The first day of MIPTV drew to a close, as the lawn in front of Grand was packed with people, the beer was as good (and as expensive) as ever and the Cannes night was a very (for a Finn) suitable +15C.
Whereas MIPFormats was a lot about discussing the creative challenges, rights issues and suchlike of formats, MIPTV is, as always, about business. Still, there are a number of interesting panels and talks going on during the day, where creators and industry people share insights and cases. I was quite happy to see a panel on Transmedia, called ”Transmedia Storytelling: How to achieve Creative Excellence?” – especially as the panel featured people like Nuno Bernardo (Sophie’s Diary, Final Punishment), Christopher Sandberg (Truth About Marika, Conspiracy for Good), Tracey Robertson (The Lost Experience), Tom Thirlwall (Kate Modern) and Matt Costello (Polar Productions).
Transmedia at MIP
Now, the live blog of the session is up here, and the whole of the session can be viewed on YouTube here, so I won’t go into detail on what every said during the 1h+ session. Some notes though:
- It seems like the divide is still there, between creatives, tech, marketing etc. ”Sometimes I have made the mistake of pitching a tv show really well, only to – at the end of the pitch – go into multiplatform aspects and possibilities. Then every department must get involved, and no ones wants to assume responsibility for the project”, said Nuno Bernardo more or less. So yes – even though we are getting there, slowly but surely – there is no one person that is a great creative, great producer, knows all the tech involved intimately… Teamwork is a must. We just need to get the teams to work together better and understand each other better.
In my opinion, that is also one of the strengths of thinking transmedially when building a project (no matter if it is drama, game show, news, documentary, kids show…). By building the ”world” of your project and defining core values, it’s place in the world and all actions and reactions that can happen in that world and why they can happen, it is infinitely more easy to explain the content and what you want to achieve to anyone who gets involved, be it tech, creatives, marketing people or anyone involved in the production.
(For example news; they are set in the real world obviously. But to create a good news show, first create the world that is the news show, everyone working with it, all the facilities, all the equipment, building up all the thoughts and the values you want to promote through your news).
- I also can’t help but ponder at the difference between the crowd at SXSW and the crowd at MIPTV – especially, as I tweeted yesterday, the fact that many of the tech-savvy social media and localization service and funky-photo-app-people at SXSW are really really eager to somehow get into television – partly because that’s where some money can be found but to a greater degree because that’s where they can reach an audience better and get involved in ”real” content. At the same time we have a lot of tv and media people here at MIPTV thinking about and wonder how on earth to capitalize on social media and other types of emerging tech and services. I can’t but think these two worlds would need to collide at some point - which will happen, I’m sure, and #MIPCC is perhaps a step in the right direction.
Please do watch the video, or read the live blog, some nice takes there.
Content 360
I had a look at the pitches for the Content 360 competition in the Fremantle/RTL category (which was called Interactive & Cross Media but was quickly rebranded ”Transmedia”, much to the surprise of the people pitching). Four pretty good efforts – one location-and-app-based national treasure hunt, one build-communities-with-music-and-extreme-sports-and-compete-between-communities, one make-your-online-profile-your-lottery-ticket-in-an-online-game-show and one convince-audience-to-part-with-their-money-and-give-to-you-for-your-cause. Not bad ideas at all, will be interesting to see who wins – revealed tomorrow, Wednesday, night.
Fresh?
The Fresh TV Around The World showcase was actually not all that fresh, IMHO, as much of the stuff on display was things looking a lot like stuff we’ve seen before. Here’s the list of the shows shown, from my Twitter feed:
