By Germaine Choi

Watching movies on big screens is not the only choice for movie fans.

Internet movies are an alternative and perhaps a challenge to the traditional media.

Some Internet movies are made for the Internet only, while others are second-run movies.

Golden Harvest Entertainment Company is the first movie production company to produce Internet movies in Hong Kong.

Ms. Low Mei Ling, assistant vice-president of the Digital Division of Golden Harvest, said that their inspiration came from a Taiwan web site.

“Our production chief executive saw an Internet movie called 175 Degree Colorblind on a Taiwan web site; then he came up with the idea of making one ourselves,?she said.

Unlike watching movies in cinemas, people do not spend too much time watching Internet movies.

As a consequence, Golden Harvest segmented online movies into many “Internet movie strips?that allow people to watch movies chapter by chapter.

The Accidental Spy ?2003 was the first production.It is related to The Accidental Spy, which was shown in conventional cinemas during the Lunar New Year.

Said Ms. Low: “Another Internet movie will be produced shortly.

“We hope that it will be more interactive so that people can participate in planning the story development.?

The Accidental Spy ?2003 can be viewed free of charge. As for the second online movie, Golden Harvest has not decided whether it will be free.

Said Ms. Low: “It all depends on the response of viewers toward The Accidental Spy ?2003.?/font>

Cinema Republic is another web site providing Internet movies in Hong Kong. Mr. Kevin Mak is the chief operating officer of Cinema Republic.

According to Mr. Mak, apart from providing classic films, Cinema Republic also provides experimental movies and independent productions.

These works are produced by charity groups and postgraduates at Hong Kong Baptist University.

Mr. Daivid Au, lecturer in the Department of Cinema and Television at Hong Kong Baptist University, said, “Putting students?work on the Net allows more exposure.?/font>

Since classic films are around 90-minutes long, they are usually cut into two or three segments.

Streaming technology has been adopted to minimise the time for downloading movies.

“By streaming, viewers don’t need to download the whole film before watching. They watch while loading,?said Mr. Mak.

As for the quality of the pictures, Mr. Mak said it all depends on the viewer’s Internet connection.

“If the viewers get broadband, they can watch pictures with higher quality,? said he.

Mr. Au said that computer screens displaying Internet movies are so small that the original quality of the movies cannot be appreciated. Some Internet movie web sites charge viewers.

But people can watch movies from Cinema Republic free of charge.

“We will launch a payment system for movies that are only provided by our web site, but so far we are open to the idea,?said Mr. Mak.

Since the Internet is a global network, anyone can watch Internet movies in different countries. So some Internet movie providers try to overcome the language barriers.

Said Ms. Low of Golden Harvest: “Since there was only one week for producing The Accidental Spy ?2003, only the Chinese version is available at this time.

“In the future, multilingual versions will be available.?

Mr. Mak of Cinema Republic said that their target market is China, so only Chinese subtitles are available for their movies.

Cinema Republic has also translated some classic films into Mandarin for viewers in China.

Although providers believe Internet movies will grow in popularity, they also believe that traditional movies will not fade.

Said Ms. Low: “Internet movies will just be another stream of movies, but not a replacement of traditional movies.?/font>

Said Mr. Mak: “Many people like watching movies on big screens in cinemas. Internet movies can provide an alternative, but they can’t replace the traditional ones.?

Concerning the future development of Internet movies, both Ms. Low and Mr. Mak hold a positive view.

Said Mr. Mak: “It will certainly keep growing together with the increasing use of broadband.

“In the U.S., there are both Internet movies and movies in cinemas. They keep developing rapidly at the same time.?/font>

However, Ms. Ramie Lam, a university student at Juian University in China, has a different point of view.

Even though she is a frequent Internet user, she still prefers going to cinemas.

She pointed out that the quality of Internet movies relies on sophisticated display cards and sound systems in computers, which are costly.

Said Mr. Au at Baptist University: “Most people don’t have the technology to view online movies in high quality. Downloading also takes a lot of time."

In the U.S. and Japan, Internet movies are popular. A recent Japanese Internet movie starring Rena Takana attracted more than 3 million viewers.

Courtesy of Low Mei Ling


The Accidental Spy ?2003 is Golden Harvest Entertainment Company’s first production of an Internet movie. It can be viewed free of charge. Picture quality depends on the Internet connection and computer systems of viewers .