Audiovisual sector Archives - Aning Film

Introducing Dogma 23

matija — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 19:04:11 +0000

This article is also published on Medium: https://medium.com/@matijarma/introducing-dogma-23-c8e63803328e

In 1995, the world of cinema witnessed the birth of Dogma 95, a filmmaking movement started by Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg. This avant-garde manifesto aimed to define filmmaking by rejecting the use of then-revolutionary technologies in favor of cherishing the filmmaking craft of physically creating that which the celluloid can capture. Today, as the world of cinema continues to evolve, I introduce Dogma 23, a nod to the past with a vision firmly rooted in the future.

Dogma 23 will be a gallery of film, a traditional physical space where film projects will present themselves to their potential partners, financiers and audiences. Each exhibition will focus on a single film project in any phase of its life, be it in development looking for principal artists and (co)producers, in distribution and looking to develop the audience and market for a successful run or, most common probably, everything in between.

As a self-thought creative producer with almost fifteen years of professional experience, I’ve journeyed through the intricate labyrinth of the film industry, often at my own expense, striving to bring artists’ visions to life. Yet, the inception of Dogma 23 feels like a long-overdue step. The relentless financial instability and the dynamic nature of creative producers’ work often keeps one on their toes as we constantly scout potential projects which must match several conflicting factors, which themselves are not as easy as that may seem, to be distinguished from legit creative challenges. Simultaneously, artists are mostly left to their own devices to present themselves, their stories and the necessity of their vision, which is even more so inherently problematic. Dogma 23, in its essence, is a product of my life-long aspiration to solve for these predicaments by creating a public space with a 24/7 open door policy for storytellers, producers, investors and audiences who wish to intersect and match. I find my conclusion, that we have reached an era when such a thing is possible, to be a deeply rational one.

For some context around my thinking, let’s examine a moment that happened 4 years before Dogma 95 came to be, a moment chosen by Eleanor Coppola to close her debut film “Hearts of darkness” with these words from her husband:

To me, the great hope is that now these little 8mm video recorders and stuff have come out, people who normally wouldn’t make movies are going to be making them. And suddenly, one day, some little fat girl in Ohio is going to be the new Mozart and make a beautiful film with her father’s camera recorder. And for once, the so-called professionalism about movies will be destroyed, forever, and it will really become an art form. That’s my opinion.

When examining history in such light, one might focus on the fascinating passion for cinema and artists exhibited by forward-thinkers Coppola or Vinterberg, or perhaps on the most impressive courage of movements like American Zoetrope and Dogma 95, or maybe on the numerous contradictions shared and in conflict among them. However, what captures my attention the most is the most astounding amount of optimism and positive outlook for the future and which actually came to pass at that. These days I’m also writing an essay about the end of Motovun film festival and in the story of its inception, I’m explaining how it was poised for success since the beginning for many reasons, one being the global optimism of the nineties that appears as unparalleled by memory of any living person. In anticipation of the new millennia, with many global geopolitical questions coming to an (abrupt) end, and technology relatively well keeping up with what art and science had foreseen throughout the century, the nineties are indeed regarded by many as a unique, optimistic decade. With a similar mix of fascination, fear and past experiences as artists have today, artists of the nineties had a strong urge to, both at the same time, adopt and protect themselves from new technologies which were changing the world in real time before their eyes.

Mix that state of mind with the artistic courage (and dont-give-a-fuck-for-status-quo stance) of aforementioned people in film history, and you get that incredible wave of creativity that we could see in the late nineties, and that we can see today. History has shown us what such creativity is able to produce — from world-changing art pieces like “Catcher in the rhye” or “The Truman show”, to social movements like that of Dr. King or the LGBT movement in the 2000s, to achievements in science such as the transistor or e-mail. My question is, which examples will I be able to add to that list in 30 years when talking about twenties and thirties of the 21st century.

I hope to find that answer within Dogma 23.

