What's Wrong with Transmedia Content? Where's the Funding?

What’s Wrong with Multi Platform Content?

GaryPHayes

© Gary Hayes CCO MUVEDesign & Founder StoryLabs
@garyphayes - gary@personalizemedia.com - storylabs.com.au - muvedesign.com
Tuesday, 9 August 11


Ten minutes, three questions

1 Who truly represents the interests of Multi-Platform
Production & Producers in Australia?

2 Where is the national training coordination for
Multi-Platform Content Production?

3 Are we really serious about Multi-Platform funding?



My perspective

BBC Senior Development Prod 8yrs
BBC Strategy & Training
iTV Producer & AFI Mentor USA 2yrs
LAMP@AFTRS Director 5 yrs
Course creator Multi Platform AFTRS/Metro Screen 2 yrs
Lecturer internationally in Transmedia Production
Run own Multi Platform company MUVEDesign
Founder & Director StoryLabs

a few weeks ago wrote ‘How to Write a Multi-Platform Production Bible for Screen Australia’



For the purposes of this talk

Transmedia = Multi Platform = Cross Media = 360
Media = All Media = Digital Media = New Media =
Cross Platform = Multi Media = Transmedia
StoryTelling etc:

What TV & Film people call ‘all that other stuff!” ;)



we are certainly
seeing a level
of device
convergence -
e.g: all media
viewed on
tablet/smart
phones...but



the real change
is the channels
of media
consumption
that have
completely...



DIVERGED!!



Sesame Workshop and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center



ofﬂine media sectors are suffering this fragmentation - music, books, dvd...BUT



TV viewing is up. Yay!
So says the TV industry -

but what is really happening!?



77% of Australian respondents (5800) said they
“juggled at least two forms of media at once”
of these
65 per cent said when using web and TV together
the internet had most of their attention
while
only 14 per cent saying the TV did
Nielsen

simple math
65% of 77% = 50.05%
or half of Oz TV viewers have their
attention on the internet not TV

We are now firmly
in the attention economy



Should16-24 media users be part of policy making?

52% of 16-24s media activity
is simultaneous

Compared to 22% of
people aged over 55
Ofcom UK



and what
happens when
ad supported
linear content
drops away? Ad
response down
20% in 1 year
across TV and
Online



1 Who truly represents the interests of Multi-Platform
Production in Australia?



1 Who truly represents the interests of all Multi-Platform
Production & Producers in Australia?



2 Where is the national training coordination for
Multi-Platform Content Production?



Where exactly are
these specialist
multi-platform
skills being
nurtured?



Where
exactly
are these
specialist
multi-
platform
skills
being
nurtured?



3 Are we really serious about Multi-Platform funding?



10 Reasons Multi Platform Content Support is Broken

1 Defining Multi-Platform – How can you fund that, which cannot be described?

2 Division – Dispersed funding means drop-in-the-ocean pots of money

3 Selection – Who should really select the projects that get funding?

4 Audiences vs Users- We can’t measure engagement so lets judge on numbers only?

5 Passion – Why are most funding bodies led by linear video evangelists?

6 Advisors – In the fast evolving multi-platform world, who do you get advice from?

7 Education and Training – The quality of project submissions depends on the quality of training.

8 Funding Levels – Even with the low level of support to MP projects, what is each project worth?

9 Keeping Up – Are funding bodies way behind the evolution that is happening?

10 Measurement – Is funding by not expecting a return (metric or monetary) setting up failure?

http://www.personalizemedia.com/10-reasons-public-multi-platform-funding-is-broken-ways-to-ﬁx-it/



1 Defining Multi-Platform – How can you fund that, which cannot be described?

A SOLUTION: Although new MP formats
are arriving quickly it is important there is a
simple agreed way of describing what
kind of project it is exactly. Although
putting it in a ‘labelled box’ may sound
premature in some circles, without this the
problems mentioned above will prevail. The
DRAFT list below is a very simple 3 way
matrix which can be used to get a sense of see
the project to help define level of funding for
a type of project, any specialist help required
before, during and after and a way to
manage numbers funding across certain
categories – eg: 25% mobile, 30% not for
profit, 10% experimental and so on. It is a
‘get the ball rolling’, debate list.




