Geoff Lowe started his career as a writer for television then studied direction at the UK’s National Film School. He has worked as a writer, producer and director on film & tv dramas, documentaries, corporates and music promos in the UK and the States. He got involved in digital film about nine years ago and decided to set up Filmserve to ride the digital wave that was sweeping through film and television.

mo:life
What is Filmserve and what does it aim to do?

Geoff Lowe
Filmserve is a content and technology company specializing in interactive digital film. We have developed Avalon, an interactive platform for digital cinemas that enables new types of films and user experiences in cinemas and other digital venues. Our aim is to redefine the cinema experience and keep cinema up to speed with the rest of the digital entertainment revolution.

mo:life
The idea of interactive cinema has been around for a long time, in numerous guises, without much success. What makes a digital incarnation different? Is this a techno-centric idea, or is it driven by what you perceive as an audience desire to interact with film stories? If the latter, do you have strong evidence to suggest this, or are you working on a more intuitive level?

Geoff Lowe
Most innovation is as much about timing as anything else. Interactive cinema has been around a long time but the technology, primarily digital projection, is only just happening on a commercially meaningful scale. The point about the digital incarnation is that for the first time, we have the flexibility to dynamically and instantly change the content on the screen according to audience responses. This just isn’t possible with 35mm projection.

However, just because we have the technology, doesn’t mean the audiences want it. I think there are compelling reasons why interactive cinema will work but it will not replace the existing cinema experience. It will just add to and augment what is already there. The real evidence is not what is happening in cinemas right now but what is happening outside, especially with younger audiences who have grown up with interactive entertainment as a given. I refer of course, to the gaming, mobile, and internet generation. Cinema has to evolve and stay within the digital entertainment loop especially as increasingly sophisticated mobile and IPTV content takes hold. For cinemas, this requires offering more than just the passive experience of a feature film, wonderful though this can be.

mo:life
How are you incorporating mobile media in to the cinema experience? What capabilities are you exploiting (bluetooth, mobile net, QR/barcodes, etc)?

Geoff Lowe
Integrating mobile media into the cinema experience is a key area for us. We are looking at a whole range of interactive options offered by mobile phones and other wireless devices. As these become more sophisticated, so will the services we deliver. There are all kinds of cool options right now, the trick is to make them commercially viable.

mo:life
Is there a model, or trial financial/transaction model for interactive cinema? For instance, does it cost the viewer anything to use the interactive elements? Does it cost the distributor? Who pays?

Geoff Lowe
The mobile phone has a pretty sophisticated billing mechanism, so one option is to use that. I think eventually there will be new ticketing systems employed by the cinema exhibitors so they can control the whole process. In terms of costs to the viewer, this is entirely dependant on the content and the experience. For example, I doubt if audiences would be too happy about paying to interact with an ad, but an in-cinema gaming experience would be a different matter. It also depends on the interaction channels. If you use cellular then there’s going to be a network charge. If you use wi-fi, the costs are much less.

mo:life
Can you point us to any examples of cross-platform or and/or interactive cinema projects?

Geoff Lowe
We are at the beginning of interactive cinema content. As a company, we are working on interactive advertising, interactive feature films and documentaries. The first of these, interactive ads, you will see very shortly. There are already gaming events being held in cinemas and especially as cinemas become networked, this will increase. The whole convergence of the film/game experience is for me a very exciting prospect.

mo:life
From your research, what kind of films/genres are best suited to interactive cinema?

Geoff Lowe
We are working on horror, sci-fi and mystery thriller but any genre should work. Interactive storytelling is the original form of story telling. In the beginning, stories were delivered by the spoken word and the best storytellers would adapt the narrative according to the audience response. It was only with the advent of print that narratives became frozen. Film is a visual interpretation of the locked down narrative embodied in a book or script. All we are doing is completing the circle and returning storytelling to its origins.

mo:life
Do you believe in the “sacred temple” view of cinema? How do you respond to critics who dismiss interactive cinema because it interrupts the suspended reality of a film? In your audience testing have people been willing to engage with interactive content?

Geoff Lowe
I really believe the ’sacred temple’ could soon become the ‘empty temple’. I am the biggest fan of a great film and the traditional movie-going experience. But is that enough right now? Interactive cinema does not have to interrupt the suspended reality of a film. The films we are developing work if no-one interacts. A good story is a good story, whether it’s interactive or not. We haven’t done nearly enough testing on interactive narrative options but I’d say there is a definite desire from audiences to engage with screen content.

mo:life
What kind of reaction are you getting from the film-making community? Are they hostile to change? Why should they embrace change?

Geoff Lowe
The overall reaction is tremendous interest, and in the main its positive interest. There are filmmakers who consider interactivity a threat, but any radical development has this effect. It’s interesting to read about the uproar brought about by the introduction of sound and colour to the cinema. I’ve always believed if you don’t embrace change it will engulf you, or even worse, pass you by.

mo:life
We are seeing declines in cinema attendance across the board, do you think cinema has to evolve through initiatives like interactive and digital cinema? Actually, what we’re talking about here is not cinema per se, is it? It’s something else - what is it? Are we talking about specialist films - could you watch them without interacting? Or, like games, do they necessitate interaction?

Geoff Lowe
I hope I’ve answered most of this already. I think its essential for cinema to evolve and yes, we are talking about cinema. I think digital and interactive will become as superfluous as talking about sound cinemas or colour cinemas, or the current debate of what is D and E cinema. It’s just cinema - and long may it flourish.

mo:life
If these films are specialist, then is there going to be a long learning curve for screenwriters, directors, and producers? I’m assuming here that interactive cinema requires new ways of writing, shooting, and producing films.

Geoff Lowe
The films aren’t specialist but yes, there are new techniques involved. I don’t think it’s a long learning curve. There will always be the need for traditional skills and genuine talent but interactivity is ultimately just another tool for filmmakers to utilize in getting their stories to the audience and for audiences to engage with their stories in new and compelling ways. I think there are tremendous opportunities for filmmakers who can grasp this.