Films and Television Are Merging 

Give someone a 10 hour movie and they’ll never touch it. Give someone a 10 episode 1 hour each Netflix series and they’ll watch it in one go.

The editing and visual is both nostalgic and futuristic. You're a gem of this platform sir

I'm not sure if consumers are craving more familiar stories or if studies *think* that's what the consumers want and thus create more of it.

The MCU is like a Tv show that only airs pilot episodes and season finales

This is a fantastically made video, and I really enjoy your content. But I'll admit to having a difference of opinion when it comes to the difference between film and television. In this video, the focus was predominantly on the surroundings of the text - where you watch, how you watch, the amount of money and time being poured into a project. And on those levels, film and television are certainly combining. But I do think there's another element that DOES differentiate the two as mediums, and that's entirely about the way that creators and audiences think about them. When writing or shooting a film, there's a different frame of mind as the the creation going on. It's more focussed on how a single text plays out, the themes and ideas explored in one chapter. Films tending to be longer than TV episodes can be considered a side effect of this. There needs to be more time to explore what happens in that story because (except in the case of the "two-parter") that text is expected to be a complete story. In my mind, the difference in audience expectation relies on this too. I know that personally, while I might consume The Irishman and Stranger Things on the same streaming service, on the same device, my expectations are radically different for each. With Stranger Things, I'm more interested in how character threads tie together and continue on for episodes, and seasons. When watching a film like The Irishman, I know that once it's over - it's over. The themes and ideas put forward in that text have come to an end once the film is finished. The obvious counter-argument is films that are part of a franchise, like Marvel movies, or TV shows with an anthology bent, like Black Mirror. But I would argue that a lot of the thought processes are still the same - because Black Mirror has to keep exploring the same theme; "What technology does to us," no single episode can be said to fully summarise the full outlook of the show. And while the MCU certainly builds narratives with conclusions and interconnectedness, my feeling is that each film is considered a single text. That's why you get thematic and stylistic differences between films. Because each one is trying (trying) to offer something different. There's certainly arguments counter to my thoughts on this, since it's all subjective and opinion-based. And while I did really enjoy the video, I just wanted to be able to talk about the creative side of the differences between TV and movies, not just the business side. And hey, if I can't spout random, deeply subjective opinions in RU-vid comments, where can I spout them? Probably in real life to real people, I guess. But who wants that?

I just started watching Euphoria yesterday and it’s probably the most cinematic television show I’ve ever seen. They rarely use shot reverse shot during conversations like virtually every other tv show out there, there are multiple insanely elaborate long shots, and incredibly dynamic cinematography choices that make the show feel more akin to something like PTA’s Magnolia than your standard teen drama. Also there’s this shot with a rotating set that blew my mind wide open. The whole thing feels like a movie, and it’s kind of the dream I had of what television could be but never saw fulfilled. Watch it immediately if you haven’t already.

I have a gotdamned AP test in 3 hours

I agree, I would say the advent of 4k tvs being affordable and more HD content available on TV and mobile devices contribute more common engaging experiences at home and on the go.

My mom and I watched the entire first season of Stranger Things on DVD last month. I bought her the second season as a Mother's Fay gift. One of the things I've noticed about TV is that they're stuck in a rut. While most streaming platforms like Netflix are allowing creators like the Duffer brothers to create their vision most major TV networks like CBS are playing it safe (example being crime shows and bland sitcoms). When a new and fresh idea comes along they shoot it down, if they do greenlight the idea they'll run the show for one season before canceling it. Back in the 1950's and 1960's there were shows on networks like CBS were controlled by censors and executives. A lot of storylines in TV shows were reworked in order to please the network. They couldn't say the word pregnant on TV, women could not show their navel, couples had to sleep in separate beds, etc. A lot of creators are moving to Netflix so they can create their visions the way they want them to be, and get paused well for it too. I think if TV wants to save television they need to think outside the box of police shows ,and boring medical dramas and go out on a limb. I shall now step off of my soap box.🧼📦😅

There is even content on RU-vid I like to consider putting under the “tv show” category.

I've actually been referring to movies and TV shows as "film" for some time without even realising that.