Born in ’86. I myself happened to be at the exact turnover point, growing up with both the Xs and the Zs in parallel, starting my professional journey by staking out three different film stock companies in Zagreb in a true “beg, borrow & steal” fashion and today being on the forefront of GPT and smart contract technologies. I witnessed and experienced first-hand as the audience, as an artist and as a producer, not to mention an early adopter, the “old world” and the new, and in all honesty not only that I would never, but I see zero reason to choose between one and the other.

Some observers have had enough of the “digital revolution” already after 10 or 12 years of it, and felt safe to proclaim new technologies either don’t change the landscape at all — or that they change it entirely. On the other hand, millions and even billions of eloquent internet users always knew that a post-bubble phase is one that’ll show how the changed landscape will truly look like (because we’ve witnessed the same cycle too many times already). Come 2023 and Tom Cruise “saved Hollywod’s ass”, a 3-hour 70mm-shot drama is in serious box-office competition with a pre-determined billion-dollar machine that is “Barbie”, and YouTube channels with millions of subscribers and true-8K workflows, of which most filmmakers can only dream of, are yesterday news. Should the first question be if Nolan would have made the first IMAX feature film ever without the 8K/120FPS podcasts in effect, or should it be how did it take almost 30 years for Trier’s and Vinterberg’s manifesto to actually come to life in full scale? Who was right, who was wrong?

If I may say so bluntly — I don’t really care. The flow of history and evolution I myself witnessed is for me proof enough that no true artist exists, if their audience doesn’t either, and vice versa. You may call it the Schrodinger effect or just magic, I myself prefer to call it “love and math”, the essence of all existence and the only truths living beings could ever call the beginning or the end of anything. Art is what motivates science and science is that which propels art to reach different people at different places, both literally and metaphorically. These questions become quite a bit more awkward when you start playing the what-if game: Would Kurosawa if born in the nineties be working in the film industry today, or as a “digital creator”? Would John Cassavetes? How about Dante? What would be the format of choice for Socrates?

In one of the director’s roundtables by Variety, a classic question comes up — “Who do you make your films for?”. Ridley and a few others quickly jump the gun to state they always just make it for themselves, but then the amazing visionary that is Iñárritu gently proposes a hypothetical — what if we were the last person on Earth? The answer being fairly obvious, he answers it himself — “I probably wouldn’t be making movies just for myself.”. I personally strongly believe in that kind of humbleness and wide-angle perspective of the universe.

Indeed, certain paradigms went (to) far in polarizing creative industries, much due to a traditional lack of global hegemony. As if we (the global art industry and community) hadn’t had it hard enough, the film vs. digital and similar debates were exactly what the doctor ordered? The funniest thing about it is that from Trier to Spielberg, from Carax to Fincher and from Nolan or Tarantino to Soderbergh, you could always hear the same — these are tools that are at our disposal to make movies. Few had the time to stop and listen to this wisdom that was repeated over and over again for the last 12 years or so, since the digital workflow replaced that of the celluloid, and today we embarked on the next chapter, into an arm-wrestle with the sophisticated technologies of large languages, which despite repeated pleads by the leading experts in all relevant fields that it’s as far from any kind of “AI” as it could be, is proposed as a threat, rather than a magnificent empowering tool. Similarly, Just like sound or color in cinema and digital distribution were, smart contracts are as much pushed as they are not understood.

I myself will certainly never forget the pitches I was giving around Zagreb in 2008, about 2 years before Kickstarter came to be and at least 4 before “the Netflix boom” — I wanted to shoot 365 extra short films and distribute them daily over a year trough a mobile app for a subscription of 36.5 euros, 10 cents a film. Despite good reception, the problem was always “obvious”: Who would pay to watch videos on their phone?

We don’t have to keep repeating the same mistakes. Adopting the contemporary does not imply renouncing the traditional.

Some bubbles burst and some change shape and size. The bubble of cinema has never really shown signs of bursting, and with the latest technological advancements its allure only contrasts even clearer. Technologies like GPT are underlining the importance of organic creativity and the unique fingerprint of an artist, while principles of decentralization and transparency empower individuals to exchange information and money in a safe and affordable way. Together, these technologies allow for true democratization of art industries, which in turn allows anyone who really wants to tell stories, to reach their audience however niche, or wide for that matter, that audience is.

