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 The world's largest streaming service wants to try out more
interactive entertainment following the response to
science-fiction movie "Black Mirror: Bandersnatch," executives
told reporters this week.
The company is looking for possibilities across genres such as
comedy, horror and romance, said Todd Yellin, Netflix's vice
president of product.
"Why can't you have a romantic title where you get to choose who
she goes out with?" Yellin said. "Or horror titles. Should you
walk through that door, or should you dive out that window and
get the heck out of there? You can make the choice."
In "Bandersnatch," the first decision viewers could make was
whether a character would eat Sugar Puffs or Frosties for
breakfast.
The idea was to give audiences a simple choice to encourage them
to test the technology, which involved clicking via a remote or
tapping on the screen to select an option. The movie kept
playing even if the viewer did not choose.
The cereal scene became an Internet sensation when "Bandersnatch"
was released last December.
"Like many of you, I got addicted to 'Bandersnatch' and trying
to figure out what's the significance of the cereal, and not the
cereal, all the different options," Netflix Chief Executive Reed
Hastings said.
The film provided feedback about how long people want to engage
with interactive programming and how many choices they want to
make, Hastings said. After the cereal decision, viewers selected
things such as the type of music a character would play or
whether they would jump off a building.
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When viewers can direct a story, they feel "really with the
character," Yellin said. "You are more viscerally feeling what they
are feeling. You just made the choice for them."
That is why Yellin wants to try the format in other stories where
characters face immense consequences. "Horror is life and death
situations constantly," he said. And in romances, "the emotional
stakes are high."
Yellin said the effort is in its early stages, and Hastings
suggested he does not see interactive entertainment replacing
traditional storytelling.
"I don't know if I would do it every day," Hastings said, "but as
part of my viewing, it's pretty exciting."
Netflix already has produced a handful of interactive shows for
kids, who were immediately receptive to the idea, Yellin said.
"Kids don't have established rules," he said. "They assume that's
the way the world should be and they'll try it."
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Darren Schuettler)
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