"We live in a time when more movies and TV are being made than ever before." Well...we USED to until recently. Also, I completely agree with your argument and your visuals are second-to-none.

Completely agree. TV has certainly favored seasonal arcs now more than ever before. Like one long movie. Even "South Park" started doing that. Meanwhile movies are becoming less self-contained. The MCU set up plot points years in advance.

Love the animation dude, very UPA

MR ROBOT is my favorite 45 hour movie.

Gorgeous editing! Thank you for your work!

There are two aspects of both formats that are pretty much unique to one another: anthology series and theatrical shorts. Anthologies work much better on television for, quite ironically, being standalone short stories, rather than a continuing narrative, that nevertheless fill an entire season or more, something that movies fail to pull off with success for the most part. From the top of my head, I can only think of the Twilight Zone Movie and Movie 43 as anthology movies and neither of those were particularly successful, either critically and commercially. On the other hand, you have theatrical shorts that play before a movie. Not quite common in live-action, but very prominent in animated movies. It's an appetizer that make us more excited for the main course that is the movie. You cannot replicate that experience on television. Sadly they got less and less common over the last couple of years and that's a bummer.

I do prefer going to the movies. I rarely finish watching a featured film in one session at home. Since covid, I'm using my old 12x12 rolled up screen and a digital projector my son brought me. That's better.

Great video! I’ll never get over how fantastic your animation is and how thoughtful your videos are.

God damn your animation and editing gets better every time, there's so many unique ways people are making video essays and yours is one of the best!

Your videos are so visually pleasing. You've got some serious talent

I love the Saul Bass-esque style of this video, man. You absolutely nailed it, and this is a topic that's been on my mind forever, thank you for putting it into words.

Television series are just bite-sized movies, especially with streaming, are even more convenient for people who don't have time or want to spend money on going to the movie theater.

Seriously you are becoming an increasingly wonderful video essayist with every episode. This one is beautiful. Thanks

This exactly what i've been thinking for several weeks. I saw one of my friend instastory several weeks ago and he listed top 10 movies that he has watched. He placed several Black Mirror episodes on his list and I was like what? That's not a movie. He is not an avid movie watcher to begin with but still. Then I began to think what's the difference between a movie and an episode of black mirror. Black Mirror episode is more like a small budget movie sure but you can still classified it as a movie. The difference is getting thinner and thinner

god this is ridiculously good. sucks that you get so few views- please never stop, we all appriciate you!

Wonderfully written, wonderfully articulated, and wonderfully edited! Thank you for your craft..

my man, your editing has gotten exponentially better! keep up the great work!

I'm so glad you made this video! This is something that I've been thinking about quite a bit over the past year or so, especially when I'm looking for a new MOVIE on Netflix and find that mini series or TV shows dominate

Great stuff! You always have smart analysis & well made points! Keep it up!

brilliant vid, I love the graphics

Enjoyed the Saul Bass inspired graphics in this vid. Very creative.

Thank you for bringing this up -- I've been feeling this shift for quite some time now. I even go so far as to say that services like RU-vid will eventually catch up in quality, with the rate at which amateur and semi-pro video-making and the viewing experience is improving. Theatrical events will become community based in the home, with home theater systems connected to streamers and connected online communities. I know it feels sad because the theatrical experience as we currently know it is transforming, therefore drifting away from the collective black box theater experience, but the fact that people can learn and grow and have access to observing creativity and developing their taste all from the comforts of home entertainment is really exciting to me.

I totallu agree with you! Very good audiovisual essay! :)

The amount of hours this must’ve taken to animate... As always, thank you for your great content, man

Two episodes of _Twin Peaks_ (Season 3: _The Return)_ played at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, followed by the entire season in one January 2018 weekend at New York City's Museum of Modern Art.

Watching this I started thinking about stories that were originally series that we now see as big movies. Your "Berlin Alexanderplatz," (which, granted, was screened in installments in movie theaters), -- actually a good number of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's work -- your "Fanny and Alexanders," your "Scenes of a Marriage." Which makes me wonder if this trend is as recent as we thought or just something always below the surface? Or is it something like how major film franchises are starting to adopt television serial principles that have truly driven this point home?