Today, we can create freely, we can reach our audiences unobtrusively and we have the tools to connect the two into an artwork worth experiencing and preserving (which coincidentally makes it also a viable commercial product — ta-da!). If we consider altruism as the base responsibility of every human being, we are then even more so motivated to accept these opportunities, knowing that by doing so we will allow for even wider global empowerment of individuals to create art and share it with those in the world it is meant to touch.

Dogma 23 Manifesto

Cinema is an inherently altruistic art-form which empowers, enlightens and unifies people.
Without an audience, cinema does not exist.
Films must be conceived organically and crafted systematically.
Celluloid and theatre are cinema’s native mediums.
Producer and director can only be credited once. All crew must be credited alphabetically.
Prefer the infinite untold stories over franchises.
Equality and transparency are the foundation of every film production.
Cinema is an invention without a future.

Dogma 23 will be a physical gallery space in Zagreb, exhibiting film projects in all stages, helping them to develop their creative and financial backbone in context of the contemporary audience and distribution channels. I believe that such a deeply traditional, physical space, combined with the cutting edge art production and social paradigms, will be a hub for all those who wish to build their film projects and develop audiences, disregarding the status quo not as a protest or even a rule, but just as much as needed to have a practical method of producing the best possible version of their film using all tools at their disposal.

However, I believe Dogma 23 can be more than just a gallery space of film — I hope for it to be a movement into the next golden era of art and global enlightenment.

The post Introducing Dogma 23 appeared first on Aning Film.

European Media Industry Outlook Report

matija — Fri, 26 May 2023 21:07:12 +0000

Decoding the Future: Insights from the European Media Industry Outlook Report

Pioneering the future of media, the European Commission has recently published a comprehensive report on the European Media Industry Outlook. This report, a part of the Commission’s Media and Audiovisual Action Plan, provides an in-depth analysis of the current state and future trends of the media industry in Europe. Covering key sectors such as audiovisual, video games, and news media, it offers valuable insights into market trends, consumer preferences, and the challenges and opportunities that the digital shift presents. Dive into our detailed overview of this report and discover what the future holds for the European media industry.

In an era where digital transformation is reshaping industries, understanding the media landscape is crucial. The European Commission's report on the European Media Industry Outlook provides valuable insights into this evolving sector. This report, announced as part of the Commission’s Media and Audiovisual Action Plan in December 2020, delves into three key media sectors, offering a comprehensive overview of market trends, technology advancements, and emerging production and consumption patterns at the EU level.

The report is based on a variety of sources, including consumer surveys, questionnaires, structured stakeholders input, and secondary sources. It aims to shed light on the competitiveness of the EU industry and the opportunities and challenges it faces in the digital age. As the digital shift advances and audiences move online, the media industry is adapting to meet new skills needs, seize business opportunities, and remain relevant. This involves embracing new formats, user-centric strategies, and innovative technologies.

You can find the full report in PDF (3.5Mb) here: https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/dae/redirection/document/95881
Official article: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/european-media-industry-outlook

Understanding the European Media Industry Outlook

The European Media Industry Outlook report provides a comprehensive analysis of the media industry, focusing on three key sectors: audiovisual, video games, and news media. Each of these sectors is examined in detail, with a focus on market trends, consumer preferences, business models, financing, intellectual property, and monetization challenges.

Audiovisual Sector

The audiovisual sector is undergoing significant changes due to the digital shift. The report highlights that Video on Demand (VoD) is growing rapidly, while broadcasting remains resilient. However, the cinema sector is slow to recover, and physical video is vanishing. The report also reveals imbalances in the retention and ownership of intellectual property rights, particularly between European producers and broadcasters/streamers. Producers report a tendency to include in contracts the transfer of all intellectual property rights in European works in exchange for an upfront payment, a practice referred to as 'buyout practices'.

