Film, Music, and TV Trends for 2017
2016 saw a lot of amazing film, music, and television being made. From the continued dominance of streaming services to Chinese-backed films shooting in America, to the indie film circuit producing numerous critically acclaimed films, 2016 has been a year full of upending entrenched systems and meeting consumer demands in new ways. By the looks of things, 2017 will be full of more more growth in various areas.
Micro Budget Horror
Traditionally one of the most bankable genres horror is a tried and true moneymaker. Indie filmmakers with small budgets and healthy heaping of jump scares and gore can jumpstart a career.
With relatively small budgets, indie filmmakers can set their sights making films that scare people. Whether that’s through ample use of the “jump scrare” or a perfectly eerie tone, or creative camera angles are all aspects up to the purvue of the auteurs currently working in this space. Filmmakers like Joe Begos (The Mind’s Eye, Almost Human) and Jackson Stewart (Beyond The Gates) are all making the horror genre their own. 2017 looks to be an even bigger and better year for micro budget horror.
The Future of Distribution
Theatrical distribution isn’t the future. It’s streaming, VOD, and downloading. Film lovers are opting to stay home and watch. Theatres can be overcrowded, the commercials seem to last forever, and then there are those select individuals who take phone calls during the movie or who decide private conversations during the film are A-Okay. But are indie films going to have wide releases? Not any time soon. So, expect to see more indies on VOD in 2017.
Serialization
Do you like being spellbound by a show and living inside it for a week? Binge watch, much huh? Well, expect to spend more time in your sweatpants. Every new show that’s coming out is going to be attempting to exploit the serialization trend that’s been building for the last few years. We’re talking cliffhangers galore. Serialization is only going to become more and more commonplace in 2017.
Streaming Royalties
The music industry has taken some lumps over the last decade. They’ve gone through multiple upheavals. Now they’re on the brink of another one: Musician’s streaming rights. The issue is many artists feel they are not being paid enough for their product on online streams. Expect to see more artists in the media talking about how they’re not being paid, or are being inadequately compensated for the streaming of their music.
The Big Budget Bubble Isn’t Going To Burst Anytime Soon
The fact that every film that is seen on a wide scale is made from an already existing intellectual property isn’t going to change in 2017. In fact, we’re in for more sequels, adaptations, and remakes. Many of these projects are backed by foreign film investors, largely in China. A large portion of both the Marvel and Transformer movies. This is the new normal.
The current incarnations of the film, television, and music industries all have positive and negative attributes. Film is achieving mind boggling technical heights while simultaneously struggling to maintain a human center. Music is splintering into hundreds of subgenres that are producing new and exciting work, however mainstream music is homogenized and uniform across the board.
As consumers of art and media, 2017 presents us all with the opportunty to consider how our viewing and listening tastes have a direct impact on the supply and demand of products that come to market. Thanks to big data, much of the guesswork taken out of assessing people’s general tastes and trends. So will we consume with purpose or eat whatever’s handed to us?
As creatives (musicians, producers, filmmakers, and media people) what kind of work do we thrill at seeing? How can we contribute to the landscape?