The Rediffusion Red Lab report titled “Web 3.0- a new revolution in the world of Indian Cinema” looks at how convergence will be here sooner than we imagine.
“The NFT rage has taken over Indian cinema too. Many movies are riding the NFT wave for movie promotions with actors launching their own NFT series to connect with their fans,” states the report.
The film industry has recently embraced a number of new technologies. With the introduction of new filmmaking techniques, equipment and more, filmmakers have had to adapt or risk being left behind. From streaming services to virtual reality, the industry is on the tipping point of seeing a rise in popularity for using non-fungible tokens.
They have the potential to revolutionise and completely transform Bollywood. Salman Khan ventured into the NFT space where he launched a series of 200 NFTs based on the Dabang film series. The actor had also launched the $GARI token by Chingari, a short video app, and became the brand ambassador for the platform’s NFT marketplace.
Following Bollywood’s Bhaijaan, south Indian actors like Rajnikanth and Kamal Hassan also decided to ride the NFT wave. Rajnikanth launched a series of NFTs based on his 2007 movie, Shivaji the Boss. Kamal Hassan went a step further and celebrated his 67th birthday by launching an NFT series and creating a digital avatar to enter the Metaverse.
NFTs have also recently excelled as a tool for promoting films. Two NFTs honouring the recently released Amitabh Bachchan-starring Hindi movie “Jhund” have been produced by the film’s makers. These NFTs, which cost more than Rs 2,15,000 each, were created in association with the US-based NFT marketplace Superstar Xchange. The Tezos platform would be used to introduce the NFT.
Additionally, the film 83, which celebrated India’s victory in the 1983 World Cup, also introduced a line of 83 collectibles, which included tangible cricket memorabilia that had been personally signed, video clips, animated digital avatars, and previously unseen posters and photos.
In addition to movies, performers are embracing the NFT trend to connect with their followers. Another early celebrity to join the NFT movement in India was Amitabh Bachchan where he sold his NFT collection, which included a recording of him reciting poems written by his father, for a whopping Rs 7.18 crores.
In addition to making a lot of noise in the Indian film business, KGF Chapter 2 was the first to do so in the metaverse. As many as 500 NFTs were sold in the first 10 minutes of the sale.
In order to secure the NFT and Metaverse licence for a Pan India film that will be released soon, NFT businesses from Singapore and Dubai are directing their attention to South India.
The first Tamil actor to enter the NFT market is Southern Star Arya, who has NFTs available for purchase.
Fans to bid NFT art forms will debut on Minnal, a new NFT platform in Tamil Nadu. The first is a preview scheduled for later this month, featuring 27 NFT art forms of Arya.
R Madhavan’s Rocketry becomes the 1st Indian film to reach a historical number of 10,000 NFTs claimed VistaVerse partnered with Rocketry – The Nambi Effect to introduce some spectacular and desirable NFTs in the metaverse. |
This partnership resulted in creating history by becoming the first Indian film with 10,000 NFTs claimed.
NFTs to revolutionize film industry
There are several ways in which NFTs could potentially revolutionise the film industry.
Finance Projects Assistance
NFTs can be utilized to crowdfund film projects. By selling NFTs associated with a film or an actor, filmmakers can raise money to finance their project. This could be done in a number of ways, such as selling an NFT giving its holder the access to exclusive BTS content.
Making Films More Immersive
The way we view films is going to be changed by Metaverse, and NFTs will play a big role in the same, as they can potentially be used to create more immersive experiences and potentially allow viewers to become part of the storytelling experience.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) enable artists to seek support directly from individuals rather than relying on studios. Creators can begin establishing a dedicated fanbase early on in the story development because of the community that forms around the NFT collection. Additionally, artists don’t have to give up their intellectual property or creative freedom because individuals rather than studios are funding the initiative.
NFTs, in short, give artists the opportunity to keep their creative freedom while establishing a continuous revenue source that is supported by a loyal audience. This community-centered model is transforming almost every aspect of storytelling.
Access to the Collaborative Economy
A new method of conducting business based on sharing resources and expertise is commonly referred to as the “Collaborative Economy”. Through NFTs, collaborative and participatory methods of filmmaking could be established.
For instance, filmmakers could provide their audiences with a new way to support the movies they love in addition to giving filmmakers access to the funding they need to create their movies.
NFTs as an additional source of Income
NFTs gave a very important boost to the industry when movies did not do very well in theatres.According to an EY report, revenue from theatres plunged by 80 percent to $378 million in 2020. Since November 2021, industry players have raised around $4 million by selling NFTs, going on to show NFTs are here to stay and will add to the revenue streams of the Indian cinema industry.
NFTs as investment
Another aspect of the cinema and NFT convergence is the resale value. Fans can exchange NFTs in a thriving market in addition to owning them. NFT collectibles are popular all throughout the world, not just in India.
NFTs are only going to rise as Web3.0 takes off. More artists who want to interact with their followers personally, will release their work in a tokenized form.
Drive-in theatres could be replaced
Wearable technology can collect body language in real-time via wearable sensors and possibly through other means such as video footage and AI.
The users will interact via their digital personalized 3D avatar in shared virtual spaces; those spaces can go as far as the given collective imagination of the platform creators can go.
The digital avatars will be able to express emotions in a fashion very close to life, filling the gap that static emojis, animated gifs and stickers were unable to fill. This cross-industry web revolution is no different from the film industry and online entertainment as a whole.
If the right cards are played, popular streaming services can gain a massive competitive advantage with the Metaverse.