1 Defining
Multi-Platform
– How can you
fund that,
which cannot
be described?



2 - Division – Dispersed funding means drop-in-the-ocean pots of money

SOLUTION: There needs to be coordination
between agencies – national level glued to
regional and arts organisations working with
altruistic industry focused organisations. 3rd
party training and development units need to
be registered and funded properly over a
longer timeframe and the funding groups be
clear on their outcomes.




3 Selection – Who should really choose the projects that get funding?

A SOLUTION: There is no single solution but a
radical one funding agencies should start to
consider as part of the mix (especially as it is all
‘our’ money in the first place) is online crowd
sourced voting and/or event based pitching. This is
now a tried and tested way for groups of people to
decide on what project is likely to hit ‘its’ mark. As
long as the project itself is clear on its goals then a
simple overview of the project can be voted and
commented on. This would also stop some of the
rather ‘local’ conflict of interest activity that results
from a few experts from a few companies,
particularly in the fledgling industry.




4 Audiences vs Users- We can’t measure engagement so lets judge on numbers only?

A SOLUTION: The thing
that is left off are funding
bodies insisting on metrics –
‘any connected project must
specify its measurement and
monitoring of the service –
define what is regarded as
success or failure’.




5 Passion – Why are most funding bodies led by linear video evangelists?

A SOLUTION: Make sure inside the
funding bodies there are staff who were
once practitioners outside film and TV
and more than that actually are regular
‘travellers’ in multi-platform environments.
– these are people who actually live the
culture of some of the ‘continents‘.




6 Advisors – In the fast evolving multi-platform world, who do you get advice from?

A SOLUTION: Build an experts group
that independently represents multi-
platform to provide good best practise and
definitions to the funding bodies. This should
not be too industry focused or too academic
but reflect a broad interest. Existing industry
bodies are often rooted in here-and-now
digital and are poor innovators so there
needs to be pioneers and researchers in the
mix as well as informed members or crowd
sourced public community elements.




7 Education and Training – The quality of project submissions depends on the quality
of training.

A SOLUTION: Funding bodies globally do
two things. 1 – Have a list of recognised
training units who are clearly tasked with
outcomes relevant to the funding bodies
‘defined’ goals. 2 – Have a global directory
of independent specialised consultants and
fleet of foot companies who can provide
good pre and post event executive type roles
in the project. StoryLabs is one unit moving
forward with 2 at least.




8 Funding Levels – Even with the low level of support to MP projects, what is each
project worth?

A SOLUTION: A defined structure at the
outset of the submission process could
generate budgets from submissions that
make sense within the context of the main
elements of the build – iPhone apps vs web
2.0 websites vs locative games vs community
hubs etc:




9 Keeping Up – Are funding bodies way behind the actual changes that are happening?

A SOLUTION: Be willing to publish the
metrics (see 10) and use comprehensive
research methods to look inside and outside of
industry figures. Become more reliant on
solid independent research looking primarily
at audience usage vs pure sales/money or
time-spent reports. Use social media more in
garnering public interest, this goes way beyond
making a Facebook page but using a gamut of
Social tools to connect with the ‘investors’.




10 Measurement – Is funding by not expecting a return (metric or monetary) setting up
failure?

A SOLUTION: Key Performance Indicators
KPIs should be used as a major part of any
submission. The multi platform projects (and linear
ones to that extent) need to state how they
consider the project will succeed or fail. Did it
generate the $100k profit in the first year, did it
have 5mill impressions across the measurable
web, did it break even at the box office, how many
actually watched the range of costly web videos,
how many turned up for the 3D projection mapping
event? Monitoring projects post funding needs to
be resourced, if it can’t be measured it shouldn’t be
funded, period.




To Recap
Australia is falling seriously behind the rest of the world
in multi platform content production! It needs to:

1 Rally for an open multi-platform focused industry body
2 Revitalise & coordinate transmedia & multi-platform
training across the board

3 Reevaluate how multi-platform support is funded

Thank you!


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