Fear

Is The Cinema Dying ?

To begin I would quote the inventor of cinema, Louis Lumière, who shortly after their premiere, announced: "Cinema is an invention without a future". Cinema has indeed been questioned many times, and still today, in the XXI century.

Not the first death

In 1927, several film critics claimed its death, following its evolution, making it sound. "The Lumière brothers' cinematograph no longer deserves its name... It has become a vulgar image phonograph." Also, after the Second World War, the film industry, which was the second most important French industry, was in danger of collapsing. The French government taxed the producers too heavily, which made it difficult for them to survive.

Nowadays, these are mainly 2 causes that can let us believe in an imminent death of cinema.

Farewell to the Camera

First of all, many productions are getting lighter. In the past, it took several million dollars to shoot a successful film with very expensive equipment. Today, more and more directors are trying to change their working methods, using very specific cameras, which many of us already own, the Iphones. This is the paradox, for big screen films, directors use cameras, well smartphones, that is to say a tool that is not made for filming. Some of them are quite efficient in this field, but it is not their primary function.

The director Steven Soderbergh is a pioneer in this field. His place is not to be proven anymore in the field, he is the director of the Ocean trilogy, with Matt Damon and George Clooney. He has already directed 3 films with an iPhone. It is the kind of director who is more interested in the story told, than with what material it is captured.

Director Steven Soderbergh filming his movie "High Flying Bird" with an iPhone

Of course, it is not the expensive cameras that make a film notable or not, but they do contribute to the look of the film. And the audience is still looking for a professional look when they go to the cinema. If the viewer can recreate the film himself, professional cinema is no longer of interest.

Hello Netflix

On the other hand, we are witnessing a change in the way movies are consumed. Nowadays, people don't go to theaters with red seats anymore, or less, but watch movies from home, on streaming platforms like Netflix. Some movies are not even released in theaters anymore, but directly on Netflix. Nevertheless, this consumption may impact theaters but not the quality of the film.

So we can see that cinema may not die, but it will change. Films will no longer be shot with the RED Monstro, but simply with the iPhone. They will be watched on a flat screen, rather than a giant screen. I only hope that it will still give us emotions.