From Big screens to Couch streams : Do people prefer comfort over a cinematic experience?

                                       

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In a survey seeking to understand which streaming method is preferred, we found 20 participants willing to share their thoughts. With the onset of the pandemic and the consequent closing of theatres, there arose a need for an alternate way to immerse oneself in the cinematic experience. Enter OTT [over the top] platforms, moviegoers wanted something just like the theatre but received something even better. With the added feature to pause the movie whenever one pleases and having the theatre brought to the comfort of  one's house, OTT platforms have outdone themselves.

When asked about the cinematic experience with all the deafening sounds and blinding lights they would miss out on, respondents replied that it was nothing a well-powered Bluetooth speaker couldn't do. The participants who opted for OTT platforms also expressed their dislike towards the distractions brought about by theatre audiences who they described as a "murder of crows", the unnecessary hooting and screaming threw them off and made them miss the important and finer details of the film. They find the external noises from the audience extremely distracting to the point where they'd rather stay at h one, with a nice bowl of popcorn [which was not overpriced, like the ones provided by the theatres]. One particular participant, referred to as XYZ to protect their identity, went to the extent of saying that 90% of the theatres he had visited ( including the overpriced ones ) gave very little importance to the hygiene and cleanliness of the theatre. The ambience threw him off and since then he had preferred watching movies in the comfort of his home where he's satisfied with his surroundings. 

Out of the 20 people we interviewed, 14 of them opted for OTT's and the other 6 could not and would not trade the cinematic experience for anything. They described themselves as "people who live in the theatre, movie enthusiasts who are up to date with every film released". 2 of the participants who opted for the theatre experience revealed that they like going to the theatre only because they get to spend time with their friends and have fun. They confessed that the theatre is fun only with friends and if they were to watch a movie alone they would switch to an OTT platform. They also expressed their problems with getting their hands on a ticket when it's in high demand. The prices were too unreasonable for them which fuelled their desire to opt for lesser-priced subscriptions of OTT platforms.

To conclude, it is not necessary for one to go all the way to the theatre for an exhilarating cinematic experience when the theatre can now come home. With increasing advancements in technology, AR ( Augmented Reality ) and VR (Virtual Reality ) technology, movie enthusiasts can now immerse themselves in an experience similar to that of an actual theatre. According to popular belief, the theatre experience cannot be surpassed but this survey made me understand that it's time to look beyond this stigma and usher in the new practice of using OTT platforms and embrace this new method.