Netflix is reportedly experimenting with allowing viewers to control time

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Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/08/04/netflix-is-reportedly-experime.html

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Or it’s an accessibility feature for deaf and blind users. Some people need more time to read subtitles while others are more used to faster text from screen readers. Think of others, no need to be so cynical.

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I hate when artists try to dictate to their audience the exact manner in which their art must be consumed. You don’t know how other people’s minds work or how fast they work. Some people have ADHD and can’t stand the slow buildup of movie scenes or the casual pace of podcast conversations. If infrared is the manner in which I think the Mona Lisa is most beautiful, so be it. If I want to read the last page of the mystery first, that’s my choice.

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2 thoughts on this:

  • While I understand Apatow’s sentiment, creators do not get to dictate how people enjoy their works.

  • Soon, Netflix will share that the most slow-mo’d film is Basic Instinct.

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I am for it as long as it isn’t the kind of Madonna slice-sampling thing that leaves the pitch the same. When I want The Godfather to sound like The Chipmunks, it’s that or nothing.

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I often speed up YouTube videos when all I want is information, quickly.

I’m not sure I’d bother with it for entertainment though.

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I argue that there should be a 0.9x speed option for podcasts and videos. Some things are edited in a way that I find too fast and can’t follow (blame auditory processing disorder), but 0.75 is too slow. I don’t want to take away options, just add more useful ones.

I have also been known to play some PAL movies at 0.96x, because they have been sped up to get the frame rate to 25fps.

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I’d love a slow down feature for me because some people on Youtube just rattle off things too fast. It’s hard for me to hear some folks’ words due to my tinnitus, bleh.

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So I can watch things faster, allowing me to watch more things? Sign me up! /s

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I had to watch this on about 80% speed. I seriously could not read and comprehend fast enough.

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I can respect creators’ desire to do so though.

Shortly before his death Orson Welles learned that Turner Broadcasting was planning to release a colorized version of Citizen Kane. He pleaded to a filmmaker friend to stop it, saying: ''Don’t let Ted Turner deface my movie with his crayons.” I think history has sided with Welles on that one.

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To me that seems like a different situation. It would be hard to “unsee” the colorized version after having viewed it. Also, if broadcasters started airing the colorized version, it would threaten to become the default, and would have nothing to do with the expansion of choice. Having a setting be at the point of viewing, instead of asking broadcasters and stores to “stock multiple versions” removes the risk that one will replace the other.

I mean, Judd Apatow is acting like he doesn’t get high and listen to his Barracuda 45 at 78 rpms…

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don’t be so sure of that.

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As a filmmaker, film student, and lover of good stories told well, I can’t imagine a first watching of a film on any speed other than what the director chose. It seems like sacrilege to me. Even subtitles are problematic, because they take away from the visual and audible experience.

Changing the speed of audiobooks? Sure, because some narrators are toooo slow and ponderous, but some content needs to be slowly digested to understand fully. And I can see that some YouTube videos, like instructions or tutorials, would benefit from slower viewing. (I usually stop & scrub through the fiddly parts.)

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It can be great when there’s a popular movie that doesn’t appeal to you but you want to watch it to understand all the references people are making. Something like Bird Box just isn’t my thing, but it was too frequently referenced for me to not to fast forward through it to get a better understanding.

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Apropos of nothing, I cannot watch the Director’s Cut of Bladerunner without Harrison Ford’s narration intruding on my subconscious.

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Doesn’t really sound like the Apatow I know. Tarantino, I would believe. Really, directors, get over yourselves.

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I actually miss it. I have never gotten used to the director’s cut.

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Enhancing documentary footage beyond the limitations of the technology of the era in which it was created feels like a very different undertaking than overriding an artist’s aesthetic choices, especially when that artist has explicitly stated they don’t want their work altered in that way.

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Dearest Judd: thanks for all the cool stuff. Now get over yourself.

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