the quality of “newness”
Somthing that has been occupying me this week is how much a movie going audience values “newness”. That extra value that we impart to something, because it is so NOW, so JUST OUT, so the FIRST.
Three very different contexts for thinking about this:
- First, in the release-windows. Do you remember the days that VHS used to be premium priced on release, in the early 90s a VHS of a block-buster could cost as much as 40 quid when it first came out. Why? because people value new-ness. In all the debate (not all of it civil or sensible) about day and date, VOD and collapsing the DVD window, people should remember some basic economic theory about premium pricing - there is almost certainly a way to still capture the value that people place on “newness” whilst catering to the reality that not all of them will be able to get to the cinema to experience that newness on the big screen.
- Another example that demonstrates the value of newness is the current consternation about Infamous the 2nd movie in as many years to investigate Truman Capote and the writing of In Cold Blood. Despite the excellent pedigree and advanced notices that the movie is getting, it is received wisdom everywhere that it won’t come close to achieving the audiences that Capote did. Why? Because its second. Despite the convicing arguments made here that “We do not write off this year’s “Hamlet” because we enjoyed last year’s”
- Finally, an example of our own. We released a photograph of the Sugarhouse Lane logo this week on the production blog to immediate excitement. Despite the fact that its not necessarily the logo that the film will have, but a tag done by graffiti artists that we like. Why? Cause its new and they saw it there first.