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CES 2014: ‘Breaking Bad’ Creator Vince Gilligan on How Tech Is Fueling TV Storytelling

Jan 7, 2014  •  Post A Comment

Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai brought out "Breaking Bad" creator Vince Gilligan during Hirai’s keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas for a chat about how technology is helping to fuel richer storytelling, The Hollywood Reporter’s Behind the Screen reports.

Sony execs also talked about a launch later in 2014 for a new cloud-based TV service offering live and VOD programming, the piece notes, but he stopped short of offering much detail on the project.

"Gilligan talked up high-resolution large TVs and how they have changed the way storytellers like him compose shots," THR reports.

Said Gilligan: “When I grew up, TV series were framed and cut to a smaller screen size, which led to a lot of talking heads. With giant, wide TVs, you get to frame and emulate John Ford or Sergio Leone and, in the case of ‘Breaking Bad,’ you can place characters in an endless expanse of Mexico prairie, which gets to look very painterly and cinematic. That’s a wonderful development.”

THR notes: "The Emmy winner namechecked Sony’s head-mounted display, still in development, as ‘a thing to watch’ since ‘it will allow folks to be enveloped by storytelling.’”

Gilligan also commented on the impact of SVOD services on the delivery of content.

“When I started out on shows like ‘The X Files,’ the conventional wisdom was that serialized storytelling was to be avoided, that one episode completes the story. SVOD allows a hyper-serialized form of storytelling and gives people the freedom to access content when they feel like it," Gilligan said.

"He also praised the quality of images captured on digital mini-cameras for certain scenes in ‘Breaking Bad,’ which he said were indistinguishable when cut into motion picture film," THR adds.

Sony Computer Entertainment President and CEO Andrew House announced the company’s upcoming cloud-based TV service for the U.S., which will reportedly combine live TV with VOD.

"House said the service will be distinguished by a personalized interface which will serve up recommendations," THR reports. "It will feature a ‘watch and resume’ function spanning multiple devices from a PS4 to a tablet."

Said House: “Our goal is to transform the user experience so that finding live and VOD is immediate. We will make TV a more personalized and dynamic experience.”

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for vince-gilligan.jpgVince Gilligan

One Comment

  1. Without question, the bigger screen of modern TVs give story tellers more options. Breaking Bad, felt more like a week long movie than a TV show when I watched it on Netflix. Just imagine how X-Files could have been so much better.

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