Monday, January 28, 2019

NETFLIX BANDERSNATCH - The birth of the interactive movie




     We all remember those choose your own adventure books and when the Sega Saturn gave us interactive narrative games in the 90’s, but 2019 may be remembered as the year interactive media took a bold step forward.  I am referring of course to Bandersnatch, the latest installment of the Black Mirror franchise on Netflix.  Why was this a milestone?  How does producing this new media differ from conventional movies?   What could the future hold? (Continue) - (Stop Reading).....

     You chose to continue, let’s begin.  The team behind Bandersnatch said this project took 18 months of planning and production.  It all starts with the script.  For interactive content such as this, the first thing that is made is a flowchart.  This document looks like an upside down tree, with descriptions for each story path which branches off based on the choices the viewer makes. 

                       This is one of the many fan made flowcharts which went viral.

     Just a flowchart seems like a daunting task.  It should be mentioned that at first the producers of Bandersnatch were not interested in taking this challenge on.  In May, 2017 when they were approached by Netflix they said no at first.  Executive Producer/Writer Charlie Brooker said “I thought, well, they’re often really clunky and I can’t see how that’s going to translate into Black Mirror.” Thankfully, weeks later they came up with an idea of a video game programmer in the 80’s and began a journey into development.

     In this video you can hear two actors from the movie, Will Poulter (Colin) describe the Bandersnatch script as a cumbersome one foot tall document and Fionn Whitehead (Stefan) say he was told to “just wait for the Twine.”

                                                            Source:  IGN - Youtube


     “What the hell is a Twine?”  That is what I was asking when I first heard the interview above.  I was happy to go down that Reddit hole.... and surprised with what I found.  Twine is a software that lets you pregame interactive fiction.  This was primarily used to make interactive web based prose, but for this project it became the perfect way to present the screenplay.  Thanks to doing a final output through Twine, the reader of the Bandersnatch script are given clickable choices that take them down a different narrative path like the final movie itself does.  Brooker says this interactive script was made through a combination of Twine, Scrivener and Final Draft.  This makes sense to me, given that Final Draft is great for screenplay formatting, while Scrivener is known for being an ideal non-linear way to edit text.  After all this work the project had a green light and then the real challenge lied ahead.

     Production was described as shooting a Black Mirror episode only taking three times as long.  When you take into account all the scenes that had to be shot to connect the dots on that sprawling flowchart, it is like making three movies in one.  I was thrilled to learn that Bandersnatch was directed by David Slade (Hard Candy, 30 Days of Night) he also directed the “Metalhead” episode of Black Mirror, which is why you see posters for a metal head video game in the movie.  They have said one session of watching Bandersnatch is meant to last anywhere from 60 to 120 minutes. That is for the first time you watch it, which brings us to our next topic, analysis and what is the future of this medium.

     Netflix knew what they were doing here, and they did it right. Many people did not know that Netflix made several interactive programs before this Black Mirror hopeful hit the scene.  It was under the radar because it was content for kids.  Why start with that audience?  Here is what Netflix Head of Production Todd Yellin had to say about it:

“We felt that if it didn’t succeed in the kids space, it wouldn’t succeed with grownups.”  He added: “Kids don’t know how something’s supposed to be, they just know how it is.”

     That’s sound logic, children are also more open to new experiences.... and less critical.  These early entries were a way to put this new technology to the test, it is safe to say it passed. Because this was a new format, Bandersnatch starts with two innocuous choices to ease the audience into the concept.  These low stakes choices, what cereal to eat for breakfast and what music to listen to, are called back later in the story, but do not affect the path you are on.  I see this being a common way to start Interactive media as we move forward.  Another thing they did very effectively was to let the audience go back to a pivotal crossroad, after a chose they made led down one of the stories multiple endings.  This way the viewer does not feel let down by the experience, think of it as a save state in a video game.  This of course, also encourages the viewer to keep going.  For that same reason I believe Interactive movies like Bandersnatch are here to stay.  These days steaming services are in strong competition with each other, and Interactive content is another draw at their disposal.  They will be happy to add titles like this to their service because it will prompt multiple viewings and word of mouth.

     I strongly believe the real tonal shift will happen once a John Wick style movie gets made with this technology.  Or it could be a Horror or a Thriller with high production value and A-list actors. Bandersnatch was a mixed genre experience, one section felt like a haulucenagenic nightmare, other moments delivered action or scares, in that way Bandersnatch was a solid base hit, meant to appeal to a broad adult audience.  A straightforward genre movie with high production value is the next step here, and that is right around the corner.  The thumbnail image for Bandersnatch has a starburst looking symbol in the top right corner, this indicates that it is interactive media.  Here is a quote from Todd Yellin that gives a tease at what Netflix plans to do with I.M.

“We're just beginning to scratch the surface of the kinds of stories that can be told this way.”

     We will certainly see more of these, Netflix developed what they call a branch manager, a technology that saves data like past choices and distributes interactive media in a standardized way. Bandersnatch already has broke new ground, they included an Easter egg, a secret path if you select to “pick up the family photo” twice.  They also included an audio cue that can be transcribed into a QR code that led to this Bandersnatch themed website:


     One final observation, these interactive movies can be fun to see as a group.  Couples will enjoy it (as long as they do not fight over choices made).  It is fun to have gone through a session or two and then watch someone else panic over making these choices for the first time.  Believe me, I put this to the test at the end of a date and had a great time.  These are all just my opinions, I encourage you to make up your own mind and see Bandersnatch if you have not yet. One thing is for sure, while we cannot predict the future, it looks bright for Interactive media.


- Curt Wiser is a Filmmaker, Author and he writes for www.ocmoviereviews.com

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