Video Games and Immersive Reality

The video games sector has emerged as one of the main media sectors, with revenues continuously growing, primarily driven by mobile games. The report also highlights that gaming technologies are increasingly being used in other industrial sectors. Games are becoming platforms to develop other activities, such as social interactions, concerts, and shopping, opening new grounds to exploit intellectual property rights. The use and deployment of new technologies call for new skills, for example in virtual production.

News Media Sector

The news media sector is facing a shift in media use as a result of the development of digital platforms, new devices, and new consumer preferences. This shift has exposed several news media segments to a problem of monetization online. Publishers expect the share of their revenues generated from the online use of their publications to increase, thanks to the licensing agreements concluded with tech platforms. Protecting the intellectual property assets of content creators, particularly against online piracy, is crucial to ensure the sustainability of the media industry.

The future competitiveness of the media industry will depend on its capacity to invest and innovate, manage and monetize their content and data. The early uptake of emerging technologies and innovative tools may appear as a solution to embrace automated processes and data analytics supporting original news content.

Findings related to the audiovisual sector

Chapter 1: The Digital Shift: Transforming the Audiovisual Sector

The audiovisual industry, encompassing cinema, television, and video-on-demand services, is a key economic sector and a vector of Europe’s diversity and cultural autonomy. This industry has been undergoing rapid and profound changes, directly influenced by the digital transition and the COVID-19 pandemic. The emergence of distribution channels such as Video on Demand (VoD) in the 2010s has significantly impacted consumption patterns and market dynamics. As a result, the way content is financed, distributed, and consumed has undergone a significant transformation over the past few years.

The Rise of Video on Demand (VoD)

The VoD sector has been growing at a rapid pace, driving the overall growth of the audiovisual sector. The VoD market has seen a 35% growth, while the overall audiovisual sector has grown by 3%. This growth is primarily due to the arrival of streaming platforms, which have led to an increase in production in the EU. The top three SVoD providers, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+, have reached 71% of the 177 million subscriptions in Europe.

Broadcasting Resilience

Despite the rapid growth of VoD, broadcasting remains resilient, accounting for 83.7% of revenues in the audiovisual sector. This resilience is partly due to sustained public support for public service broadcasting and independent film production. In 2020, the total public funding of Public Service Media (PSM) in the EU amounted to EUR 26.2 billion, representing 80% of their total revenues.

The Slow Recovery of Cinema

The cinema sector has been hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, with physical video (e.g., DVDs) vanishing. However, the sector is slowly recovering from the pandemic's impact. After a 5.5% dip from 2019 to 2020, revenues picked up by over 8% the following year, reaching EUR 91.4 billion in 2021.

TL'DR

The digital shift in the audiovisual sector has led to significant changes in the way content is financed, distributed, and consumed. The rise of VoD and the resilience of broadcasting have reshaped the sector, while the cinema sector is slowly recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the sector continues to adapt to these changes, it is expected to see further growth and transformation in the coming years.

Chapter 2: Intellectual Property Rights in the Audiovisual Sector: Challenges and Opportunities

Introduction

Intellectual property rights have become a strategic asset for media companies in the face of fierce international competition. The ability of the European media industry, including content creators, to retain, acquire, and exploit intellectual property rights is fundamental to increasing revenues, investing, and maintaining independence. However, the research reveals imbalances in the retention and ownership of intellectual property rights, particularly between European producers and broadcasters/streamers.

The Imbalance of Rights

The European audiovisual industry is characterized by a high number of small, independent audiovisual companies reflecting Europe’s cultural diversity. However, revenues are highly concentrated. The largest 100 AV companies have been growing twice as much as the overall audiovisual market, reaching 17% growth between 2015 and 2021. US companies accounted for 30% of revenues by the end of 2021, their share rising in recent years due to the SVoD.

Producers reported increasing business with streamers (for 74% of them) and expect the importance of exploitation of intellectual property linked to streaming to grow in the coming years. They shared that the most valuable type of intellectual property was primary exploitation on TV and streaming rights in national markets.

