For those of you who don’t know, Blockchain is the technology that lies behind Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. What it basically is, is a decentralized and distributed network that contains encrypted data in the form of “blocks” – decentralized, because it doesn’t depend on a central institution that controls the information, and distributed, because it is the users that verify and check the movements and transactions within the chain (so called “peer-to-peer-review”). A block in the chain cannot be manipulated, since thousands of users are constantly verifying the information being exchanged. It’s been around for almost a decade now, since the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto designed the very first Blockchain and developed the infamous Bitcoin on it. This technology has gained mainstream popularity in the last year and a half or so, and many are predicting that it could disrupt many already established industries, like the entertainment industry for example. It may come as a surprise, but besides film I have a keen interest on the development of Blockchain technologies, and for that reason I’d like to talk a little about the repercussions and possibilites employing it within the film industry could have.

The first, most obvious appliance for Blockchain technology within the industry is to use it as a payment system. Starting off with the production process, hundreds of people work in your average movie today. Beyond their salary, those people need health inssurance, pensions, security guarantees, royalties, etc. This could be achieved and facilitated through the use of “Smart Contracts”, basically computer protocols on the Blockchain that verify and/or enforce the performance of a contract. Also, the use of Smart Contracts could eliminate the necessity of using middle-men or third parties, simplifying the whole process and considerably reducing its costs. An example of this is “MoviToken”, a platform that runs on the Ethereum Blockchain, that hopes to bring clarity to financial aspect of a film production.

Movies need financing, there’s no question about that, and that can become quite expensive, especially for up-and-coming independent filmmakers. The phenomenon known as Crowdfunding has already been around for a while, and it helps filmmakers obtain funds for their projects through a donation basis from regular people, just like you and me, instead of having to adhere to strict studio rules. And while until now this has allowed many young and new filmmakers realize their films, Blockchain technology could take this concept to the next level. Platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo function as central servers and limit what the creators can do with the funds they receive. A Blockchain alternative, for example “LiveTree”, add the factor of “ownership” by pledges: fans of a certain web series can pledge as much money as they want and in return they can see the project realized, while retaining a certain percentage of ownership-rights of the content, and thus they can even receive returns from their invesment. This way, fans of a certain project can make sure that it can continue, since they’ll be helping finance it – for example, they like an episode of a TV Series, they can then help raise funds for the next episode.

Another area in the film industry that could potentially be revolutionized by Blockchain technologies is the area of distribution. Traditionally and during large portions of film history, distribution was managed almost entirely by the big studios, and there were seldom possibilities to achieve success outside of this system. In recent decades, however, with the rise of digital filmmaking it has become relatively much simpler to make movies, but the distribution of these is still bound to powerful organisms and institutions. The introduction of Netflix did change the rules of the game regarding distribution, developing and dominating the streaming landscape. Still, it does come with limitations that wouldn’t be present in a distributed ledger. “Stream Space” is an example of a Blockchain initiative that tackles this problem: it basically soughts to eliminate the intermediary role of distributors by establishing a direct relation between the creators and the viewers. Working as a sort of pay-per-view system, filmmakers can upload their creations, set the price they deem fair for their product, and viewers pay directly to the content creators. It aspires to be a decentralized Netflix of sorts, and anyone can take part in it in either side of the spectrum, from creator to consumer.

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency detractors will always point out the flaws from such systems, but they seldom take a look at how the whole technology behind works. There are already many projects that want or are trying to jump onto the Blockchain wagon, those mentioned here being just a few examples. Honestly, it might be too early to tell if such technology can bring a positive change to the industry (and to the many other industries people claim it can disrupt), but for now it is hard to deny that there is potential in all of this. Some even claim that Blockchain may even bring an end to film piracy, becuase of the perpetual storage in the chain and emphasis on Proof-of-Ownership.

The first Hollywood film produced with this sort of technology is due to debut on June this year, “No Postage Necessary”, a romantic comedy written and directed by Jeremy Culver. June being just a month away, the world will see the first Blockchain-based film very soon. Is the future now? Are we tapping on a paradigm-shift with regards to how business is made within the industry (and virtually every other industry out there)? Or are we getting too excited way too early for something that hasn’t proved its success just yet? What do you think? Make sure to leave a comment with your thoughts on this matter!

Sources:

-https://nofilmschool.com/2018/02/why-blockchain-will-change-how-business-done-film-industry

-https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/03/30/business/tech/no-postage-necessary-hollywoods-first-blockchain-movie-first-step-toward-ending-piracy/#.WvHiGYhubIU

-http://movitoken.com/

-https://secure.livetree.com/#!/seed/

-https://www.stream.space/

Thanks for reading. This is a topic I’ve been wanting to write about for a while now, glad I finally did it. If you liked this post please leave a like and share it with your friends and family. Also, don’t forget to follow if you want to be up to date with the content this blog produces. Until next time!