The indie film and television sector is filled with creative people who, after making a couple of projects, look up to realize they are running a company and may or may not be equipped with business knowhow. The future of being successful in this industry, however, is for these producers to think like entrepreneurs and to keep an eye on the big picture of their corporate brand, customers and competition. Last week in Toronto I taught the marketing component of a business workshop put on by the Cultural Human Resources Council (CHRC) to help with this shift in mindset. It was an intense and inspiring three days made possible by master facilitator Sue Biely and while I taught I also learned. Here is a sampling of some of the best advice to help with the marketing of your Canadian independent production company. Continue reading “Big Picture Thinking: How to Market Your Independent Production Company” »

I am on the road for a couple of weeks, but had to report back on an interesting interlude I had in Vancouver this week. Last night I went to a What’s Going On Salon event. (Note: if you live in Vancouver and are in film and television you should be going to these talks to learn about a multitude of issues in the digital world that could help and inspire you.) Brent Friedman, transmedia writer and pioneer, was speaking about the nature of the media audience and how it is evolving. He has been a part of many conversations where Hollywood executives lament about how quickly technology and business models are changing, but feels there is an important part of the equation often being left out – the changing audience and how these changes affect the delivery of stories (and, I would also argue, marketing). Continue reading “An Interlude with Brent Friedman” »

The transmedia debate continues to rage across the planet. Is it simply a marketing gimmick? How will it be defined? How should it evolve? Who should drive the direction it takes? Is this even the right language to describe these experiences? . From what I have been learning, transmedia storytelling is simply a narrative that crosses two or more media and usually involves some kind of interaction or even co-creation with its audience. It is not the same storyline being reused over and over again in a book, movie and game, but when each media tells a unique story all set in the same world. It is a dynamic and rapidly developing form of storytelling that impacts marketing, every form of  media, and the way we will experience entertainment in the future. This issue of From Search to Screen will try to summarize some of the latest developments and transmedia hot spots across the world for inspiration and education. Continue reading “Say Cheese! A Global Transmedia Snapshot” »