1. Trasformat (Italy) - decode disfigured pics of celebs
2. Honey Pack the bags (Banijay)
3. The Shuffle (Shine) – sort stuff in right order, get clues by performing challenges
4. The Call (Zodiak) – based on prank calls, must prank call friends to win
5. The Recruits (Talpa) Find recruites to finish challenges to go on and win
6. You Deserve It (SevenOne) - main contestant gives money to someone who deserves it (mother etc)
7. Holding out for a hero (ITV) - three contestants play for prize to make someone else's dream come true
8. Still Standing (Armoza) - 1 against 10, and a bit of Million Pound Drop as well
9. The Magicians (Shine) Three magicians in pairs w/celebs compete
10. Impossible (2waytraffic) - 1 couple against 1 magician; is the trick impossible or not?
11. Lady Burlesque (Veralia) - talent show, next burlesque star
12. Dance Cam Slam (MTV) - compete in dance contest via web cams
13. Ano 0 (Canal 13/Chile) - apocalyptic game show, 22 ppl have survived devastating flood
14. Family Explorer (Zodiak) - 5 families out in the wilderness, competing for cash prize
15. Flashback (Warner Bros) - physical game show + memory skills
16. The Village (All3) - couples must charm villagers to win a home in the village
17. A Farmers Life for Me (BBC) - 9 couples compete to get a farm for a year, through farming challenges
18. Love Triangle (Eyeworks) - contestant must chose between two lovers
19. Man Up The House (Eyeworks) - man & friends get to renovate the home, w/o wife getting in the way
20. How to live with women (DRG) - Men go to bootcamp to learn how to live w/ women
21. Service w/ a Smile (Shine) - mentally disabled persons working in a hotel, fulfilling their dream of a real job
22. Beauty and the Beast:Prejudice (Zodiak) where "beauty junkie" lives together w/ disfigured person #miptv
23. It Gets Better (Shine) - 8 celebs who've been victims help other victims
24. Sun, Sex and Supsicious Parents (Zodiak) - parents peeping in on kids doing naughty stuff
25. Meet The Parents (All3) - boyfriends must impress potential in-laws, only thing is, they are actors + hidden camera
I had unfortunately missed out on all the fun that happened in the Experience Hub tent outside the Palais, but went there for a quick look; lo and behold, I saw a fairly interesting product, showcased by Metaio from Germany – a slick app-based participate-in-television-through-AR-tv solution that I think I need to examine a bit closer; might be good to integrate in some format in the future.
Finally a quick CONGRATULATIONS to the Emmy winners of yesterday, nice party and SO nice to see Shankaboot from Lebanon pick up an Emmy. Well done!
Second day starting now, with meetings, meetings, and then the kick-off of the Connected Creativity – will be back with that later.
Showing posts with label television industry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label television industry. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
Monday, February 07, 2011
Moving with the times
I come from a background of traditional media; newspapers, radio and television. I still feel that especially television can play an important part in a project, since it is a tried and tested way to reach people, a way that many are familiar with and can accept fairly easily (and no, I’m not talking about television as being watched on a television set, but the notion of a television show, no matter where and how you view it. The 30 minute slot, the feeling of a sitcom, the soothing tone of a well-spoken voice over, all the things that we accept as natural parts of a television show). So, naturally, I keep track of what happens in my old – but still very current – areas of the media landscape.
This year, we are witnessing the beginning of a small upheaval that just might turn into a bigger one. Over at Hulu, CEO Jason Kilar wrote passionately about the new ways of consuming television and his firm belief that the traditional television companies would have to move with the times and rethink as more and more people are abandoning traditional television. Ty Braswell wrote an excellent piece over at Venture Beat about 2011 being the make-or-break year for television. A quote from the end of his post:
Granted, that was written to a large extent from a financial and distribution angle. I do believe, however, that this will be a positive thing for transmedia storytelling. As is discussed and hoped for in the posts mentioned above, we are looking – perhaps forced to look, but still – at a significant change in the way people consume television, a change that will be for the better and in a more coherent way will touch on the viewers' way of living and consuming. This space is not yet occupied, and in my eyes it does have a decidedly transmedia-ish shape.
Using transmedia storytelling as a way to re-invent television makes absolute sense to me. That is the best and - I was going to say "easiest", but that's probably not the right word - most accommodating way to utilize the fact that many a loyal and engaged member of any show's audience has already torrented it from any number of sources weeks before it hits their territory via traditional television, and are viewing it on their laptops. In such a case, perhaps clear call to actions in the content of just that show means that "delving deeper into the story" is just seconds away. Remember, these are people who have not just switched on the television set and are watching your show because they have nothing else to do. These are active and engaged people, who have taken the effort to download YOUR show rather than anyone else's, because they like it. Don't throw that away!
I firmly believe that television as we know it will not exist for that long. Yes, there will be television sets, although the way t use them will evolve. Yes, there will be television shows, although their function might evolve as well - from being the end product to being the lunch vehicle to engage an audience into your story world. And as the term "I'm watching television" moves to whole new contextual levels, so must the content and the stories we want people to listen to.
This year, we are witnessing the beginning of a small upheaval that just might turn into a bigger one. Over at Hulu, CEO Jason Kilar wrote passionately about the new ways of consuming television and his firm belief that the traditional television companies would have to move with the times and rethink as more and more people are abandoning traditional television. Ty Braswell wrote an excellent piece over at Venture Beat about 2011 being the make-or-break year for television. A quote from the end of his post:
2011 will be the most significant year in the history of television. We are days away from the tipping point. Industry leaders who fail to organize with their competitors will see their business evaporate. Digital natives are already becoming comfortable and savvy getting TV and movie content illegally.
2011 will be a very good year for people in the business of television if they realize that television as we know it has gone away. For the start-ups and their investors, a tremendous opportunity has been created: Whoever teaches the television industry how to monetize content and make it easy to access will become the next big thing.
