Interview with Lecturer Kerem Yükseloğlu: What Does Increasing Digital Platforms Mean for Young Directors?

The cinema and television industry has been going through a process of change in recent years due to both the pandemic conditions and the increasing number of digital platforms. We can talk about the effects of this change process, which we can talk about in many areas such as viewing experience, production conditions, production distribution dynamics, how this change process has an effect on movie theaters and the producing part of the sector, Istanbul Gelisim University (IGU) Faculty of Fine Arts (FAF) Radio, Television and Cinema Department. officer and director Kerem Yükseloğlu commented.

What do digital platforms mean for cinema in this period when movie theaters are closed?

Undoubtedly, every filmmaker wants his film to meet the audience. At this point, we can say that digital platforms have become a single space, leaving an alternative meeting point for both viewers and producers in this period when we are confined to homes. Of course, this situation brings with it various questions as well as beauties: Can digital platforms and television really become a cinema? I have varying opinions on this and I am undecided. I want to put aside the technological possibilities of cinema and talk about its social feature. The way it is exhibited has a great share in the effect of the work. The Mona Lisa is a great work in itself, but the difference between seeing it from a postcard and going to the Louvre is incomparable. Or could it be the same excitement we feel watching a football match from the stadium as we experience watching it on the screen? Hundreds of people come together in a movie theater and experience the same excitement, the same tension, the same pleasure, in short, the same emotion. Cinema is a social art in terms of both production and display. It is annoying that the works that hundreds of people work and watch together become a multimedia file. However, we should not ignore the fact that the luxury of accessing the movie we want whenever we want is a great blessing. If we leave the romance aside; The availability of a film and its meeting with the audience, albeit individually, are of great importance, especially in this chaotic period we are in. In short; Digital platforms are a great chance for all of us in every sense. Of course, we miss the unique socializing feature of cinema. Here, too, we encounter the new concept of sociability, but this is a completely different topic of discussion.

Considering that digital platforms have changed movie watching habits, how do you think movie theaters will be affected by this change after the pandemic?

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the pandemic has hurt the entertainment and art sectors the most. We are talking about a sector that exists for the purpose of bringing people together and whose raw material is human. Many stages, many halls and many venues struggled to survive. Due to the pandemic, we have lost most of our habits, even our ability. Activities that used to be enjoyable have turned into an element of tension today. We used to travel, eat, walk and have fun together with hundreds of people… Today, when more than three people come together, an indescribable justified tension arises. Even if everything returns to normal tomorrow and we can go out on the streets as we wish, I think it will take some time for us to gain that ability. As such, it will take some time for the cinemas and other cultural and artistic venues to fill up. It looks like we will wait until the old trust environment is restored at least. The closure of the salons is an unbelievably sad event. We all have memories and memories in those halls. Along with Rexx, memories also vanished into history. Although we should be hopeful, we should not lose sight of realism. Difficult days are waiting for us all, we have to make preparations and plans so that we can heal our wounds faster after getting through the current difficult days. But this is also a fact: sooner or later people will return to the halls. Although I stay away for various reasons today, I don't think that it is easy to give up the passion of watching movies in the hall and taking action together. Cinema is one of the rare areas where it is possible to transition to another reality, another world, just as Plato mentioned in his cave allegory. For this reason, movie theaters will continue to fill up again after the hard days spent with the whole world. How is it possible to give up the “ritual of going to the cinema” and the excitement created by this ritual?

What do digital platforms, which have diversified rapidly in recent years, mean for young directors and screenwriters? Is the formation of such a sectoral field and the diversification of these fields a disadvantage or a promising development?

The proliferation of channels is, of course, a very good development. The directors are left alone with the problem of showing the film after struggling with a thousand and one difficulties to shoot their films. While theaters showing independent films struggle to survive, theaters showing mainstream films allocate less time / space to independent films due to commercial concerns. Independent films also cannot find a screening area other than festivals. Increasing digital media provides the opportunity to bring the film together with the audience. At the same time, we can say that the filmmakers who have a script in their hands and cannot take action due to the concerns I mentioned are encouraged. However, here we come across the habits of watching movies that digital platforms have begun to change. How will the works produced in a time when alternatives are so plentiful meet the audience? Will it wait on the "dusty servers" of digital platforms? More precisely, what kind of strategy will we need to determine in order to deliver that film to the audience? Let's say we meet with the audience, what do we have to do to prevent them from closing the movie and switching to another movie? Perhaps in the future, we will see more work on the pr than the content of the film. Today, the myth that “this movie is not good, it is watched a lot by PR” will be proven, who knows. Diversity is greater than ever and at our fingertips. Never before have we been able to reach so many alternatives so easily. When we bought a VCD or DVD, we had to watch that movie, because leaving the house and going to change was both financially and morally burdensome. Now, we can open a new movie with the touch of a button. And out of thousands of movies, we miss out on movies that we might really like. We are having trouble finding it. We can watch movies by speeding up and fast forward when necessary. This can upset the director's entire strategy. In fact, the scenes shot, the tempo of the scenes and their emotions are left to the control of the audience. Yes, the proliferation of platforms and channels is a promising development. However, this increase should be analyzed correctly and plans should be made accordingly. As a result, each new medium creates its own audience and its own laws. I think it takes a lot of work to keep up with the change, to be forward-thinking and to broaden the perspective. Otherwise, we cannot evaluate even if there are tens of thousands of alternatives.

We would like to thank Lecturer Kerem Yükseloğlu for his valuable answers.