Love the Saul Bass-esque aesthetic!

How sad that some directors think of small/mid sized screen when framing a scene. That's plain sad tbh. It's not just about the cameras and the money put, but there is something about the text that feels watered down when films and series are equaled. Both lose their particular set of qualities. I agree with many points, the fact that the decision of how to consume art is (superficially, as its truly up to stream services and media conglomerates that dictate the agenda) entirely up to the consumers is kinda sad, seems like audiences cant hold their attention, like a spoiled child that doesnt want to be told that some things are meant to be enjoyed in a certain way.

marvel is literally releasing tv shows of their superheroes on disney+ that are a part of their cinematic universe

Excellent video and I loved your animation!! Reminded me a lot of Saul Bass’ title design works

Hey, did you change the thumbnail? I had this video in my watch later for a while, but that new thumbnail really convinced me to sit down and watch. Interesting.

Love the animations in this video btw

Another really interesting essay 👍

These Saul Bass inspired info graphics are to be commended. Truly outstanding bit of work.

hey man, great job on the animation. It fits well with the story

One thing with television, is that television does close cut shots, and exposition is typically explained rather than shown. The audience attention for show is predicted to be less, due to the inheritance from the medium, so exposition has to be done this way, otherwise youll look at your phone and miss half the plot. The amount of time you can take on one shot (2 minute scape around a room and close up to the characters face) in television is way more. 1 hour show * 10 is 10 hours of television. Movies are made to be more independent self contained, even if there are sequels, so taking a culmination of marvel films is not a fair comparison. Regardless, as I digress, 30 minutes of 10 hours is 1/30 of the show. 1/30 of a 2 hour movie is 6 minutes. a lot less time is needed to make a noticeable shot, percentage wise.

I remember having this discussion (not as well thought through) about the MCU with a friend and how I didn't like it since it was too much like TV and I had to pay a movie ticket each time to watch a movie. And this was exactly what my friend liked about it.

Absolutely. I've had similar thoughts, but you said it perfectly with words and visuals.

You visuals are amazing 😯

A lot of this is because the technological constraints that created these distinctions in the first place don't exist anymore. Which actually sounds like a great idea for a video "How Tech Limits affect Art"

beautiful ma dude love your work FLIPPIN AMAZINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I could totally see something like a movie that's followed by a series in between the sequel

Hey, someone knows which can of software is used to create those beautiful animations? Great Job Andrew!

I think about this topic for a long time too. And I speculate that in the future the artist will be more concerning about which media to tell their story in. Like if I tell a slow-pace story would it fit for being a series because of how long it will taking to tell the story or it would be more spectacular if I tell it in one go for two or three hours. These are just my thoughts maybe there are more examples or maybe my thoughts won’t be an issue at all.

Been thinking the same since 2007. You can kinda add video games into this mix too.

the motion graphics are so clean and the animations so stylish. imma big fan.

@4:01 yes, and what was sad was then Disney took a classic novel, A Wrinkle in Time and treated it like a 1978 TV movie for the first one and a really subpar special effect with the recent theater movie. Supernatural, Torchwood, and Doctor Who (the newer post-2005) have/had better special effects, on average.

It's amazing how outdated and yet timely this video has become between creation and posting. "More movies are being made than ever", "theatres arent going anywhere". Lol. All production has halted, movie theaters are nearing bankruptcy because of the pandemic. But also because of the pandemic (and trolls world tour's success) more viewers and even production companies will be looking at streaming for media consumption and release, whatever form it may take after we come out of this ordeal.

This is something I've been thinking lately. Great job

Love your animation

I've been thinking this for a while. I always remembered the miniseries The 10th Kingdom as a movie somehow. (helps I was super young when I saw it.)