The Issue of Buyout Practices

The research provided evidence of full buy-out practices, where all intellectual property rights in European works are transferred in exchange for an upfront payment. This practice appears to be significant for relatively bigger producers with a larger volume of productions. Producers also indicated that broadcasters kept all the international property rights in 11-35% of contracts, and that streamers kept all the intellectual property on average in 38-62% of contracts. They also perceived an increasing tendency of the latter to demand full ownership, and that non-EU streamers and broadcasters would be significantly more likely to keep the intellectual property compared to EU players.

TL'DR

The intellectual property rights in the audiovisual sector present both challenges and opportunities. While the ability to retain, acquire, and exploit these rights is crucial for the growth and independence of the European media industry, the current imbalances and practices such as buyouts pose significant challenges. Addressing these issues will be key to ensuring the sustainability and competitiveness of the European audiovisual sector.

Chapter 3: The Future of the Audiovisual Sector: Innovation, Investment, and Monetization

Introduction

The future of the audiovisual sector is shaped by the rapid adoption and usage of new technologies, which are key to adapting and opening new markets. Growth in media has been driven by non-EU players, often global tech companies, which have established strategic positions in media markets. These companies are investing in virtual worlds and building on their research and innovation efforts. Media companies are looking to take advantage of recent and disruptive technological advances across the value chain - from AI to virtual productions and extended reality.

The Need for Investment and Innovation

The market is dynamic and converging in the context of the digital shift. European broadcasters, for example, have launched on-demand services, while streaming services increasingly offer new formats originally made for TV, and launch ad-supported services. Convergence also takes place between consumers and creators, with growing monetization of user-generated content in video games platforms. Linked to this, new skill needs are emerging based on a new combination of digital, tech, and creative skills. As a result, new market niches may emerge.

However, media companies in Europe continue to encounter difficulties to invest. Stagnating revenues and limited capacity to access private financing hamper EU media investments in content, technology, or skills. This impacts the ability to address the above trends and to compete with global players.

Monetizing Content and Data

Data remains a key resource in new distribution and business models. Due to their scale, large online players can collect and analyze great amounts of data on users. This allows them to optimize their business models, better monetize content, and invest in new markets. On the other hand, SMEs are unable to harness data the same way.

The Role of Emerging Technologies

Generative AI, in particular, appears as a technology that the industry is approaching as a tool to enhance their processes (e.g., creative ones). The early uptake of emerging technologies and innovative tools, today used by bigger companies, may appear as a solution to embrace automated processes and data analytics supporting original content also for smaller organizations.

TL;DR

The future competitiveness of the audiovisual sector will depend on its capacity to invest and innovate, as well as to manage and monetize their content and data. Yet, reductions in revenues, the number of companies, investment capacities, employment, and other factors imply that the sustainability of some parts of the sector might be at stake. As the sector navigates these challenges, it will be crucial to leverage emerging technologies and innovative strategies to ensure its continued growth and success.

Conclusion

The European Media Industry Outlook report provides a comprehensive analysis of the current state and future trends of the media industry in Europe. It highlights the rapid growth of the audiovisual and video games sectors, the shift in media use in the news media sector, and the challenges and opportunities these changes present.

The report underscores the importance of innovation, investment, and the effective management and monetization of content and data in ensuring the future competitiveness of the media industry. It also highlights the potential of emerging technologies and innovative tools in supporting original content creation and enhancing user engagement.

As the media industry continues to evolve, it is crucial for all stakeholders, including production companies, broadcasters, streamers, and policymakers, to stay informed about these trends and adapt their strategies accordingly. By doing so, they can seize the opportunities presented by the digital shift, meet the changing needs and preferences of consumers, and contribute to the growth and sustainability of the media industry in Europe.

The future of the media industry is undoubtedly exciting, with numerous opportunities for growth and innovation. As we navigate this dynamic landscape, let's continue to celebrate the diversity and creativity of European media and look forward to a future filled with compelling stories, immersive experiences, and groundbreaking innovations.

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