"Theater-length video series" are winning back audiences
2024-08-11
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【Art and Culture Trend】
In recent years, the channels for the dissemination of dramas have gradually expanded from television to the Internet, and video websites have started to operate in a theatrical manner, launching "Misty Theater", "Pet Theater", "X Theater", etc. These theaters create specific time sections for the broadcast and promotion of dramas, that is, they arrange the broadcast of works of the same type, similar volume, and similar audience portraits in the "theater", thereby establishing a brand image and strengthening user stickiness. "Theater + long video series" changes the previous situation where video websites rush to buy popular dramas and engage in price wars with self-made exclusive broadcasts, and responds to the diversion of audiences by short videos and micro-short dramas.
From dramas gathered by time to dramas gathered by type
The concept of "theater" in the film and television industry already existed before the emergence of video websites. In the late 1990s, local satellite TV stations began broadcasting one after another, and "theater" appeared on traditional TV channels. Tianjin Satellite TV's "Old Studio" was considered the prototype of theaterization. After that, major satellite TV stations set up "morning theater" and "weekend theater" and other "theaters" divided by broadcast time. Since the new century, competition among local satellite TV stations has intensified, and they have begun to pay attention to the relationship between "theater" and channels. For example, Hunan Satellite TV's "Golden Eagle Exclusive Theater" and Dragon TV's "Dream Theater" have created channel brand images in terms of "theater" naming, special repertoire arrangement, and exclusive self-production.
Since 2013, video websites have classified and packaged a large number of dramas, and set up theme areas such as "Youth Idol Theater" and "Family Theater" on the homepage. These "theaters" are still post-supply models of broadcast platforms, but the operating ideas have shifted from rescheduling broadcast time slots to focusing on segmented content. With the increasingly fierce competition among video websites and the strengthening of their ability to produce dramas, in 2015, Youku launched the "Fang Theater" series for audiences, which included "Boldly Go", "Relaxed Life" for families, and "Unbridled Love" for women; in 2018, iQiyi launched "Love Youth Theater" and "Strange Suspense Theater", which mainly focus on romance and reasoning, and launched exclusive dramas and self-made dramas such as "Tough City"; in 2020, with the launch of iQiyi's "Misty Theater" and the popularity of "The Hidden Corner", "theaters" appeared more clearly in front of the audience, and shifted from dramas gathered by time to dramas gathered by type, and the verticalization and serialization of content became more prominent.
The theatrical track has also exposed some problems in the process of large-scale deployment on video websites. Some "theater" works are of varying quality. A certain work becomes a hit, but the quality of subsequent works is unsustainable. Other "theater" dramas have mixed themes and different volumes, and the broadcast schedules are "one pot stew", lacking differentiated characteristics. What optimizations can "theater" make? This involves a discussion on what "theater" is and the spirit of theater, that is, why this drama dissemination mode is named "theater", and what form and implementation methods "theater" has in the new media dissemination of dramas.
Constructing a space for collective presence, communication and interaction
The name of the video website "XXX Theater" borrows the concept of drama. Drama has changed from "songs on the desk" to "songs on the stage", relying on actors and audiences to form a specific time and space environment - the theater. Whether it is the brothels of traditional Chinese opera or the closed theaters or open squares of Western drama, the performances are "on-site exchanges" between actors and audiences. When the curtain slowly opens and the stage spotlights light up, the theater is like a pool of living water of emotions. The stage is the source, causing emotional fluctuations, expanding from the inside to the outside, forming a greater emotional force in the audience, and then feeding back to the stage, arousing stronger emotions in the actors. This viewing and performing relationship formed by "work-actor-audience" is the unique charm of drama - the spirit of theater.
In the 20th century, facing competition from film and television, dramatists declared that "there is only one element that movies and television cannot deprive: the intimate contact of living organisms in the theater"; more than half a century later, dramas (long videos) have also tried to attract audiences with certain advantages of "theater" in order to compete with short videos. Although the "theater" of video websites cannot allow the audience to personally experience the sweat and tears, breath holding and trembling in the theater, it reflects the new media's attempt to simulate and restore a traditional drama viewing and performance relationship with the audience, and to make up for the lack of experience brought by the non-physical "theater" with a variety of audience feedback and interactive methods, and to construct the spirit of film and television theater.