Yes, I've also noticed this (I'll write more examples below). My answer would be that some projects are meant to be seen in one sitting (that guide someone published a while ago on how to watch THE IRISHMAN as if it was a mini-series is nonsense) and others aren't. It has to do with how it immerses you into the fictional world. If you stop watching at random points and continue another day, then you're not as immersed as you should be. If you stop at the end of an episode, you should feel like you've seen a complete mini-story. -CARLOS was released as a mini-series on TV and as a movie at a festival literally on the same day. -THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS was filmed as a mini-series, but they decided it should be a movie during post-production. Not much had to be changed since it was an anthology anyway. -FANNY & ALEXANDER was filmed as a mini-series, edited into a shorter movie, released as a movie and shortly after released as a mini-series with the original running time. -IT 1990 was a miniseries where the episodes aired on different nights. However, since they were only 2 and together lasted 3 hours (a not-so-uncommon running time for a movie), a movie version became available soon after. It didn't have any new material; it was just both episodes stitched together, yet many people still refer to this as a movie. -DEKALOG is an anthology mini-series of 10 episodes that lasts an hour each, so some people call it a series of TV movies. It even won many theatrical film awards, though I haven't found any source that says that it was released as a 10-hour movie in theatres. Things got more confusing later when 2 of the episodes were expanded into individual films that did get a theatrical release. -When Stellan Skarsgård won a Golden Globe for the miniseries CHERNOBYL, he called it a film during his speech. Similarly, WHEN THEY SEE US won the Critics Choice Award for Best Limited Series and Ava Duvernay said "We made a 4-part 5-hour film [...]" during her speech.

And we can basically thank David Lynch for beginning this with Twin Peaks 30 years ago

Interesting thoughts, as always. I'd go so far to say that this "merge" has been going on since the 90s with Twin Peaks and The Sopranos. Producers are learning not to underestimate their audience, and the audience is given many more options in the stories they wish to be told, and how they're told.

Great essay! I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how the original Twin Peaks started this all

In the 80's and 90's alot of short miniseries and pilot episodes for tv were films in all intents and purposes, its been happening for decades

It is so difficult to watch your video without the theme from "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" waltzing through my head. Rest in peace, Saul...

I really enjoy this new form of media because it gives me much more flexibility in how I watch. A weekly release schedule for a show or setting aside a whole day for one theater showing have a totally different impact on how I enjoy and analyze movies and TV. Without these options I wouldn’t love TV and movies the same way I do now.

I don't know if you mentioned it and I missed, but you could add another thing: TV shows are also losing their placement in the year. They used to be aired almost exclusively from September to June, now they can "arrive" at any time, just like a movie

The more and more time we have serialized films or long form TV, the more excited I become for the future of Film and TV. You brought up the MCU, which I think is a prime example because they are based upon the fundamentals of comic book storytelling. Serialized narratives and stories building towards large events which as much flak the franchise tends to get, I still like. Overall I would love a long drawn out film that I could watch at home and breakdown. Maybe even streaming sites should give viewers the option of how they want to consume the media they are watching.

The animation is unbelievably beautiful

Best film essayist on RU-vid!

True Saul Bass visuals right there.

Speaking of exploding film and TV budgets, the WB-produced Netflix cartoon Green Eggs and Ham has a per episode budget of $6 million (and it looks it), which is more than most, if not all, other TV cartoon episode budgets in television history. The average per-episode production budget for an American animated series is $300,000 to $1 million.

I guess the only thing separating both mediums is the duration. A 2 hour episode is unheard of, anda thirty minute feature film comes up shirt. Both, however, are very interchangeable in terms of content.

I just want to log Siege of Mandalore on Letterboxd

Please do an episode on Gangs of London!!!

