August 17, 1998

Interactive Filmmakers Hope to Make a Comeback

Ideas that are ahead of their time don't necessarily die. If they're lucky, they get reincarnated as new technologies are invented. Take for example Interfilm, an attempt to create "interactive" films that failed, for a variety of reasons, earlier in the '90s. Its creators hope the concept will make a comeback thanks to the increasing popularity of digital video disk (DVD) technology.

In 1992, Interfilm signed a deal with Sony, which outfitted 42 theaters around the country for an experimental project. Throughout the "film," viewers were prompted to make decisions about the plot, executing their choices by pushing buttons on a remote control installed in the armrests of the theater's chairs.

Planet Theory
Bob Bejan, creator of the Interfilm project, in one of the theaters that were outfitted for the interactive system.
This democratic process dictated the twists in the film's action, which was "directed" by a computer that tallied the votes and played the scenes that were chosen. Scenes were played back from a laser disk and projected on a specially designed video projection system.

Traditional film critics were not kind. "Will Leslie succeed in turning her corrupt business partner, Richard, over to the FBI? Will Jack, who stumbles across Leslie's path at a party, become a spy or date Leslie, or both? Who cares? The story means nothing here," wrote Caryn James, a film critic for The New York Times, about Interfilm's first offering in 1993, called "I'm Your Man."

"The still-novel appeal of interactive film is making movie characters do what you want," James wrote. "This experience is not like watching a real movie, of course. It is more like rooting for a basketball team."

Despite the novelty of the experience, the public's response to the notion of interactive film was less than ecstatic. By 1995, due to a lack of marketing money, a shifting zeitgeist toward the online medium, and fighting between Sony and Interfilm, what was billed as the "first interactive film studio" ceased to exist, and hopes of developing dozens of other films were shelved.

When the theaters were dismantled, the four films that were made for the project were shelved -- until now. Starting August 25, they'll be released, one at a time, on DVD. "I'm Your Man," a thriller that even its creators admit has a thin plot, will be the first release.

Bob Bejan, the creator of the Interfilm concept and the playback system, said that watching Interfilm fall apart was "heartbreaking" -- as was the ensuing period, when interactivity became a more accepted and understood concept.

When Bejan and the films' producer, James Graham, first experienced DVD, they saw it as a way to bring their work back to life -- and to new audiences. The Internet has changed the climate for participatory entertainment media, both men said, and the DVD format allows them to resurrect part of their original vision.

"It was always perceived that Interfilm would be a home project, but there was no way to develop it," Graham said. "We always sort of fantasized about how we'll beam the films up to satellites, or one day put it on CD-ROMs."

But DVD proved to be a richer format, and one that is becoming more widely accepted. Each disc, which is the same size as the average CD-ROM but slightly heavier, stores two hours of video -- seven times more than a CD-ROM. DVD discs can be navigated on screen much like a Web page, allowing non-linear viewing. Unlike videotape, they're virtually indestructible. And they seem to be catching on.

The players are being installed on most new personal computers and more than 600,000 stand-alone players have been sold in the last 12 months, making it the fastest growing consumer technology ever. (By way of comparison, it took 16 months to sell 320,000 CD audio players after they were introduced.)

"DVD is not just video, it's also computer. It's a way to integrate not only live-action information and movies but also computer data that will work seamlessly together," said David Goodman, president of DVD International, a laser disk distributor. Goodman got into the DVD business a year ago and is releasing the Interfilm titles, which are being marketed as Choice Point Films.

Planet Theory
During an Interfilm showing, audience members voted on how the plot should proceed at certain points.

"The quality of DVD is clearly far better in audio and in video than videotape, but that's not necessarily a selling reason to buy a player to watch more movies," Goodman said. "People can now go rent a movie for $2 on videotape. There has to be a reason for people to buy a new machine. Interactivity and being able to control the experience is an exciting new experience."

It could be an experience that puts Bejan and Graham on the cutting edge. Of the more than 1,200 titles available on DVD now -- many of them Hollywood releases with extra footage and director commentary thrown in -- theirs are the only ones that allow viewers to dictate the outcome -- in a sense, to make their own movie.

Graham thinks the idea is one whose time has come. As the Web has become a mainstream medium, people are more accustomed to "responding" to entertainment media. In contrast, he described early meetings with shareholders in the company (which went public in 1992) where the concept went over like a lead balloon.

"They would say, 'Show us what I own stock in,' and we'd demo the film with the joystick. They didn't understand what was going on. They would just shut down," said Graham, who now heads Planet Theory, a DVD production studio in New York. They only understood its potential when 10-year-olds were brought in to show the investors the kind of enthusiasm that the collective viewing experience could generate, he said.

"It was such a challenging time," said Bejan, who now earns his living as the director of online sales for Microsoft's Interactive Media Group. "So much of the stuff we were thinking about -- writing and construction and the production methodology -- much of that has come in to play in the Web."

The filmmakers faced new challenges in converting the film, which was shot in 16 mm for $370,000, to the new medium. Graham, who worked with DVD producers Zuma Digital on the project, said the film had to be completely redesigned.

"In a production sense we had to jumble it up in the air again and make it land on DVD," he said. "We became very acquainted with the limitations of the DVD platform. DVD is still in a formative stage."

Will consumers embrace the notion of making decisions about the entertainment they view? Though that isn't clear yet, Graham and Bejan are hoping the new medium will resuscitate their earlier vision.

"We were ahead of our time," said Bejan. "The level at which we burdened the product with the educational aspect was too much for the product to bear. We were on the front edge of a movement."

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Lisa Napoli at napoli@nytimes.com welcomes your comments and suggestions.



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