It was no shocker that when more than 1,100 nonfiction professionals congregated at the recent Realscreen Summit that they had varying visions about their business.

More than 110 speakers covered timely issues such as copyright, marketing and how to make factual formats work internationally at the ninth annual summit, held in Washington, DC at the end of January and produced by Brunico Marketing, a subsidiary of Brunico Communications, parent of realscreen magazine and Playback Daily.

Among the messages heard at the summit:

Slim the Crew

In the ‘New Production Techniques: The VJ Revolution’ workshop, Rosenblum Associates CEO Michael Rosenblum promoted the benefits of video journalists – people who shoot and edit their own materials. He warned that ‘kids with cameras and laptops’ willing to make half-hour cable shows with a US$10,000 budget are now the competition for producers. (Rosenblum’s own company produces Travel Channel’s 5 Takes Europe in virtually realtime, with the show’s VJs instantly editing on their laptops.) He recommends using Final Cut 5.0, P2 HD cameras with high-quality audio attachments, and scrapping the edit room, DOP and director.

Talking Tails

This year’s opening keynote panel tackled new media. The Long Tail concept, which acknowledges the innumerable niche markets that now exist where previously there were only a few, was mentioned repeatedly. Andrew Lippman, director of the Digital Life Program at MIT’s Media Lab, argued that producers shouldn’t keep creating content for niches — they should try to migrate up the tail to use new opportunities of distribution.

Miguel Monteverde, executive director for AOL Video Programming, didn’t fully agree, arguing that TV ratings prove viewers make choices that cater to their niche interests. (Which is why the most interesting 30 minutes of TV for him each week are the recap of his university sports teams’ games.) He dissuaded producers from trying to create programs to be hits, stressing the importance of niches.

It’s Not Me, It’s You

In the packed ‘Why They Rejected It’ panel, Robert Sharenow, A&E Television Networks’ VP of nonfiction and alternative programming, said the most common reason he turns down a pitch is characters that don’t pop. He’s also tired of producers offering him 15 ideas in the hopes that he’ll choose the most suitable one — he’d rather they bring one great idea specifically for his network.

Fellow panelist Charles Nordlander, VP of programming development at Food Network, gets annoyed when producers spend time pitching ancillary elements to a show. Those don’t matter if the show isn’t going to work in the first place, he said.

Still, Paul Levine, VP of entertainment strategy and development at National Geographic Ventures, at an earlier session urged attendees to think of multiplatform possibilities (like gaming and mobile) at the early stages of production. Producers should do the same — just don’t pitch them to Nordlander.