Granted, that was written to a large extent from a financial and distribution angle. I do believe, however, that this will be a positive thing for transmedia storytelling. As is discussed and hoped for in the posts mentioned above, we are looking – perhaps forced to look, but still – at a significant change in the way people consume television, a change that will be for the better and in a more coherent way will touch on the viewers' way of living and consuming. This space is not yet occupied, and in my eyes it does have a decidedly transmedia-ish shape.
Using transmedia storytelling as a way to re-invent television makes absolute sense to me. That is the best and - I was going to say "easiest", but that's probably not the right word - most accommodating way to utilize the fact that many a loyal and engaged member of any show's audience has already torrented it from any number of sources weeks before it hits their territory via traditional television, and are viewing it on their laptops. In such a case, perhaps clear call to actions in the content of just that show means that "delving deeper into the story" is just seconds away. Remember, these are people who have not just switched on the television set and are watching your show because they have nothing else to do. These are active and engaged people, who have taken the effort to download YOUR show rather than anyone else's, because they like it. Don't throw that away!
I firmly believe that television as we know it will not exist for that long. Yes, there will be television sets, although the way t use them will evolve. Yes, there will be television shows, although their function might evolve as well - from being the end product to being the lunch vehicle to engage an audience into your story world. And as the term "I'm watching television" moves to whole new contextual levels, so must the content and the stories we want people to listen to.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
What to do this year...
Well, in a strictly professional way of looking at things, there are quite a few interesting conferences and meetings one could attend. If funds would be available, and time as well, that is... :)
A cornerstone in the television industry year is NATPE, the National Association of Television Program Executives, and the biggest industry meeting in the US of the year. This year held at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas on the 15th-18th of January, they will - apart from the usual buying and selling - devote the whole of the first day to mobile television. Could be fairly interesting, with subjects ranging from "lessons learned from the IPTV roll-out" to "Alternative Reality: Does Primetime Still Matter?"
Keeping up the steam nicely is the Mobile TV World Congress, to be held in France on the 23-26.1.2007, concentrating on one of the most hyped things around at the moment - mobile television.
The IPTV World Forum, to be held in London on the 5-7.3.2007 is also mighty interesting. The three days are themed differently - day one is "Making a business of IPTV", day two is "Competitive Services" and day three "Threats and Opportunities". Could be well worth to check it out, seeing that many of the leading figures and companies in the industry will attend.
And then, of course, we have the one to dwarf them all - MIPTV featuring MILIA, this year to be held fairly late in April, on the 16-20.4.2007. With close to 13.000 people attending and business reaching multi-billion dollar levels, this will be quite a good place to be.
That's what the spring looks like - so pack your bags and let's go! ;)
* * *
One more thing - the melding and meshing of media has never been this intense. The latest news report that the Sundance TV Channel will open up a screening room for its offerings in Second Life - an online MMORPG. Pretty neat, and also just another step towards the future, where media itself becomes less and less important (no more "am I hearing this on an mp3-player, on my phone, on the net, or where?" or "hmm wonder if my DVD-player supports .wmv-files?") and the content is what matters.
Bring it on, I say. I, for one, cannot wait.
A cornerstone in the television industry year is NATPE, the National Association of Television Program Executives, and the biggest industry meeting in the US of the year. This year held at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas on the 15th-18th of January, they will - apart from the usual buying and selling - devote the whole of the first day to mobile television. Could be fairly interesting, with subjects ranging from "lessons learned from the IPTV roll-out" to "Alternative Reality: Does Primetime Still Matter?"
Keeping up the steam nicely is the Mobile TV World Congress, to be held in France on the 23-26.1.2007, concentrating on one of the most hyped things around at the moment - mobile television.
The IPTV World Forum, to be held in London on the 5-7.3.2007 is also mighty interesting. The three days are themed differently - day one is "Making a business of IPTV", day two is "Competitive Services" and day three "Threats and Opportunities". Could be well worth to check it out, seeing that many of the leading figures and companies in the industry will attend.
And then, of course, we have the one to dwarf them all - MIPTV featuring MILIA, this year to be held fairly late in April, on the 16-20.4.2007. With close to 13.000 people attending and business reaching multi-billion dollar levels, this will be quite a good place to be.
That's what the spring looks like - so pack your bags and let's go! ;)
* * *
One more thing - the melding and meshing of media has never been this intense. The latest news report that the Sundance TV Channel will open up a screening room for its offerings in Second Life - an online MMORPG. Pretty neat, and also just another step towards the future, where media itself becomes less and less important (no more "am I hearing this on an mp3-player, on my phone, on the net, or where?" or "hmm wonder if my DVD-player supports .wmv-files?") and the content is what matters.
Bring it on, I say. I, for one, cannot wait.
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