Netflix Patents Reveal a Futuristic Vision for Shows and Movies

Netflix is developing tech that could help it personalize not only the recommendations you see on the service but also the videos themselves.

Patents issued to Netflix in recent months show the streamer is exploring the creation of customized trailers and interactive movies or shows based on what it knows about its users.

One patent, from December, describes how Netflix could develop different trailers for the same movie that could be personalized for each user.

“The trailer may highlight movie clips that showcase an actor or actress that the user has shown an interest in, or may highlight certain segments that show the genre or some of the comedic moments of the movie,” Netflix gave as an example.

While the patent focuses on movie trailers, it says the principles involved may be applied to “full-length movies, trailers for television shows or full-length television shows, trailers for audio books or full-length audio books, etc.”

In a second patent, from February, Netflix described a method of making choose-your-own-adventure-style titles using machine learning that offers viewers choices based on what it knows about them. For example, one could show, say, a romantic-themed option to someone whose profile indicates an interest in that topic.

Netflix has previously experimented with interactive shows and movies, most notably with its 2018 film, “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch,” about a programmer who starts questioning reality when he adapts a dark fantasy novel into a video game, and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs the Reverend,” a 2020 interactive film based on the Tina Fey-created series.

However, the momentum behind that original wave petered out, and Netflix removed all its interactive titles from the service, with the final ones leaving in May.

This new patent suggests that interactive titles could get a second look, with new tech backing them up. Netflix’s previous tech presented all users with the same fixed decision tree.

Netflix declined to comment on the patents.

Phil Petitpont, cofounder of Moments Lab, an AI startup that helps media companies monetize their video libraries, said dynamic storytelling had a lot of potential for social media virality, as users are likely to share their experiences with others. He imagined how Netflix could apply it in the future.

“When you see video games like ‘Death Stranding,’ ‘Metal Gear Solid,’ or even any games from Quantic Dream studios, it’s built like a long interactive cinematic,” he said. “We could expect the next season of ‘Black Mirror’ to be an experiment on this one.”

Get ready for custom trailers

The idea of customized movie and TV trailers seems to be the most immediate practical application of the patents.

Netflix has been trying to address what’s become a widespread pain point: The proliferation of titles on streamers has made it harder to find something to watch and left some viewers overwhelmed.

At the same time, Netflix is trying to boost time spent on the service, which will help its growing ad business. Along those lines, it’s also been exploring other formats and types of content like live events, talk shows, and video podcasts.

Like other media and entertainment companies, Netflix has also been using AI in various phases of production to make films and shows faster and cheaper.

In May, Netflix made a slew of changes to its homepage to make it easier for users to choose what to watch. These changes included making shortcuts more visible, making recommendations that respond to people’s moods and interests in the moment, and introducing a generative AI search tool.

Bryn Mooser, the founder of AI studio Asteria, said he saw potential in using AI to customize trailers.

“Netflix has always cared about giving customers a great user experience, and if they can use this tech to recommend movies people really like and attract people with custom trailers, I think that’s really exciting,” he said. “I want all my streamers to come up with better recommendations.”