In the era of television, classic TV series such as "Shanghai Beach" and "Huo Yuanjia" played by "Theater" can attract audiences to gather at regular times and places. For example, waiting in front of the TV with family, chatting about dramas with neighbors, and the audience established a collective presence relationship around the drama works. But this agglomeration effect should be attributed to the charm of the drama, and the role of the theater is not great. But in the era of video websites, "Theater" began to play its subjectivity in many aspects. For example, in terms of overall packaging, the brand logo and background skin of "Theater" are more in line with the characteristics of the drama type. "Misty Theater" is a question mark flipped left and right, "Love Theater" is a heart transformed from "L", and the background of "Hong Kong Theater" is a skyscraper exuding a modern atmosphere. When the audience clicks in, they will feel the theme atmosphere. Although the drama can be watched again, there is only one chance for many people to watch it at the same time when the new episode is broadcast online. Therefore, the number of "watching at the same time" will be displayed in the upper corner of the "Theater" playback interface. At the beginning of each episode, there are always people "reporting" in the barrage, such as "Reporting from Tianjin", and some viewers report the time or real-time status they are watching, looking for netizens in the same status, such as "Watching on 2023-11-23" and "Watching while eating spicy strips". Many people also use barrage to express their opinions simultaneously. The "theater" also enhances the atmosphere of the scene through fancy barrage design. For example, when playing the flame picture of "The Long Season", the audience's barrage also has the effect of burning smoke. In addition to barrage, the theater's playback page also has a synchronous comment area and a "chasing drama room" chat room where the audience can discuss. Some actors in the series appeared in the comment area during the broadcast, and even in the offline entity "chasing drama room", becoming "chasing drama partners", chatting with the audience in text or "connecting microphones" in the tone of their own identity or character. For all these reasons, the group perception, interaction methods and amount of information obtained by the "theater" audience of the video website obviously surpass the "theater" audience of the TV, and they are live and timely.
It can be seen that although the collective presence relationship of TV "theater" and video website "theater" is somewhat virtual, it can also create a fixed and ritualistic time and space for watching dramas, allowing the audience to go to a film and television "theater" together while calling friends and infecting each other. The "theater" operators, "theater" audiences, producers and actors and other subjects communicate and interact in various interfaces of the "theater", thus obtaining a viewing experience of "sharing this moment across the world" and "feeling the same".
Return to uninterrupted viewing
The collective presence of both the audience and the performers advocated by the spirit of theater is not static. The performance of the actors on the stage is an ongoing action scroll that gradually unfolds to the audience. The audience cannot ask the stage performance to disrupt the order of plot development, arbitrarily jump in time or change the number of performances. Therefore, "theater" presents an irreversible linear time, and the audience and the performers go hand in hand and experience a continuous and uninterrupted process. The multi-screen and mobile digital media allow the audience's attention to flow and switch at any time, forming a free, detached and fragmented viewing habit. In addition to setting up fast-food functions such as "double-speed viewing", "one-click jump" and "only watch him", the video website "theater" as a dissemination party also actively guides and cultivates the audience to return to the "theater" viewing method of continuous and uninterrupted viewing.
Many "theaters" strictly control quality, continuously launch high-quality works, and improve the audience's appreciation level with higher artistic standards, reversing the unhealthy viewing needs of some people who blindly pursue pleasure and avoid the sublime, and gradually improving the audience's confidence in the reputation and quality of "theaters". Many people have established "admission standards" for the "theaters" on video websites in their hearts: "This play should not be included in "such and such theater", and it is completely not at the same level as other plays." After setting high standards for watching dramas, the audience's viewing behavior will become more and more ritualistic. One significant manifestation is that the "theater" drama reviews are becoming more and more professional. For example, the comment area of "X Theater" wrote: "The greatest contribution of "The Long Season" is that the short video of "watching drama in three minutes" cannot be disassembled, and it must be watched continuously without a second's difference. The composition, lighting and color are exquisite, and the transition design is ingenious. The plot is meticulous, and many inconspicuous details are hidden and profound." There are many such examples. The teasing, playing with memes, and chasing stars are gradually replaced by professional interpretations of works in dimensions such as rhythm, atmosphere creation, delicate performance, and scene details. Such evaluations must be based on normal speed and focused viewing.
