Getting into multimedia for

film and television producers

Everywhere you turn today people are talking about the information highway and interactive multimedia. But how does this relate to those of us in the Canadian film and television industry? To answer this question, I spoke to the film and television producers and broadcasters who are pioneers in this digital arena.

City-tv and u.s. distributor Unapix Entertainment recently formed a joint venture to develop multimedia software from the vast library of City programming. After turning down numerous requests for its footage from multimedia producers, City decided to chart its own course. ‘It could take longer than any of us think,’ notes Jay Switzer, vice-president programming, CHUM Group Television, ‘but over time we want to exploit in as many ways as possible the terrific shows and stories that we’re doing.’

New products, services

tvontario has defined its trek on the electronic roadway as a means of offering new products and services that extend the use and audiences for its broadcast materials. For some time now, tvo has been doing research and development in designing and testing interactive education products. There are still many issues to be resolved, says Bill Roberts, tvo’s director and senior advisor, international relations, ‘but we will become multimedia producers.’

Independent filmmaker Ron Mann never planned to become an innovator in the multimedia field. All the same, when his home video distributor, The Voyager Company, began cd-rom publishing, it chose his documentary Poetry in Motion – which fit the format perfectly. He says the decision to get involved depends on who the ‘producers’ are and how they see this new medium. ‘I see content-driven programs for entertainment and education.’

‘Just playing’

Radical Sheep Productions is a Toronto company that specializes in creating puppet productions for film and television. In 1989, Radical Sheep created the successful multimedia storybook Ali Baa Baa & The Forty Winks. ‘We weren’t really approaching it with any sense of market savvy,’ admits Radical Sheep president Robert Mills, ‘we were just playing.’ But soon the advantages became clear. ‘Creatively, it’s wide open, and there’s less aggravation in doing this stuff than there is dealing with tv.’

Mann sees low production costs as an advantage. ‘It cost me only $300 to shoot a scene on Hi-8… as opposed to film which would normally have cost $30,000.’

While it’s possible to spend as much as $2 million on a single title, most productions are considerably less. Radical Sheep’s current cd-rom project is about 25% of the cost of a conventional 13-episode television series.

One of the best ways to avoid financial risk is to form a joint venture with a complementary company that can share costs, handle the technical end, or help your material (or ‘content’) gain international exposure, which is exactly the route both City and Radical Sheep have taken.

In City’s case, Unapix is acting as a kind of multimedia broker. Radical Sheep’s partner, New York-based Bam! Software, is also handling what would be considered the multimedia post-production.

tvo has made some tentative alliances, notably with Radio-Quebec, but its main course of action has been to establish what Roberts calls a ‘creatively ad hoc’ multimedia research group that reports directly to the ceo.

When it comes to the actual production of multimedia, you really don’t have to be a technical expert. Preproduction and planning are more important, but the actual shooting process is scaled down because most of your effort and cost is going to be in post-production. ‘It gets a bit arcane for producers who don’t understand computers,’ says Mills, ‘but if you talk in terms of mood, timing, and pacing, then you can lean over anyone’s shoulder and insist they deliver that to you.’

But how do finished titles get to the market? Mills urges producers to affiliate themselves with a publisher. Currently, the cd-rom market is following the model of the home video market. A bestseller for cd-rom is 100,000 units and retail prices range from $30 to $80, but are expected to drop.

City doesn’t expect to break even for at least four years, but according to Switzer, ‘there’s tremendous potential.’ Mills is equally optimistic: ‘I think the return is faster, because you’re dealing with sales directly to the marketplace.’ After the wholesalers, rack jobbers, and distributors take their cut, the producer(s) can expect to split 20% to 25%.

High profile

There are also other benefits to producing multimedia. ‘I picked up a magazine in England,’ says Mann, ‘and it mentioned Poetry in Motion. So people around the world know about my work through the cd-rom titles.’

If you’re considering venturing into multimedia, keep in mind that the cd-rom market is maturing rapidly. You still need to produce a unique product that will stand out from the competition, and even the most modest project takes a great deal of time, effort, and money.

If you’re lucky enough to be sitting on a library of material that you have all the rights for, align yourself with a multimedia production company and go hunting for distributors.

Think about other uses for the material from your current and coming linear productions. This applies especially to documentary producers, whose raw footage is potentially valuable as multimedia content. Does your project’s subject matter lend itself to an interactive medium? Perhaps the ‘film’ you’re working on right now should be a cd-rom instead!

You’ll also want to include a multimedia use clause in all of your new contracts.

‘There is a desperate need for content,’ says Mills. ‘It doesn’t mean as a producer you’re going to starve if you don’t get into multimedia, but it does mean there’s another avenue for you to play in.’

But the on-ramp to the ‘infobahn’ does have potholes. Because of all the hype and confusion, consumers and producers have unrealistic expectations. Explore your options but don’t rush in. You’re also advised not to fall into the trap of buying hardware. ‘If producers try to do things on the cheap, or spend too much money in all the wrong places,’ cautions Mills, ‘they’re going to screw themselves.’

To City’s Switzer, it all comes down to maintaining focus: ‘We’re in the storytelling business.’

bill sweetman is an on-air promotions producer at ytv and a multimedia consultant through his own Toronto company, Electric Eye Productions. This column is not intended as advice on a particular situation.