International Series on Computer Entertainment and Media Technology Patrice Poujol Online Film Production in China Using Blockchain and Smart Contracts The Development of Collaborative Platforms for Emerging Creative Talents International Series on Computer Entertainment and Media Technology Series Editor Newton Lee Institute for Education, Research, and Scholarships Los Angeles, CA, USA The International Series on Computer Entertainment and Media Technology presents forward-looking ideas, cutting-edge research, and in-depth case studies across a wide spectrum of entertainment and media technology. The series covers a range of content from professional to academic. Entertainment Technology includes computer games, electronic toys, scenery fabrication, theatrical property, costume, lighting, sound, video, music, show control, animation, animatronics, interactive environments, computer simulation, visual effects, augmented reality, and virtual reality. Media Technology includes art media, print media, digital media, electronic media, big data, asset management, signal processing, data recording, data storage, data transmission, media psychology, wearable devices, robotics, and physical computing. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/13820 Patrice Poujol Online Film Production in China Using Blockchain and Smart Contracts The Development of Collaborative Platforms for Emerging Creative Talents Patrice Poujol Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre City University of Hong Kong Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong ISSN 2364-947X ISSN 2364-9488 (electronic) International Series on Computer Entertainment and Media Technology ISBN 978-3-030-02467-3 ISBN 978-3-030-02468-0 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02468-0 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018960876 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Abstract The entry of China in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 marked its growing integration into the global economy. After its WTO accession, the central government, some selected online companies and the creative industries have col- laborated to form the largest online film circulation platforms in the world such as iQiyi (under the umbrella of Baidu), Tencent Video, LeTV or Youku Tudou (with Alibaba as owner) with hundreds of millions of Internet and mobile viewers. Meanwhile, China’s political-economic system has remained under the control of the Chinese Government. The monitoring of online content has increased. This has resulted in the shutdown of foreign competitors (such as YouTube) and local pirate online platforms. While replicating almost all of the successful Western start- ­up models such as Google, Facebook, YouTube or Amazon, China has nurtured its own champions including Alibaba, Youku Tudou, Baidu and Tencent. China has also been developing cutting-edge blockchain and smart contract-­ decentralised technologies such as NEO at a rapid pace. Blockchain and smart con- tract technologies have increased tenfold over a few months from a total market capitalisation of US$10 billion to over US$100 billion in July 2017 (Shin 2017), mostly through crowdfunding.1 This unprecedented phenomenon has contributed to generate dozens of creative concepts, raising between US$30 million and over US$300 million in initial coin offerings (ICOs). However, despite all these converging developments, the Chinese creative indus- tries and the central government have not yet developed and supported an indepen- dent creative crowdfunding/crowdsourcing system like US-based Kickstarter or Indiegogo to finance, produce, promote and circulate film and creative works online. In this context, the present study will answer the following key research ques- tions: Can there be a distributed online-based participatory system of independent creative production in China where the government, the industry and the audience can all contribute and benefit? Are platforms such as Youku Tudou (YT), NEO, Alibaba’s Yulebao and Zhongchou preliminary steps in this direction? What are the 1 Since then, the total cryptocurrency market valuation has reached a peak of c. US$700 billion in early January 2018 (Martin 2018). v vi Abstract basic characteristics and key issues of such a system, especially in relation to the Internet and mobile film circulation and the involvement and interaction of the young urban audiences in China? Beyond this, how can such notions as IP, piracy, value and collective creativity be redefined in the networked economy? This book also proposes to discuss key questions about the development and the adoption of new digital platforms – such as the implications for the future of copy- right and the production of creative content which circulates on these distribution windows in China. Beyond these points, this research observes the change in media consciousness amongst the young urban Chinese audiences’ and the emergence of a participatory and creative online community. These key questions will be studied through primary data collected from urban China and case studies on film production and online platform.2 In the end, this research proposes solutions on how these young local creative talents can be identi- fied and supported early on, particularly within new disintermediated and distrib- uted crowdfunding/crowdsourcing online ecosystems. References Martin, Will. 2018. “Cryptocurrency Market Passes $700 Billion on January 3, Bitcoin Rises - Business Insider.” Business Insider, January 3. http://www.businessinsider.com/ bitcoin-price-global-cryptocurrency-market-capitalisation-january-3-2018-1?r=UK&IR=T. Shin, Laura. 2017. “The Emperor’s New Coins: How Initial Coin Offerings Fueled A $100 Billion Crypto Bubble.” Forbes. July. https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/07/10/ the-emperors-new-coins-how-initial-coin-offerings-fueled-a-100-billion-crypto- bubble/2/#33af01a1b2cc. 2 These findings are occasionally combined with relevant and targeted elements of comparison with Hong Kong, Europe and the USA. Keywords China; Alibaba Pictures; Youku Tudou; Yulebao; Zhongchou; P2P; Blockchain technology; Smart contracts; Tokenisation; Bitcoin; Cardano, Ethereum; NEO; Cryptocurrencies; Distributed production systems; Decentralised production sys- tems; Creative audiences; Emerging creative talent; Creative industries; Censorship; Copyrights; Intellectual Property (IP); Crowdfunding; Crowdsourcing; Digital technology; Digital filmmaking; Film finance; Film production; Film distribution; Film circulation; Film production chain; Online media conglomerates; Platformisation; Piracy; Political economy; World Trade Organization (WTO); Young urban audiences; Value in creative productions and filmmaking; Initial Coin Offering (ICO); Security Token Offering (STO) vii Acknowledgements I start this book as a celebration to my mother, Rosita Ruiz, who gave me life, unconditional support, love, taste for creativity and the world; to my grandparents, George Geneste, Eugenio Ruiz and Pilar Manzanas, who survived two wars and have been a great example of courage, wisdom and compassion to follow through- out my life; to my family and, particularly, my cousin, Eric Lagarde, who supported me and advised me since I was a child, like a real brother; to my cousin, Jean-Paul Florenty, and his family for their professional advice; and to my father, Bernard Poujol, who finally learnt how to accept my life choices and not to be so anxious about my future: Qui vivra verra… I am reserving a very special place to my dear friend, Prof. James Francis Kenny, for his precious personal and academic advice not only throughout the PhD but since I first met him 10 years ago. He gave me the inspiration and the will to reach for my dreams and helped me build strong foundations to make it happen. He largely contributed to get me back on my feet when I got knocked down along the way; this I will never forget. I don’t think that I would have succeeded to finish this work without his help and advice. To Winnie Leung who gave me the strategies and the strength to go through the past 3 years of my life. To Brett Westwood for his honesty, courage, and creativity. To Dr. Robert Ellis-Geiger for