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Movie recap is becoming a popular entertainment trend, helping viewers save time but causing producers headaches about lost revenue and copyright infringement. Is recap an opportunity or a threat to the film industry? Discover the impacts and powerful solutions of Thu Do Multimedia to protect creative assets and revenue from films.

1. The pain of the disguised movie review trend

film recap
A series of movies were illegally recap on the Phim ngon tinh TV channel

Movie reviews only reveal part of the content with many leads and suggestions to introduce and encourage the public to go to the cinema to fully enjoy the work. Reviews carry a personal mark because it is the perspective and subjective feelings of each reviewer.

Meanwhile, movie recaps simply summarize the main content of the movie while ignoring other factors. It is worth mentioning that movie recaps are illegal activities, infringing on the rights of the producer. Because unlike reviews, recap clips reveal all the content with important details that make the audience no longer interested in watching the entire original.

From 120-minute movies to long-running TV series, from Hollywood blockbusters to Bollywood movies,.. All are summarized briefly in clips about 5-10 minutes long.

How to make movie recap content

The worrying reality is that many recap clips are currently disguised as movie reviews, flooding platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Facebook. Channels such as FC Review, Matcha Review, Phim Ngôn Tình TV, Vua Phim Review, Queen Movies… produce a series of videos that are “false advertising”. It is worth mentioning that this confusion not only misleads movie lovers but also unintentionally turns them into “accomplices” in promoting copyright infringement.

When browsing through some of these movie recap channels, the quality of the content often disappoints viewers. Instead of engaging voices and in-depth analysis like in professional review videos, recap clips only use the monotonous computer voice of “sister Google”. The visuals are sloppily cut and pasted, incoherent, and even boringly repetitive. Not to mention, to increase views, many channels do not hesitate to use cheap headlines, misspell the movie name or blatantly distort the content, completely distorting the meaning of the original work.

Disguised as a review plus poor quality, surprisingly this type of recap clip attracts a lot of views. Recap clips of foreign blockbuster movies such as “The Little Mermaid”, “Lord of the Rings”, “Ant-Man”, “Spider-Man”, “Painted Skin” … often reach the million-view mark.

Emotions of filmmakers

For producers, the trend of disguised movie reviews is no different from pirated or secretly filmed movies, and is even more dangerous because of the cover of movie reviews. Ms. Ngo Thi Bich Hien, Deputy General Director of BHD Film Studio, was indignant that this is a form of copyright infringement, causing serious loss of revenue for filmmakers. With the rapid development of technology, today’s movies are not only shown in theaters but also on copyrighted and paid online movie platforms such as Film Plus, Danet, Netflix, K+, etc.

Discussing this issue, Associate Professor Dr. Hoang Cam Giang, Head of the Department of Art Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi said: “The act of reviewing movies in disguise (recap movies) is seriously infringing on the copyright of the original ideas and content of the movie. In the era of “fast consumption”, the public likes short videos, quick entertainment. Where there is demand, there is supply, so there are people who do disguised movie reviews, summarizing the content of the movie in a few minutes.”

Why Movie Recaps Are “Exploding”

The trend of recaping movies is not a coincidence, it has become a popular phenomenon on social networks and video platforms. Here are the main reasons why this form of entertainment is spreading more and more strongly:

– Viewers save time

time film recap
Young people think that watching movie recaps saves time

In modern life, time is a precious commodity. Many people do not have the patience or time to watch a full hour-long movie. Movie recaps, which last from a few minutes to under 10 minutes, give viewers a quick overview of the movie without having to follow every detail. This is especially suitable for people who want to quickly update on the highlights of the movie without committing too much time.

– Social media platforms and YouTube drive virality

social film recap
Social media algorithms favor short-form content

Platforms like YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram have become fertile ground for recap content to thrive. The algorithms of these platforms prioritize short, highly interactive content that appeals to a wide range of audiences. An engaging recap video not only attracts millions of views but is also easily shared, creating a strong viral effect.

– Meet the needs of young people to watch “fast content”

Young people today tend to prefer short, concise content, suitable for a fast-paced and multi-tasking lifestyle. Movie recaps are an ideal choice, helping them grasp the main content of the movie without spending too much time or effort. Moreover, with vivid, humorous summary content or a new perspective, movie recaps not only provide information but also become an independent form of entertainment.

Young actor Chinh Do shared that most of the audience of movie summary clips are students, especially in remote provinces or rural areas, where conditions to go to the cinema are limited. Many people choose to watch recaps because of convenience or because they are lazy to go to the cinema, especially for those in the city. Just spending an hour, they have grasped the content of many famous movies and can easily “chat” like a true movie lover.