I think your thesis is absolutely right: TV and film are merging. But I do dissent a little from your optimism about this, as well as the general critical consensus that we are in the Golden Age of TV. To my mind, the Golden Age was actually the late 90s and early 2000s, when television had moved towards arc storytelling, but had not left behind the episode of the week format either. This fusion between longer arcs and individual episodes created television that had a remarkable way of simulating life. Every day we get up and, for most of us, do largely the same thing we did yesterday. We have a routine, full of daily tasks that range from the important to the necessary to the banal to the devastating to the blissful. But we play out our lives in largely the same circumstances, seeing the same people, and in the same places. This repetitive aspect of life is captured really well by the episode of the week format of TV, much better than films ever could because of their one-off nature. But our lives do change in huge ways over time, which is really obvious in retrospect. Suddenly, even the more mundane moments, which movies don't have the time to really give much space to, but TV in this format can, seem really important. The interplay between daily rhythm and continuity of experience is captured fabulously by this sort of TV. Shows like Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Malcolm in the Middle, The Inside, and Freaks and Geeks, among others, excelled at this sort of storytelling. Those shows are mostly not serialized, but have arcs and continuity that build up wonderful and meaningful character developments and plots over time. Finally, I hate that widescreen is becoming standard for TV. TV, at least the sort of TV I've been describing, is focused on writing and on intimate, largely indoor shots with few numbers of characters. What do you need widescreen for? In my mind the aspect ratio should fit the story. Outdoor epics with imposing landscapes like Ran, Kagemusha, and Dersu Uzala look amazing in widescreen aspect ratios, as do pieces with many characters who are all in the frame at once and whose spatial relations are meaningful and important, like High and Low. More intimate things with lots of close ups and coverage waste all that space on the sides, and I'm tired of everybody's head being cut off while they're talking. 4:3 looks much better framing a close up human face, which is a huge part of TV.

Another great essay, but I think you may have underplayed the role of technology. Until the implementation of HDTV, TV res was approx. 640x480 (depending on your region), with terrible colour fidelity and a limited brightness range. There were a few work-arounds (shooting on film, for example), but the great technological leap in the nineties (from an audience perspective) was stereo sound and the VCR (resolution 250 lines or less), and an average family TV was 21-25 inches (and it had to be delivered in a truck). The shooting style (predominantly medium and close shots) was dictated by screen size, and resolution. Phenomena like pan-and-scan were an artefact of TV requirements. Even the implementation of the DVD player (resolution 720x480-ish, or full broadcast), didn't stop the requirement by many distributors that a film be delivered in a "full-frame" version for home video consumption. Digital HDTV and the 16:9 ratio have opened up (literally) a range of cinematic expression that was not possible in the pre-HD TV era. The cinematic (I hate that word) framing of shows like Mr Robot (or Utopia, one of it's short lived UK inspirations), Mindhunter, Better Call Saul, and even Barry would not be possible without it -- and of course that really good writing doesn't hurt either. And I watch these shows on a 42" TV that I carried home on the bus, like an advertising portfolio. As to changes in the form: the last significant TV form (excluding reality TV) was the mini-series (IMHO). In the seventies people altered their night-time schedules to watch Roots and Rich Man Poor Man. Theatrical cinema has never been able to compete with this. In other words, I would humbly suggest they're not merging: TV is taking over.

Somewhere in my basement there is a prominent magazine that contains a very lengthy article written in the late 80's or early 90's which predicted this very thing would happen. It was highly credible at the time and is most certainly our current reality. The things which most often separate television productions from theatrical film productions in my estimation is normally production quality itself - meaning budget - and far, far too often, pacing which deliberately anticipates and accommodates commercial breaks.

This has been a thing for a few decades now, Hollywood is just catching up. Dekalog, Out 1, Fanny & Alexander, Das Boot, even newer stuff like Sion Sono's newer works or many international movies that are just a promo or a summary of an existing show with the exact same scenes but different running times... movies, series and mini-series have been blending with each other, imitating each other or being both at once for a few decades now. Same with movies that act like long running series. Stuff like Zatoichi pumped out 24 or so theatrical movies and a 100 episode series in like 5 years. Or even things like the Antoine Doinel series which followed a life of a character aging in real time in multiple films that were also pretty standalone (to the point where most people don't even know 400 Blows has a sequel). Also, most countries' industries had the same actors in TV, movies and theatre.

The forms are absolutely evolving, and I think that's a good thing. It gives the opportunity for a more unique set of stories that don't have to obey traditional structures. I think the terms of "film and television" will always be used as a distinction just for the sake of simplicity, and the deciding factor is essentially whether the piece is designed to be viewed singularly, or if it's already broken down into segments.

And look no further to Stranger Things itself as a perfect example. Where each season is basically a movie split into episodes. Especially season one that acts as a 6 hour film where each episode picks up immediately where the other ends to the point that they might as well release the 6 hour long film cut (get on that Netflix).

I was half expecting Trolls 2 to get a mention.

