Outlook

In “Big Data Goes to Hollywood: The Emergence of Big Data as a Tool in the American Film Industry”, Felix M. Simon and Ralph Schroder (2019, p. 560) bring up a valuable point: “…rationalization has of course affected the kinds of movies that are made and how they are made. And films with large budgets are affected more than lesser movies simply because the stakes are so high.”  Essentially, what is being argued is that while those working for studios claim that there is no effect upon the creative process of a film, there still is much effect that it has. One of the reasons a person writes a script or wants to direct a film is to use their creativity. But there comes a point at which that creativity begins to become hindered. And big data can be seen as a contributing factor to that hindrance. This can especially be seen with 20th Century Studios’ models and Cinelytic’s AI model. If a script is not seen as appropriate for what should be made, then no chance is taken on that script, or that script is then changed to meet the algorithmic recommendations rather than allowing for the full creativity of its creators. And, for the AI, if it looks for hidden patterns that will help make a film more successful, the studio would benefit and the creativity of the film would be hindered. If the film is to be changed to be more in line with what is supposedly the best way to make it a complete success, then it can fail in the creative process as it tries to stick to a formula that is predicted to work. The use of big data in the film industry is beneficial when it comes to marketing in advertising as mentioned throughout this chapter, it is only when it enters the pre-production world that it becomes a moral question of creativity.