The above factors have created a special attraction for the movie recap trend, turning it into a highly influential digital cultural phenomenon in today’s technological age.

2. Negative impacts of film recaps on the film industry

Movie recap - Thu Do Multimedia
Movie recap problem becomes stronger, spreading across multiple channels

Movie recaps, although meeting the audience’s need for quick entertainment, have brought many negative consequences to the film industry. Here are three prominent impacts:

Reduced box office revenue

Movie recaps have unintentionally become an alternative, causing many people to no longer be interested in going to the cinema or subscribing to watch movies on mainstream platforms. In particular, with movies whose plots depend on surprise elements or plot twists, viewers often feel that it is not necessary to follow the entire work when they already know the content through recaps. This directly affects revenue, reducing the appeal of movies right from the release stage.

Copyright infringement

Most recap videos use original clips without the consent or permission of the producer. This leads to increasingly serious copyright infringement. Furthermore, the content of “plagiarism” is widely posted on platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook, causing financial damage and diminishing the brand value of filmmakers.

Reducing the artistic value of the film

A film is an elaborate combination of content, acting, sound and image, aiming to bring a complete emotional experience to the audience. However, film recap videos often cut and summarize the content in a few minutes, causing viewers to ignore the artistic depth, acting value and message of the film. This not only distorts the image of the work but also loses the creative efforts of the production team.

Film recap clips only satisfy the audience’s temporary curiosity and do not meet the need to enjoy cinema. Director Vu Ngoc Phuong said: Watching a complete movie is a journey to enjoy the beauty in every image, sound, acting, camera angle, etc. that the director and the crew tried to create.

A few minutes of watching a movie summary is no different than holding a book and only reading the table of contents.

Destroying creative passion

Revealing important details in a film not only reduces its appeal but also makes filmmakers lose confidence and motivation to invest in new projects. Many producers worry that they will not be able to recover their investment if the audience already knows the content through movie recap.

These impacts not only cause economic damage but also weaken the sustainable development of the film industry. Requiring filmmakers and the community to have timely solutions to protect creative values.

3. Solution to protect author’s assets from film Recap

Sigma Multi DRM technology solution

Sigma-Multi-DRM
Sigma-Multi-DRM

Introducing Sigma Multi DRM: Sigma Multi DRM is an advanced digital content protection solution (Digital Rights Management – DRM), developed to prevent copyright infringement of movies and other digital content products. This solution helps protect the intellectual property of film producers and organizations providing digital content distribution services.

How Sigma Multi DRM Helps Movie Producers

Anti-piracy and Anti-distribution

Sigma Multi DRM uses powerful encryption technology to protect movie content, helping to prevent unauthorized copying or distribution of content.

Movie data will be encrypted and can only be decrypted on legitimate devices or applications, helping to protect against copyright infringement.

Easy integration with distribution platforms

The solution is capable of easily integrating with popular distribution platforms such as Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime, etc., helping to protect content even when released on streaming services.

Producers do not need to worry about their content being illegally distributed or copied on these platforms.

Smart copyright management

Sigma Multi DRM provides an effective copyright monitoring and detection system, helping producers detect infringements immediately.

It will be very difficult for hackers to secretly film or steal the business’s Sigma DRM-protected video. Eliminate the case where they cut from the main video to smaller videos to recap on social networks.

Images in the movie encoded with Sigma DRM cannot be captured or recorded to replace the character’s “voice”. That helps businesses and organizations protect and manage the vivid images of the movie.

The system monitors and reports copyright infringement actions, thereby helping producers take timely and quick measures.

Sigma Multi DRM is certified by Cartesian – one of the world’s leading technology solution certification places. Thu Do Multimedia is 1 of 6 Asian businesses to be granted Cartesian certification for the Sigma Multi DRM solution. This is a great pride for us. That proves that our solution is reputable, quality and can help businesses, film production and distribution organizations to strongly protect copyright and manage control rights effectively.

Cartesian Security Audit - Thu Do Multimedia
Cartesian Security Audit – Thu Do Multimedia

Conclusion

Cinema is a luxury industry, requiring a complex and expensive production process, demonstrating the creative efforts of an entire team. Therefore, the value and image of the film need to be respected and kept intact, preventing distortion and subversion such as movie recap. To do that, the Sigma Multi DRM solution of Thu Do Multimedia is the top choice to “end this problem”. Contact us now for the fastest support and answers to all questions.

Read more: 59% Pirated Movies Are Stealing Millions From Businesses