Film studios are being disrupted, but smart producers see this as an opportunity to grow rather than mope, according to Wendy Aylsworth (pictured), chief executive officer of Walden Pond Consulting and long-time Warner Bros. staffer.

“I haven’t heard anybody be disappointed or pessimistic about it. I think they recognize that throughout history things change and you must change with it,” Aylsworth said. If new media creators can exploit and profit from new avenues to viewers, there is no reason why conventional studios can’t adapt their productions to do the same, she added.

Aylsworth spoke to Jeff Frick (@JeffFrick), co-host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile live streaming studio, during the NAB Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. (*Disclosure below.) 

“Traditional windows are shrinking, but hopefully over time it will become more apparent where there can be other monies to be made in later windows or in different augmented settings,” she said, noting the promise of VR.

Shifting margins

Also, new technologies like cloud are lowering movie production costs in time for the pinch on ticket sales. Together with time-conserving and collaborative advantages, this could make cloud a lifeline for Hollywood’s bottom lines, Aylsworth explained.

“Applications in the cloud that are modeling themselves to offer themselves based upon the usage as opposed to setting up a long-term contract — those are the apps that are going to win,” she said.

These tools may involve machine learning for quality control or scene analysis, as well as analytics for tracking viewers.

Taken together, the new technologies — even disruptive ones — enable creators to better connect with viewers. “It really allows a content creator to get closer the their audience,” Aylsworth said.

With options for these audiences proliferating on their devices, both old and new media companies will have to get better at marketing to them. “Tools that help new content creators find their audience are going to become critical needs in the future,” she said.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s independent editorial coverage of the NAB Show. (*Disclosure: Western Digital is sponsoring theCUBE’s coverage at the show. Neither Western Digital nor other sponsors have editorial influence on content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

 Photo: SiliconANGLE