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Casual Viewing – Why Netflix looks like that

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Re: Casual Viewing – Why Netflix looks like that

#71

Post by timthorn »

zeristor wrote: post #31
rich_sasha wrote: post #11

I find it very stressful when watching Netflix because I don't know what is going to happen. Maybe they could include the full story line at the start of the series, so I can read it ahead of time and remove all suspense and surprise.

I do constantly have to tap out with the stress in many programs, takes me ages to pick up and finish programs. Many people need tension to drive a narrative forwards, but for me it often gets too much. I remember 80 Days Around the world where peril of missing a connection gave it tension; ever since documentaries seem to have used this more and more. The BBC Horizon episode on Voyager passing Jupiter was so inspira…

The irony of your comment is that Horizon famously went through a phase of making programmes that were all about doom a while ago. Asteroids hitting the Earth, Global warming, food supply collapse, tsunamis, volcanos, etc - and all with portentious narration.

Re: Casual Viewing – Why Netflix looks like that

#72

Post by motorest »

openplatypus wrote: post #55
Argonaut998 wrote: post #43

It’s just slop par excellence. I’ve been watching a number of movies with my wife over Christmas. Everything is so bland, repetitive and ‘design by committee’. It goes further than merely announcing what the characters are doing (in that new wannabe Die Hard movie we hear that they are expecting a baby three times in 5 minutes), you just know there are certain metrics used for every genre of movie accounting for ever…

> And this is fine when you realise that Netflix replaces direct-to-video movies and not that of cinema, as much as they refuse to admit. This. Netflix does have good productions. But they are often surrounded by the sea of mediocracy. Stopped subscribing to N over a year ago and haven't missed it a single bit.

> Netflix does have good productions. But they are often surrounded by the sea of mediocracy.

Isn't it true for the whole film industry? Among the highest grossing movies from recent years, how many follow a different approach?

Re: Casual Viewing – Why Netflix looks like that

#73

Post by Arch485 »

austin-cheney wrote: post #13

I suspect this appeals to two types of audiences. The first being people who play on their phones instead of watching the show. You can blame phone addiction and ADHD type behaviors for this but it feels like a slippery slope of stupidity in the face of good writing/acting as opposed to constant cartoon like action. (the wife and I do it too). The second set of audience this would appeal to are people with autism. Si…

As someone with autism, the second paragraph is entirely incorrect.

Re: Casual Viewing – Why Netflix looks like that

#74

Post by rapnie »

rich_sasha wrote: post #11

I find it very stressful when watching Netflix because I don't know what is going to happen. Maybe they could include the full story line at the start of the series, so I can read it ahead of time and remove all suspense and surprise.

A number is enough. You just need know which of the 5 movie templates they used.

Re: Casual Viewing – Why Netflix looks like that

#75

Post by redserk »

vouaobrasil wrote: post #22

Streaming with a subscription is fundamentally a bad thing for cinema, especially when combined with the streamer also producing content. That's because it shifts the optimized variable from quality of individual movie/show to maximum time spent on platform. But the latter can accept the lowering of the quality of individual movies, so you get a regression towards average instead of a striving for excellence. Never p…

This is less of a streaming subscription issue as much as a Netflix issue. Netflix doesn't have to use the metric of "time spent on platform". Their goal seems to want to be the everything-streaming-app and are willing to produce mountains of swill to get there.

For example with their TV-style content, Netflix starting churning out tons of cheaply produced baking and cooking competition shows during the pandemic -- probably due to the popularity of "The Great British Bake-off". Whatever they were going for, they didn't capture the magic of it, nor did their cooking competition shows capture the magic of "Iron Chef" despite the blatant struggle to do so.

Compare this to HBO. HBO has been subscription far before streaming was a thing and they have an excellent track record of regularly producing quality series with a subscription model.

In HBO's TV era post-2000, you have The Wire, Sopranos, Entourage, Boardwalk Empire, among many others. As things moved to streaming (2012-), there's Game of Thrones, Succession, Barry, Chernobyl, Last of Us, Veep, etc. It seems, on average, every year there's a new must-watch series that ranks well with both critics and viewers.

While there's skepticism about HBO maintaining it's legacy after the Discovery-Warner merger, Apple TV seems to be filling HBO's shoes.

Perhaps Netflix ought to consider cutting back the number of series it's churning out.

Re: Casual Viewing – Why Netflix looks like that

#76

Post by superjan »

Argonaut998 wrote: post #43

It’s just slop par excellence. I’ve been watching a number of movies with my wife over Christmas. Everything is so bland, repetitive and ‘design by committee’. It goes further than merely announcing what the characters are doing (in that new wannabe Die Hard movie we hear that they are expecting a baby three times in 5 minutes), you just know there are certain metrics used for every genre of movie accounting for ever…

If you’re curious to try arthouse/international cinema, give Mubi a try. There is less to choose from, but the selection rotates.

Re: Casual Viewing – Why Netflix looks like that

#77

Post by seydor »

rich_sasha wrote: post #11

I find it very stressful when watching Netflix because I don't know what is going to happen. Maybe they could include the full story line at the start of the series, so I can read it ahead of time and remove all suspense and surprise.

You should ask an AI to watch it for you

Re: Casual Viewing – Why Netflix looks like that

#78

Post by stevage »

raverbashing wrote: post #67
Argonaut998 wrote: post #43

It’s just slop par excellence. I’ve been watching a number of movies with my wife over Christmas. Everything is so bland, repetitive and ‘design by committee’. It goes further than merely announcing what the characters are doing (in that new wannabe Die Hard movie we hear that they are expecting a baby three times in 5 minutes), you just know there are certain metrics used for every genre of movie accounting for ever…

Honestly I can't blame them if current audiences have the attention span of a puppy golden retriever The one use case I wanted to see for AI is "tunable" contexts for videos. If this is your first time, watch the whole thing but if you need less context just edit it so it skips over the obvious parts

I would love to see movies come in many different flavours. Long, short, dial up the violence, or down, etc etc.

Re: Casual Viewing – Why Netflix looks like that

#80

Post by blooalien »

manarth wrote: post #64
wiredfool wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They should bring back the prologue and the chorus.

And the intermission! They should call it "popcorn time"

| And the intermission! They should call it "popcorn time"

/me sings "Let's all go to the lobby! Let's all go to the lobby! Let's all go to the lobby ... and get ourselves a snack!"

Anyone else remember the dancing cartoon popcorn and coca-cola cup?

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