If you were to make a random appearance today at a wedding or naming ceremony, what do you expect to hear most of the crowd speaking? "Mega Pixels, 3G, SLR, broad band, HD..." These words rang in my ears as I tried hard to distract myself away from it and focus on the event itself. It was almost impossible. As I got pulled deeper into the 'quicksand' filled with microchips and lenses and applications, I found myself next to a man in his early 30s, my distant relative who works for a software giant based out of Seattle, USA.
From someone, he'd heard that I was into directing reality shows for television and told me how much his own work revolved around intense research and development in precisely the same area of work that I was in. So as we both began our conversation, seated on a flimsy plastic table in a corner, I saw at a distance the whole crowd cheering and blessing for the couple on the stage. The groom, who had just turned 60 years and his bride, slightly younger had just got re-married; after surviving a marriage for 40 full years! And we, the two young and single men missed the whole occasion, partially high and completely lost in our conversation about personalised entertainment.
"Live television may soon be a thing of the past" I heard him say. My eyebrow raised, he continued telling me how except for news and probably important sports events, every other form of entertainment would be 'customised' for the viewer. For each viewer! Fully knowing that the source was highly placed and extremely credible, I decided to keep quiet and delve into the depths of whatever he had to offer me, thinking of how it would affect my own future.
"The X-box and its variants will be responsible for all of that," he went on. "The key to all this rapid change will be data - to know how each individual functions, to study his mood, to know his taste, to understand almost everything about the man and his 'needs'. And how does one do that? One of our primary resources are the credit cards! They have information on every purchase that you make. What you buy, when you buy and all of that. They literally keep a complete record on you and we are going to tap them all," he declared.
My next question was why any credit card company would share their data with anyone, unless there is a substantial benefit for them. His answer startled me. "My company is soon starting its own credit card service!" he said. "Just because we realise how crucial collecting data is. Just for the data!"
With all the data collected, how could anyone provide entertainment so personalised that it would suit the taste of every viewer? "In the next few years, most TV Channels will cease to exist. Individual show producers will get more importance. And each programme will be shot in a way that would accommodate what we call as 'the hook'. One show might have anywhere between 18 and 20 of these hooks. Now these hooks will be responsible for revolutionising the way we get entertained. Depending on our study of the data collected, producers will be instructed to shoot in a manner that allows 'modification' of the show content and 'properties' displayed on screen. A simple example of the hook would be a can or tin used in the show. The scene in discussion will be shot with a plain green coloured can. Later, depending on the data's analysis, the cola manufacturers will be notified and advised by us as to which of these viewers would prefer their product. For example, 'n' numbers of the population prefer the colour red over blue, the cola company with a prominent red branding would be notified. Based on the red cola company's approval, we would digitally paste their brand on the plain green can. This way, people will get to see a brand or product of their taste, in their favourite TV show. Same is the case when it comes to the content of the show. You will be happy with viewing the tragic ending of your favourite soap whilst your neighbour might be excited with the happy ending that he sees of the same show - all depending on the individual's taste."
As he spoke I began to realise how advertisers too would be at the mercy of the broadcasting company, their satisfaction, of course, being that their product will reach the customer with the precise potential. "The broadcast mode would be high speed internet. No longer dependant on cable TV operators, the broadband carrier is processed through devices like the X-box and then on to your High Definition TV. The quality of output would be amazing, your favourite show made available 24 hours and the content just to satisfy your intellect. What's more, the customer gets all this at a very affordable price thanks to precision advertising!"
I imagined heading home after pack-up, editing and uploading what I shot to my broadcaster from my home PC before they would run a few certificates, make the necessary additions and release it for viewing! And also imagined money being transferred to me for the job done and me being very happy! All these rosy thoughts were interrupted by the harsh reality. Competition amongst the show producers would be severe and thanks to the results being precise, a programme might be extended or terminated based on the 'numbers' or the performance. At last something much more efficient than the current method of rating television shows would emerge!
Immersed in thoughts, my mind saw what seemed to be a familiar face, a good looking girl who invited us out of the now empty wedding hall and into the grand dining area. Pulling myself together, I realised that the girl was actually my junior at college, a girl whom I now admit I had a huge crush on, only now she was the wife of my own cousin. To my left sat this man from Seattle, looking forward to feast on some Indian food and to my right stood the girl, her disconnected stare making me wonder if there would be a day not far from today, where man would have the 'events' of his life 'personalised' and at his disposal. Where he could sort of opt for a precise choice of people and ceremonies - as and when he would want them!
(The author is a director of reality shows for Zee Kannada)
Credit:Shreyas Sudhindra
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