Is the Internet a disaster for the film industry?

"The Internet may bring huge disaster to the traditional film industry, turning it from an angel into a devil." At a forum at the Beijing Film Festival yesterday, Zhao Jun, deputy general manager of the Pearl River Film Group, made a shocking statement.

Over the past year, the penetration of the Internet into traditional industries has been accelerating, and the film industry has become the primary area for the Internet to enter the cultural and entertainment industry. Major Internet companies are not only satisfied with providing technical means for the film industry, but are also rapidly changing the landscape of traditional industries through financing, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic cooperation.

For the traditional film industry, whether the Internet is a subversion or integration, embrace or adherence, it is inevitably involved in a thinking process of action and strategy. At the Beijing International Film Festival Industry Park Table Summit Forum held yesterday, the topic of the impact of the Internet on the film industry triggered a debate between guests from the traditional film industry and Internet companies.

The first controversy mainly focuses on whether Internet companies have disrupted the traditional pricing system of the film industry. An Xiaofen, president of Dasheng International Media, which has participated in the production and distribution of films such as "Ip Man" and "Tiny Times", believes that the Internet, as a publicity and broadcasting platform, provides great support to traditional film companies, but it also brings disadvantages.

An Xiaofen said that buying tickets online has become the choice of more than 60% of the audience, and domestic ticketing websites have been engaged in price wars to compete with each other, dragging upstream and downstream into the war, interfering with upstream pricing and theater scheduling. She also called for content to be king, and traditional industries should unite to maintain their own pricing and scheduling systems, put an end to the single buyout copyright sales, and introduce a profit-sharing model.

Zhao Jun, deputy general manager of Zhujiang Film Group, a domestic veteran film company, even warned that Internet companies could cause a huge disaster for the Chinese film industry. He said that Internet companies must abide by the contract and credit with the traditional film industry. If Internet companies subsidize movie tickets in large quantities in order to plunder the data and traffic of the traditional film industry, it is just like developed countries plundering industry and oil in the industrial era; if Internet companies delay entrusting theaters and the bottom line in large quantities, they will turn from angels to demons, from heroes to criminals, and this will be a huge disaster for the Chinese film industry.

Zhao Jun also said that traditional cinema chains will become new Internet vertical companies. If they can master the operation of public accounts and shopping lists, all traditional industries can step into the Internet in one step. There is no insurmountable gap in the Internet, while traditional Internet companies such as Meituan and Dianping will be uneasy in the O2O era.

But there is no doubt that the Internet is no longer just a marketing and promotion platform for the film industry, or an e-commerce platform. It is absorbing, transforming, and rebuilding all aspects of the film industry chain, including distribution, production, creation, capital, and services. Internet companies subsidizing movie tickets with their own money has no real impact on the box office revenue of film companies. The purpose is to acquire users and then recover costs through multi-dimensional products and business models.

Discussion on IP was another core topic of yesterday's forum.

IP (intellectual property) was a hot word in the content industry last year and this year. Both traditional media and new media have embarked on the path of content IP: centering on a core IP such as a popular TV series, variety show, or movie, going upstream and downstream of the industry chain, forming a new ecosystem that runs through multiple products such as games, publications, e-commerce, animation, and apps.

Zhu Huilong, president of Youyi Pictures, said that as an Internet platform company, its core concept is to solve the information gap problem, accurately determine user distribution through multi-dimensional data analysis in the background, and conduct advanced analysis of user preferences to create good conditions for IP incubation. Ultimately, the platform will help content go global - this is also the key to Internet + movies. A highly open attitude will stimulate the further development of Internet movies.

Zhu Huilong believes that in the new era, people will seek labels that match them, which is the audience demand that promotes the maturity of IP. The Internet also provides more filmmakers like Yi Xiaoxing and Dapeng who are not from professional schools with the opportunity to realize their dreams. At the same time, the Internet also provides a good trial and error platform, which allows filmmakers to try more and find the path that suits them. Heyi Pictures will adhere to the plan to support young filmmakers and focus on building three platforms: IP incubation, new filmmakers and fan interaction.

"The market has developed greatly in the past two years. Every film company has made great strides and needs a lot of projects. Finding ready-made IP is a shortcut, which is why IP is so popular." An Xiaofen believes that there have been many successful cases of online novels, online dramas, and other IP intellectual property rights that are popular among audiences being adapted into movies in recent years.

Fu Binxing, vice president of Huace Film & TV Group, said that the value of IP lies in solving several major problems in the production chain. Content manufacturers assess the value of IP based on its influence, coverage and conversion value. Whether through TV screens, movie screens or variety shows, the difficulty of conversion, research and development, and marketing will determine the ultimate value of the IP. Therefore, a good IP also requires good R&D personnel and developers.

Zhu Huilong's view is similar to this. He believes that the key to whether IP can be industrialized lies in whether it represents a certain value, whether it has enough fans who identify with this value, and whether it has the vitality to continue. IP is not achieved overnight, and the Internet is a very suitable platform for experimentation and cultivation, which can gradually incubate good texts, songs, and even comics into big movies.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.