NOIDA: With the focus on the ever-growing market of the OTT platforms and digital space, Day-9 of the International Conference ICAN3 organised by DME Media School began with an enriching Panel discussion on the topic ‘OTT Platforms: Reinvention & Consumption during Lockdown’ on June 29, 2020.
The panel chaired by Dr Gauri D. Chakraborty, Academic, Filmmaker and Artist, Joint Acting Head, Amity School of Communication, Amity University, Noida, also had Mr Naresh Sharma, FTII alumnus, filmmaker and Head, CRAFT (Center for Research in Art of Film and Television), Editor and Publisher of Cinematography Art, a quarterly magazine, Dr Anandajit Goswami, Professor of Liberal Arts, Coordinator/Incharge, Department of Political and Social Studies, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies, Manav Rachna International University, Mr Pankaj Rakesh, Former Head of Production, Metalight Films, Mumbai and Independent Filmmaker and Mr Vishesh Azad, Filmmaker, artist, media educator and fashion communicator at NIFT.
The session started with the opening remarks by Dr Ambrish Saxena, Dean, DME Media School and Organising Secretary of ICAN3. Dr Susmita Bala, Head, DME Media School and Convenor of ICAN 3 welcomed the experts.
Dr Gauri D. Chakraborty, the curator of the session, started the discussion by introducing the OTT platforms and content on it. She said, “The Indian video-streaming in the country has exploded in last one year and more recently due to the pandemic situation. The viewing habits have changed and digital OTT players are bombarding the users with original video-on-demand and intriguing content.”
Taking the discussion forward, Mr Pankaj Rajesh said, “OTT has become a wonderful buffet of entertainment.” Citing various different examples from the OTT shows, he explained the spike in interest seen in the audience for the international content. “Now that everyone is at home, people are exploring content in different languages.” He stressed that now the audience has shifted focus to a good story line over any other star actor gimmick.
Mr Naresh Sharma pointed out the convenience factor that comes with the OTT content. He said, “You don’t have to follow a time schedule to watch something on OTT platforms as you did for TV or big screen content. One can easily stream their favourite content in their own convenience, which has what contributed to the increase in its popularity, especially among the young audience.”
Dr Anandajit Goswami, emphasised on the need of accountability in the OTT industry, “Creators need to be responsible for the type of content they generate and the influence it can create in the audience,” he said while citing various examples like Mirzapur and other bold content.
Mr Vishesh Azad reiterating the point made by Mr Sharma said, “Due to OTT platforms, writing has taken its rightful place”. Analysing some of the famous OTT content, Mr Azad remarked, “OTT has given a new narrative to old recipes. The way of reimagining a story has been reinvented.”
The session concluded with the unveiling of the digital souvenir of ICAN3 by the distinguished experts. It contains the highlights of the entire conference with all the details and list of papers presented during the ICAN3.
The panel discussion was moderated by Ms Krishna Pandey, Assistant Professor, DME Media School.
The scholastic Panel discussion was followed by two technical sessions revolving around contemporary issues of the country. The first Technical session of the day focused on the topic ‘Cinema for community bonding, peace, harmony and justice’ and was chaired by Prof. (Dr) Aman Vats, Amity School of Film and Drama, Amity University, Noida, and co-chaired by Dr Arif Nazir, Department of Mass Communication & Video Production, DAV College, Katra Sher Singh, Amritsar, Punjab. Several eccentric research papers were presented.
The session was moderated by Ms Sukriti Arora, Assistant Professor, DME Media School and anchored by Somya Bhaskar, a second-year student, of DME Media School.
Second Technical session of the day touched on one of the pertinent issues of the country- ‘Issues of National Identity, Citizenship, Statelessness and CAA.’ Chaired by Dr Rajeev Panda, Associate Professor, Apeejay Institute of Mass Communication – AIMC, New Delhi, the session saw several in-depth findings on the hard-hitting topics. The session was moderated by Mr Mohd Kamil, Assistant Professor, DME Media School and anchored by Aditya Jain, a second-year student of DME Media School.
ooo
