The future of cross-platform financing and marketing of home-grown docs
My name is Jean-Pierre Gariépy, I am the executive director of l’Observatoire du documentaire.
The documentary filmmaker Magnus Isacsson talks about the Observatoire du documentaire in these words:
Five years ago, the Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal, took the initiative for the setting up of the Observatoire du documentaire. It is a coalition, a pressure group which brings together all the main forces producing, broadcasting and distributing documentary film. It brings to the table the professional organizations of producers, directors and technicians, the main television networks, public and private, producing documentaries, the National Film Board, distributors, and of course the Rencontres Internationales du documentaire de Montréal.
The board of directors of l’Observatoire du documentaire is very proud to be represented here this morning and would like to thank the National Film Board of Canada and Hot Docs for this opportunity.
On February the 21st, 2008, Konrad von Finckenstein, Chairman of the CRTC, said at the Prime Time conference of the CFTPA in Ottawa:
As you know, the Commission is presently undertaking a major study of New Media, which we expect to publish in May. We also expect to hold hearings in the fall or winter. I expect that by this time next year, this topic will dominate our discussions.
The Canadian Television Fund is implementing a pilot project on financing for new media convergent projects as well as genuine linear projects.
All other federal agencies are also working on the taming of the Net. How will the industry, the documentary community, the creators, the distributors, the producers, the broadcasters, be able to use this powerful tool with the support of the Canadian population, through the government?
How is the Canadian government going to regulate the flow of money from, and to, cross-platform projects, for the benefit of Canadian content? The board of directors of the Observatoire du documentaire thinks that the federal government has to maintain its tradition of protecting and developing Canadian cultural content. It is a fundamental choice of society. We, as Canadian citizens, choose to invest, develop and support democratically the future of multiple media platforms.
The documentary community of Canada is participating in the creation of those new rules, laws and financing. It is an indispensable Canadian cultural player.
One of the important tools of this participation is visibility.
In Montreal, in one of the best hot dog and fries restaurants, Frite Alors, they serve your dinner on this: An Up the Yangtze placemat. A film by Yung Chang, an Eye Steel Film — NFB Production. Of course, we can call this marketing. But it is also a fine example of cross-platform visibility for a Canadian doc.
Visibility is a powerful tool for the Canadian documentary community. And it is obvious that the Internet is a great medium to provide VISIBILITY to documentaries.
Peter S. Grant, in his article Canadian Cultural Product and the Long Tail: The New Economics of Production and Distribution in Canada, Part II, relates the experience of the U.K. 2005 Digital Screen Network. As you know, the Digital Screen Network (DSN) is a scheme run by the U.K. Film Council to increase the number of specialized, non-mainstream films seen in the U.K. He reports:
To bring the spectator to those screenings, the Film Council fully financed a new web site called Myfilms.
This is where visibility comes in. A website fully dedicated to moviegoers, to extend the communication between them and between the industries. It is not a distribution website. It is a peer-to-peer (P2P) networking and visibility forum for moviegoers.
Here in Canada, another kind of visibility would be Ipextv.com, an online exchange / marketplace system for copyrighted video content in all genres. A business-to-business marketplace dedicated exclusively to buyers and sellers of cross-platform video programs. A Canadian-based company with headquarters in Montreal. When I checked the site on Tuesday, the 15th of April, Miss Tutli-Putli was promoted in the headlines, with a trailer and description.
New technology means new visibility.
In Canada, there are many experiments in cross-platform development able to sustain and validate the growing interest of the Canadian public for documentaries, all across the country.
On March 11th, 2008, in Montreal, Tom Perlmutter, government film commissioner and chairperson of the National Film Board of Canada, presented the NFB’s new strategic plan. It showed that the National Film Board is totally dedicated to extending its visibility on cross platforms, for the greater benefit of the Canadian population. The NFB complies fully with its mandate by offering access and visibility to every citizen of this country. Once again, the NFB is taking the lead to develop new distribution technologies to reach the Canadian people. Digiscreens, Forums on the Internet, outreach of cultural communities, Défi Multimédia-Brésil, and as a last example, the inaugural NFB-DOC Agora Ontario Convergence Lab.
As we see, Visibility is not only about making docs available on the Internet. It is much more. It is about re-uniting professionals and the public, re-uniting a community of documentary lovers and impassioned filmmakers.
Here in Toronto, DOCspace is the new Internet home of Canadian documentary. DOCspace is designed to help filmmakers and fans search out documentary films and the people who make them. The Documentary Organization of Canada / Documentaristes du Canada (DOC) is the driving force behind this project. The goal of DOCspace is to help raise awareness and improve access to and availability of Canadian documentary films.
There are a few things we know about the future of cross-platform Canadian documentary financing.
There won’t be one model. Gilbert Ouellette, president of RADAR Services Médias, says that other sectors of the audiovisual industry have a tendency to come together under an umbrella such as Doc Space or Myfilms. A place where the Canadian public can find all the information it needs on who, where and when, for the documentary lover.
François-Xavier Tremblay, on the other hand, acting director of the Independent Media Arts Alliance, says that the future of cross-platform Canadian documentary is a niche phenomenon. A large variety of possibilities for viewers to get access to their needs. And this means the reduction of the time between different releases: TV, DVD, and Internet. Cross-platform should favour cross-exposure. If I miss a doc on TV, I want to be able to see it as soon as possible on my laptop. Using all current visibilities, on all platforms, bringing in more viewers, and faster. It is technically possible for the public to access those docs whenever and wherever they want.
Jean Lanoix, author of the book Internet 2025, and a member of the Board of the Bell Fund (regulated by the CRTC), expects the Internet to transform and boost the documentary industry. He says we should not forget that the Internet is a New Media, and an Interactive Media. He expects a new breed of interactive documentaries to arise, more involving for the viewers.
Extremely interesting documentaries that will play an important role for the future of our democracies.
Jean Lanoix predicts this will happen in phases. The first phase has already started. You get a good documentary on the big screen, or on television… and you create an interactive experience related to the film on the Internet. The Internet becomes an extension of the film, and creates a life of its own. Good documentaries can create real communities in the real world, and encourage people to take action, to get involved.
There are presently 20 million dollars per year, already available from the Bell Fund, to finance these interactive documentaries. One out of three projects is accepted.
I asked Jean Lanoix the following question: “Who will produce these new interactive documentaries?” He said:
The same people you are talking to in Toronto are the people who will make it happen. They are the ones with the experience and the brain to do it. It’s not the end of documentaries as we know them, quite the contrary, it is a new beginning. And this is not the future, it is today. All you need to do is jump in and be creative.
As a conclusion, one other thing we know about the future of cross-platform Canadian documentary financing is that the Canadian documentary industry and community is gathering a lot of expertise in the domain. All of you here today have specific experience and lots of ideas.
L’Observatoire du documentaire would like to participate in the visibility of Canadian documentaries on multiple media platforms and in the research and development of strategies. We would like to be ready when the CRTC holds its hearings.
The CRTC is still showing responsibility toward Canadian new media, on the purchase of BCE Inc. broadcasting assets by Teachers. In accordance with its tangible benefits policy, the Commission, on March 27th, 2008, directed that $10.5 million be placed in a fund whose annual revenues will support new media initiatives.
But it won’t be easy. Some industry players — cable, telephone and satellite — are strongly against any financing or regulation by the CRTC.
The documentary community of Canada has to be ready and visible. Let’s never forget that sometime, next year, a new Canadian doc is going to change our lives. Let’s show it all around and on all platforms.
Thank You