Thoughts & Takeaways at Realscreen West
Hello everyone, I just returned from Realscreen West 2023. In case you didn’t get a chance to make it to Dana Point, I am sharing intel on trends that emerged from meetings, sessions, and of course discussions at the lobby bar.
First, this year’s Realscreen West was smaller and more intimate than January’s Realscreen in Austin. I found the smaller size a plus because it allowed for less rushed meetings and more meaningful conversations.
So what themes emerged? Of course, we all discussed the uncertainty everywhere in our industry. How long would the strike continue? Would there be a similar unscripted content “bump” to the one that happened during the last strike? The current insecurity of our industry is a given, BUT as in all other challenging times in the content industry, producers must find ways to innovate and adapt to stay relevant.
The biggest trend? Flexibility.
Flexibility in financing includes finding new ways to finance series such as codevelopments, coproductions, and branded content. Production companies who were once “rivals” are working together and collaborating in order to reduce budgets and limit exposure.
According to producers, the UK is miles ahead of the US in finding new ways to collaborate and work together. In order to stay on track, the US needs to adapt to this mindset to get more projects sold.
And this increased flexibility extends from financing to what now constitutes content. Does your TV series project start out as a podcast and then grow into a series? Does it start on YouTube? Ideation and creation can lead to other types of content besides straight to an on-air series.
According to Ryan Lauckner of Fulwell 73, companies need "to shift from a production company mentality to a global mentality.”
Eureka’s Eden Gaha says formats must be “nimble” and be able to scale up or down depending on budgets and preferences in individual territories. In his view, scaleable formats are now the only formats that make sense both globally and locally.
So, as a producer or content creator, dig into your relationships, and turn your process upside down. Look at the projects you have. Is there a new way to produce this that you hadn’t yet thought of? Are there new partners or brands you can work with?
Don’t discount trying new ways to collaborate that might seem a bit unorthodox at first but might be the path to see your content sell.