The spirit of continuous and uninterrupted viewing of the theater is not only reflected in the "present tense" of normal viewing, but also in a "future tense". There is a saying in the theater world: "Theater performances are always the art of self-destruction". Every performance is a new performance, a new audience, with various on-site performances and accidental factors, and is always full of suspense. So the theater is a present that contains its own future. Although compared with theatrical performances, the broadcast content of the series has been packaged and unchanged, the video website "theater" allows the audience to encounter the work, the audience to encounter the audience, and embark on a unique journey of exploration. The discussion area in the theater is the most representative, because opening the comment area at different times will produce different viewing experiences-when the work is newly launched, the audience in the comment area explores the unknown plot together. For example, the audience of the "suspense theater" "Who is he" posted screenshots of the plot in the comment area to infer who the murderer is, and other viewers also shared their views. After going online for a period of time, the "class representatives" in the comment area, that is, active netizens, will initiate plot questions and topic discussions. For example, the comment area of "News Queen" initiated a debate on "Which do you think is more important, career or love?" and created a "PK" interface to attract netizens to participate. The comment area of "Meow, Please Make a Wish" solicited suggestions from the audience on the spot to help the characters in the play supplement the "wish" story line. The "theater" of the video website creates an atmosphere of collective exploration of the unknown, inspiring the audience to devote themselves to the film and television time and space together.
In order to explore with the audience, the operators and producers of the "theater" also tried "plot after-sales" and "customization by netizens". For example, the comments in the comment area, such as "the screen filter is distorted and white", "the voice of the heroine does not match her age", and "the subtitles are too small", were quickly modified one by one in the subsequent episodes. The theater also "kills two birds with one stone" and develops derivative variety shows for the series. During the broadcast of "Snow Pear Stewed in Rock Sugar", the "Cheer Theater" launched the derivative variety show "Idol Group", which introduced the background knowledge of the ice sports involved in the play in various game ways. This "extra small theater" allows the audience to explore and unlock, and provides more "secondary creation" materials. In addition, the theater also releases "mixed cut" albums and "pre-broadcast lists" at the end of the season or on a specific date to construct collective memory and look forward to the future. For example, at the end of the first season, "X Theater" released a mixed cut video of Shen Mo and Fu Weijun from "The Long Season" and Zhang Jiayi from "Happy Face", which has both summary and preview functions. At 13:14 on May 13, "Love Theater" released the theme video "Never forget love, there will be an echo", presenting classic scenes of the love dramas that have been broadcast in the theater one by one, calling out to the audience "Welcome back! More good dramas are on the way."
In short, the establishment of these rules for watching dramas, such as not using the double-speed mode, respecting the creators' fine-line creation, and advocating the experience of continuous exploration, allows the audience to form a kind of theater aesthetic ethics between the audience and the works, and between the audience, so that the theater spirit becomes an individual consciousness and collective identity, and allows the "long video series + theater platform" to gradually win back the audience. When the various interfaces in the "theater" allow each subject of active practice to induce force like a magnet, the drama will be expanded into a new "story world", and each collective viewing will give birth to a new media event and resonance field. From the drama gathering by time to the drama gathering by category, and then to the drama gathering by the scene and the drama gathering by people, the change in the meaning of "theater" reflects the evolution of my country's film and television drama supply mode and audience viewing demand. For creators and communication platforms, theatricalization means a more accurate response to the audience's viewing needs, which helps to further enhance the awareness of quality and social responsibility; for the audience, watching dramas in the "theater" is not only aesthetic and entertainment, but also an action to resist alienation, superficiality, fragmentation, and immerse in the experience of life time and the collective historical process of society.
(Author: Xu Hailong, professor of the School of Literature at Capital Normal University)
This version of the posters are all data pictures
(Source: Guangming Daily)
