Direct-to-video

A film that is released direct-to-video (also straight-to-video) is one which has been released to the public on home video formats first rather than first being released in movie theaters. In recent years, companies have increasingly released movies in DVD format rather than VHS.

The V-Cinema and OVA markets in Japan

Japan has a different weight to the direct-to-video movement. Rather than being renowned for poor storylines and effects (though they are low-budget), so-called V-Cinema has more respect from the public, and affection from film directors for the greater creative freedoms allowed by the medium.

Related Topics:
Japan - V-Cinema - Film directors

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For anime, this is called Original Video Animation (OVA or OAV), and their production values usually fall between television series and movies. As such, they somewhat lack the stigma of poor quality. They are often used to tell stories too short to fill a full tv season, particularly in the early 1990s. With the advent of the 13 episode season format, OAVs are less common now. Some are used to garner enough interest in fandom to make a profitable full television series.

Related Topics:
Anime - OVA - 1990s

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~