
The Netflix Binge Factory - dannyow
http://www.vulture.com/2018/06/how-netflix-swallowed-tv-industry.html
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ilamont
The leeway that the creatives are given at Netflix is impressive. Contrast
that with network TV programming and moviemaking at many other studios, which
can be so controlled by business departments that non-creative executives even
get involved in casting decisions and editing.

Brian De Palma talking about one failed project (1):

 _I would get stacks of notes, over and over again, from multiple sources.
It’s changed. They want to be included on everything. I remember throwing
executives out of the room during a reading for “Bonfire of the Vanities.” Are
you kidding? I can’t have these actors performing in front of studio
executives during the first reading! They claimed they wouldn’t say anything,
which was nonsense. I had the same thing with the Paterno project. I said,
“This is the first time Al [Pacino] has heard this material. I can’t have
executives sitting here.” They were offended beyond belief — sulking, tense. I
finally walked away from it. ... If you’ve seen HBO’s “Project Greenlight,”
the HBO executive on that show, Len Amato — that was the guy I was dealing
with. On the show, there’s Len in the editing room, making suggestions. That’s
like my worst nightmare. I have never dealt with a producer in the editing
room. And you can’t get final cut on television. Can you believe that Martin
Scorsese doesn’t have final cut on television?_

Nick Offerman (Parks and Rec) described the control that executives have over
casting and other key creative decisions in his recent Fresh Air interview
(2). It's depressing.

1\. [http://www.indiewire.com/2016/06/brian-de-palma-
documetary-h...](http://www.indiewire.com/2016/06/brian-de-palma-documetary-
hollywood-tv-noah-baumbach-jake-paltrow-1201683547/)

2\. [https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-
air/2018/06/07/617872975](https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-
air/2018/06/07/617872975)

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cube2222
The article is really long so I've just skimmed over it, but overall I think
the biggest change is the non-ad-driveness of Netflix. When I recall, how I've
spent 15 minutes watching ads, for each 45 minutes of movie-time, I'm really
horrified how anybody could waste their time like that. (and people still do)

At the same time, I think this encourages higher-quality content overall,
because in standard television, the product are ad-views. You put up content
only so that people watch the ads. Like clickbait articles in the internet.
This is especially so, as people got used to the formula of the television
dictating when to watch your movies.

Here they give you quality content, because the subscription payment is the
actual value for them, and they know they'll lose it if you don't put up good
enough content. (to keep up the analogy, it's like subscription based online
magazines like NYT or nautilus, the content differs diametrically)

On another note, I really like the data driven approach described here. The
metric of people turning off an episode of a series midways, without ever
coming back to it.

~~~
lotsofpulp
While I could never watch ad interrupted media again, some of the stuff on
Netflix runs longer than it should either to pad their statistics for how much
media they have or to focus on product placement shots. There's a balance, and
it can swing into the "make something drag on" longer than it should territory
too. But it's still way better than the old TV model.

~~~
jedberg
> to pad their statistics for how much media they have or to focus on product
> placement shots.

The important point here though is that this has nothing to do with Netflix.
They don't demand a certain length nor do they require product placement.
That's all on the producers and creators of the show.

If the show runners want to make a bunch of money with product placement,
that's their creative tradeoff.

~~~
lotsofpulp
I thought since Netflix paid for the content they produce, they would benefit
at least some amount from the product placement, such as Toyota in Narcos. I
don't blame them, it is business after all, but I notice when it pulls you out
of the moment.

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Panino
> As they spend more time watching, the company can collect more data on their
> viewing habits, allowing it to refine its bets about future programming.

This is a big advantage for Netflix. Live-TV cable companies don't have the
same luxury of picking and choosing specific content, as they buy all-in to a
single stream of ABC's content, NBC's content, etc. If there's an NBC show you
like on Thursday at 8pm EST via Comcast, you know it will be available at 7pm
CST in the Midwest via, say, Mediacom. There's not that much wiggle room.
Analytics isn't all that useful unless you can deliver specific content, which
is exactly how Netflix works.

~~~
gboudrias
There is a danger to this. While Netflix is producing more and more shows, I
find them to be more and more "samey". It's as if their algorithm decided
there are only X number of categories for shows and they're trying to make
everything the most SOMETHING of its category. Good shows have that (call it
originality), but great shows also have nuance, and I can't recall the last
Netflix show I've seen that had anything resembling that.

~~~
2bitencryption
That one netflix show, Ozark, with Jason Bateman, is just like that. "Samey".

It's like the show was written by a robot trained on Breaking Bad and The
Wire. It has all the building blocks of a hit show, but it totally lacks any
personality or inspiration.

Don't get me wrong, Bateman's performance is just great, but the material is
so blah. You can tell the show thinks it's much smarter than it really is.

I think we'll start seeing more of those shows on Netflix. People binge the
hell out of Breaking Bad, so we got Ozark. I'm sure we'll eventually see their
own "The Office", because people binge the hell out of that, too.

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drblast
This article is fantastic.

As an American who likes the occasional UK show, I have the possibly mistaken
impression that BBC shows run on a more similar model to Netflix. It seems
like they will tell a story for about as long as the original idea is
interesting and then the show ends.

In the U.S. it seems like anything popular will get milked as long as
possible.

Oddly, it seems like even in the Netflix model there are "series" and "movie"
categories that mirror film and TV running lengths and seasons.

It would be interesting to see more deviations from that pattern. Shorter
serials with longer episodes. Marathon length features.

Black Mirror is the best example of a non-traditional show as far as episode
length and quantity and I think it works quite well.

~~~
richardhod
Note that Black Mirror started on Channel 4, a public service regulated, but
privately-owned broadcast channel.

