The concept and business model of Video on Demand (VOD) first emerged during the wave of Internet startups in the 1990s. Around 2010, as bandwidth and coverage of global network infrastructures were greatly improved, VOD officially became a force that revolutionized the film and TV industry. This industry has now entered an age of fierce competition, and although we have no idea who is going to emerge as the winner or how the industry will turn out to be in the future, to users, “on demand”—this technology and corresponding business model that claim to turn the right of choice over to each and every user, is an imminent future.

However, what are the requirements for the establishment of infrastructures where audio and video contents can be “accessed on demand?” If “the medium is the message,” then what are the messages conveyed by VOD and streaming media? In 2018, a platform that aimed to serve the consumers and audiences of documentaries and art films—Giloo Inc.—was born in Taiwan; it adopts the business model of subscription VOD and has quickly gained popularity. Giloo Inc. Team is invited to use itself as an example to decode the black box of VOD and streaming technology through this exhibition.

How does a movie become available for “on demand?” On Giloo website and App, each movie has its own “page,” what are the flesh and bone of this visualized page? What is the meaning of classification of the entire film database? How many alternatives does a movie have simultaneously in the mainframe of cloud storage service (files of different resolutions are provided in response to different network speeds), how does it link with the business model (subscription), and through what technological means does it reach the screens of your laptop and mobile phone? The content of this exhibition focuses on these issues.