I really like where you're going with this, and I believe that while TV has been encroaching on the movie format, I think of the MCU as the first movie franchise to actually embrace the tv format. What I mean is that the MCU is literally structured in a way to tell an overarching story, sometimes to the detriment of their individual movies. Age of Ultron wasn't super well-loved by even Marvel fans when I came out, and is now much more appreciated because it builds up the Thanos storyline really well. Thor the Dark World was a movie that on its own was pretty poor and was obviously made to fit in to the Thanos continuity (what with the blatant attempt to write a story around the introduction of the Reality Stone). It seems like this pivot towards serializing movies could be to the detriment of film-making in general, though we can't be sure if it's due to strict studio meddling or simply due to the nature of serialized film-making. This attempt has already spoiled the DCEU, and has ruined Universal's Dark Universe, so let's just hope they keep this format to the blockbuster money-grabs.

It gets interesting too if you think about what was meant by made for TV movie and something like Netflix original movie.

Quibi (lol) is also contributing to this trend. Several of the shows available on it, like the new Most Dangerous Game, literally began as film scripts that were then chopped up and slightly re-edited to become a dozen 10-minute shorts akin to old Republic Serials. So yeah, totally agree with the premise. Theaters are looking increasingly vestigial, in the grand scheme. Which is kind of a shame. Also, I love the "hand animated" quality of your graphics. Like how the spinning lines don't have perfect rotation. Nice touch. A lot of people trying to replicate Bass or UPA make their stuff too perfect, and miss the mark.

I would love to see something like true dectective season 1, stranger things season 1 or games of thrones in a movie theater. That would be pretty cool if films and television could merge in that way.

I remember watching it tv series back in 2017

This might be a back handed defense for movies in this era we are living in but, I personal have come to the point where there are so many good shows that friends of mine keep recommending that I SERIOUSLY wish where just movies! To clarifying what I mean is that, many of these shows that have 8 to 10 episode first seasons, that are smartly written, characters focused, 1 hour HBO or Netflix style dramas may as well be movies. I say this for a number of reasons because most of them have a strong tightly constructed pilot episode that certainly is good enough to keep me watching but then I watch a few more episodes and there is a lot of character and world building that doesn’t hold the same plot momentum and tight structure of the pilot. Meanwhile they are always building to something big that will happen most likely in the season final. I scroll though the episode list to see how far along I am until I see I got another 6 or 8 episodes to go before we get to that quote “big” moment in the story. At this point I lose interest in the show because I really want to skip to that part don’t have another 6 hours of my day to spare. I think to my self what ever happened to watching a good movie for 2 hours? It’s done after that then I get to move on with my life. This is why I like browsing the critically acclaimed section of Netflix and watch a lot of those because I know I can be finish with those by today’s end. This style of television would have been great if it was around 10 or 15 years ago when there weren’t already so many good shows of this kind to divide my attention. Which begs to question, “where was your story idea back then?!” Now it’s really as simple as there’s too much to watch and otherwise great shows with some solid stories to tell are now being buried by the media formant that helped define them! Because of this it’s obvious that this era of great tv we live in WON’T last forever. Not everyone is gonna be able to see these shows and they won’t all be profitable. As expressed in this video, 10 to 20 some odd years from now we will see a break down of the movie and tv formats that will result in us getting something new entirely and I personally would like to see what comes out of that!

You should have more subscribers and views than Nerdwriter. There, I said it. You make the graphic designer in me very happy and the casual media consumer more enlightened. Keep on truckin' man.

Tiny note: it's just not s4 of Channel Zero that had one director - each season has one (different) singular voice behind it!

Very Saul Bass visuals. I approve

The SNYDERCUT is going to be uploaded as a Mini-series

The perfect example is Mr Robot

With our current situation streaming services is a huge advantage right now.

Felt like a cat following the dots on the screen.

Oh. That point at the end about how you can watch movies in chunks just like TV shows? I've actually started to do that. I watched Inception in 4 sittings! Just because I could on Netflix! Christopher Nolan wouldn't be happy, but I still enjoyed it as much in that format as I did seeing it theaters.

Holy damn your content is good. I wish RU-vid would stop being drunk and recommend your videos to everyone like a smart and just algorithm should.