Not just a director. There's a chance for infinite commentaries. Random cast members. Comedians. Scientists breaking down movies. Historians. And it avoids the copyright pitfalls of posting similar to YouTube. Netflix could really be providing a ton of "augmented" content.
They used to do that because DVD sales was the long tail of money that made mid-price movies worthwhile. Even if movies didn't turn a profit during the first run, they did it with DVD sales 6 months later.
Adding commentaries and bonus materials made even more people buy the DVD - even if they already watched the movie in the theatre -> more money.
This is one huge benefit for me in subscribing to Criterion. There is much, much more behind the scenes content, commentary and extras. I'd really enjoy watching critics or directors discuss their favorite films. Shudder is the only other service that I've see that includes this.
I think streaming services have had a bigger impact on how we consume media in general than we appreciate.
For one, very few people buy physical media anymore - but streaming isn't licensed like physical media is, so while you can buy the disk form of virtually any movie without any hassle, you may have to sign up for a specific subscription service or platform to stream. For example, I would need to sign up for Comcast to stream "Cannonball Run" - but I can buy it on DVD from Amazon.
It also means that anything that isn't available to stream, anywhere, doesn't get watched the way it might if we were still in the Blockbuster era.
And of course, missing bonus features and special cuts of films is yet another major change.
On the whole, I've been able to consume far more content that I love thanks to streaming than I think I've lost because of it. But it's worth noting the changes. Will definitely check out Criterion's service.
Shudder is pretty cool, though I don't maintain a subscription (I will sub for a month or two every now and then when I'm in the mood).
I like the concept of streaming services that cater really well to one specific interest. I also like that I can do what I describe, and pick and choose which subs to maintain based on my interests at the time.
I do miss the good old days when Netflix had everything, but nothing lasts forever I guess. That is, besides the thrilling salt air of the wide open seas ;)
I wish that my receiver could on-the-fly compile a second audio source that I grab from a URL, and play it simultaneously out the rear speakers, so that a community commentary solution could pop up. People could vote for commentaries, and I could blissfully listen to drunk, stoned, or acute America opining on my tv show or movie, and I could feel just a tiny bit less alone. I'd love it.
I've had an idea kicking around for ages of setting up something like this for music commentary / radio - a "host" could set up a show and make commentary between tracks (or even during), and you'd source all the content via a user-provided subscription.
So, for example, you might be a "70s prog" DJ / host, you'd set up a playlist and intersperse commentary or dialogue or whatever, and then the site handles authing and playing the licensed tracks between your pre-recorded (or hell, even live) banter.
Never spent any real time on it, I'm not sure that the idea of "just use the user's Spotify account" to get around licensing would actually hold up, but it seems like it would be a cool service.
That's a certified epiccoleman Free Idea for anyone with more gumption than me :)
I had a friend who had this same idea and made it pretty far down the licensing hell-hole. They ultimately failed, at least for a US market. This was 2013-14 though, it might actually work this time (using something like Spotify).
Yeah, that seems like the low key "clever" part of the idea - instead of licensing the content, you are essentially just automating "directing the listener to play a track".
It at least makes some common sense that the service could just piggyback onto a user's existing personal license for music (ultimately, how is it different than the DJ saying "ok, now play Sound Chaser"?).
Does that make legal sense in a world where record labels have fancy lawyers? Idk.
As long as they are getting paid, they probably don't care. If there is some legal way for them to get paid more, then they will care, a lot. They'd probably go after the service either way to get a settlement and/or set a precedent that they should get more money; unless you somehow got their 'blessing' before embarking on the adventure (likely some kind of investment to make sure they get their money and have control). </old man rant>
IIRC, he had quite the adventure. He got flown on private jets by labels all over the world, often-times, not even getting his passport checked. He said the 'other half' lives in an entirely different world and he got a taste of it.
Heh, it might be worth going on the adventure just for the sake of the adventure.
You're correct! Rifftrax will still occasionally do an MP3-only riff that you need to sync with the movie, usually for popular movies like Twilight or Dune that they could never license. They have an app that's supposed to automatically sync with the film; I assume it listens for the opening sounds of the studio logo.
This has long been a pet peeve of mind. Absolutely no bonus content or behind the scenes footage for 99% of content in streaming services. Even if that footage already exists for prior (DVD) releases. Sad that the owners of these platforms don't think it's something the fans want.
I think of subscription streaming more like cable which also never had them. I've seen them for purchased stuff on the iTunes store. But for e.g. Netflix originals that puts it in a tough spot.
The shift to podcasts that the article mentions is a fun one, though; I hadn't looked at it like that. The "sync this with the film" seems like a pain, but I have listened to standalone fully separate ones that I've liked, just never pictured them as "commentary tracks."
Directors Commentaries and behind the scenes documents were (and still are to an extent) the main reason I buy physical Blu-Rays.
Apple's store (not Apple TV, but the one you can "buy" movies from) has actual extras for a good selection, but they're still at the whim of one company to take away.
Nothing will ever beat three things, the cast commentary on Tropic Thunder ("Man, I don't drop character 'till I done the DVD commentary." - and he doesn't), the commentary on Deep Blue Sea (Samuel Jackson f's off the studio when his character dies halfway) and the sheer insane volume of BTS material on the LOTR extended DVD boxes.
Commentaries are like "View Source" for the web, they mentor future generations.
> Audio commentaries for film and TV adds value to those who want to make movies themselves. “I think just for cultivating a respect and a love for filmed entertainment, knowing the context of how something was made can really deepen their appreciation for something, or it can change the way they might have thought about seeing something cold. It’s just invaluable, and I wish we got to do more of it.”
One thing Disney+ has started doing is filming making of documentaries along with the films, and releasing them shortly after the film.
For example the making of Frozen 2 doc came out just a week or two after the movie hit streaming. It's basically like Director's commentary turned up to 11. They've done it for a few films.
I'd love to see that happen more, but I suspect making a documentary is a lot more work than editing together a commentary track.
I've mainlined pretty much every documentary on D+ about Disney. :) Despite the fact that they are clearly paid for by the marketing department, I still enjoyed them immensely.
But also it totally worked -- after watching those docs I really want to visit Disney Paris and Disney Shanghai.
I almost went crazy a few months ago trying to find the director’s commentary audio track for the movie Sneakers in my iTunes library. Eventually I realized my memory of it was from the DVD like 15 years ago. Huge bummer, it was was an awesome addition to a movie I love.
I was wondering the same thing just a few days ago.
It is actually quite trivial to add an audio-stream (or streams) with the director/writer/actors commentary to HLS or MPEG-DASH and surface it in the application UIs.
I saw a very nice use of this in the IPL (India Premier League) cricket match yesterday. JioCinema is the streamer offering the match streams and they have an option to change the camera view. Of the multiple cameras in the stadium, you could pick a camera angle that you wanted. It was pretty cool.
Hell, I miss pop up video.