan Trainor

The pandemic has shifted power in the music industry, the charts, and in the way musicians now market themselves. TikTok makes artists more reachable. The pandemic showed that any creator willing to put their time into TikTok had the ability to make a career out of their work. Both independent and established artists now utilise the platform to promote their work. The power is now in the hands of prosumers and audience responses to songs. Will this impact the future control record labels have on the industry? In a post-pandemic landscape, both labels and musicians now need to turn their attention to what is popular on user-creative platforms.

“I’m Still Standing” – COVID 19 and the music industry

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

The COVID 19 pandemic has brought the world to a sudden stop and has greatly impacted all of our lives. Creative and cultural industries have been hit hard and are projected to be hit twice as hard as the wider economy and the music industry is no exception to this.

In May 2020 a report by Goldman Sachs predicted that global music revenue would drop by 25% as a result of the pandemic, with the industry set to lose at least £3 billion and 60% of its jobs with the collapse in live music and touring.

But does this mean that the music industry and its future is all doom and gloom? I think not. The industry is still standing strong, adapting to the digital age, and now adapting to the new constraints of a global pandemic.

The industry has been wrestling with digitisation for a decade or more now and has experienced a shift in how we consume music. Long gone are the days where we would browse the shelves our local HMV stores looking for our favourite artists new CDs.

Photo by Miles Playne on LinkedIn

The internet has paved the way in changing the industry as consumers expect to be able to use the internet for media and entertainment, opting for digitised forms of media including which is ideal in a time where restrictions mean the internet is the only option for music fans.

Streaming platforms are the way in which most of us listen to music nowadays, and whether that be through Spotify or Apple Music, there are now 400 million music subscribers worldwide as of 2020. During lockdown streaming only increased, with 80% of all music consumption in the UK being accounted for through streaming.

Physical music sales also increased with sales of vinyl records, surprisingly, growing during lockdown, with 8.8 million being sold across America in the first half of 2020 and Christmas sales of vinyls being the best since 1991!

Its important to point out that many artists do not get their fair share of the profit from streaming, with artists such as Tom Gray from Gomez taking a stand with his #BrokenRecord campaign.

Photo by Mike from Pexels

The closure of live music has meant artists have come up with creative ways to reach fans. Social media has become the new setting for live music. Take That reunited with Robbie Williams for a virtual charity concert on Youtube in aid of music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins, and Crew Nation, which supports concert crew workers.

Alongside this, was the One World: Together at Home virtual concert, organised by Lady Gaga, Global Citizen and the World Health Organisation which raised over $127 million for coronavirus charities. The concert had over 270million views and brought together over 70 artists including Elton John who gave a performance of ‘I’m Still Standing’ live from his home.

But for new artists how’s the future of the industry looking?

TikTok has become THE platform for amateur artists with over 70 artists that broke onto the platform getting signed by major labels in the past year. With 800 million active users worldwide it was the most downloaded app of 2020, unsurprisingly due to the pandemic and spending more time online than ever.

TikTok has encouraged an age of prosumers, which is blending the line between consumer and producer. Examples of this can be seen through 16-year-old Claire Rosinkranz, who in lockdown wrote, recorded and produced her own music with her dad at their home studio and now has over 4.7 million views on TikTok. Her debut song, Backyard Boy, which she first uploaded to TikTok has over 26m views on YouTube and used over 2.4million times on TikTok.

So what does the future look like?

With restrictions easing of and the return of live music, the future for the music industry looks bright, but one things for sure… digital is here to stay and we can only expect to see a rise in user generated content in the future.

From stages to screens: what has happened to the performing art’s industry in the UK?(1813671).

New Theatre Oxford. Source:- ATG Tickets

When was the last time you went to the theatre to see a live show? It’s been a while, hasn’t it? The theatre industries have, arguably, been hit the hardest by the coronavirus pandemic, as over 70% of workers within the theatre industry were subject to furlough. In this blog, I will highlight how the theatre industry adopted a “show must go on” attitude as they transitioned from stage to screen. But is this enough to preserve the performing arts industries? As theatre lovers wait eagerly for the stage curtains to be drawn once again.

A theatre fallen silent. Source:- Science on screen

First of all, it is important to discuss the role of the audience. For many theatres in the UK, they are funded by Arts Council England to help theatres serve their local communities. It is impossible to ignore the impact of the community when it comes to the theatre industry, as it is the consumers who fund the industry through ticket sales and theatre memberships. Since the start of the pandemic, there was a big element of uncertainty looming over the theatre industry as the lights became dimmer. As a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, audiences’ voices have been silenced due to the profoundly restricted access to the theatre industry.

In the meantime, the theatre industry has transitioned to the screen. But has it truly connected audience and actor or does it knock down the fourth wall. As mass communication technologies, audiences can access ‘high art’ in a matter of seconds. This, therefore, poses a threat to the theatre industry as we know it and one can argue that this threat has intensified due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Theatre, London, UK. Source:- National Theatre

UK based theatre company, “National Theatre”, offered audiences the chance to stream shows on their website through a paid membership before the pandemic hit the industry. Bakshi and Whitby argue that the National Theatre’s live screenings of performances “creates, rather than cannibalises, audiences”. As a result of making high-end performances easily accessible from the comfort of your own home, new audiences have been created. However, in an interview with Thom Dibdin, playwright Peter Arnott emphasises the importance of moving beyond online performances .  The “shared live experience” of the performing arts industry is what makes it so unique and powerful to audiences. Although live theatre has now been made more accessible than ever, the transition from stage to screen has hindered this shared experience and impacts all those who are involved in the theatre industry.   

Increased globalisation has allowed the everyday citizen to become content creators themselves through the use of mass communication technologies. In the Performing Arts industry, audiences have moved beyond their label as “consumers” and are now active participants within the industry. John Hartley highlights that the consumers are branded as “self-organising users or speakers”. During the pandemic, citizens have voiced their views on various social media platforms to express their views about the theatre industry and the lack of support from the UK government.  Individuals voiced their views and shared a petition on social media to force the UK government to take action to preserve the theatre industry. Eventually, the government announced that a “£1.57 billion package for cultural organisations”. This movement highlighted the impact of the audience during the pandemic, as they became the content creators and played a major role to push the government into supporting the theatre industry.

The Box Office at the New Vic theatre. Source:- New Vic Theatre

Whilst what has happened over the past few months was certainly unprecedented to us, the future of the creative and cultural industries as a whole is bound to evolve and adapt to the globalised and digitalised state of society. In post-pandemic times, one thing for certain is that these industries will become more accessible. Although there is a risk of mass communication technologies disrupting these industries, it will enable more people to get involved with in creative sectors and expand on the diverse range of talent and creativity in the UK.