Industry leaders joined nominees for Asian Television Awards 2012 at Singapore’s Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel in the morning to talk about their craft for the second ATA Showcase, while both aspiring and experienced production teams put their best ideas forward to the heads of programming and commissioning editors in the afternoon’s Superpitch 2012.
ATA Showcase
Speakers in the Technical & Creative Showcase explored how the technical aspects of storytelling, from cinematography to graphics and visual effects, can contribute and not distract the audience from the show. A scene deliberately shot askew for example, can serve as a tool to convey an out-of-whack, slightly distorted view of society as seen in a clip presented by Southern Star Entertainment Executive Producer Noel Price.
Jean Yeo, Creative Director of Ochre Pictures, pointed out that with tight TV budgets it can be hard to get more bang for a buck. Fortunately, this also leads to ingenuity and adaptability in production and post-production. Most Wanted Pictures’ Director of Photography Brad Dillon showed how tight shots with a shoulder-mount camera and some creative editing can make an fake crocodile attack look real; The Group Entertainment’s Co-Founder and Head of Creative, Cheek, showed how skilful use of graphics and long-continuous shots can make up for a limited post-production budget.
Adaptability was also a key message in the Documentary Showcase. One of the toughest genres where scripts are sometimes rewritten during the shoot and the shoot can still result in an entirely different story, speakers spoke frankly about ‘unfavourable conditions’. Tenacity and discipline coupled with adaptability are crucial traits for documentary filmmakers, the speakers stressed. Producers and directors talked about the long, arduous process in making a documentary – from physical, cultural and political restrictions, to natural disasters and current events that sometimes limit access to the story and can even change the story itself.
Forties, Inc.’s director Masaki Azuma initially set out to produce a documentary about an 80-year old Japanese man and his beloved dog in the Tohoku region. Midway through shooting, the tsunami hits Japan, and shortly thereafter the Fukushima Prefecture in Tohoku becomes the focal point of a nuclear disaster. Azuma refocused his story on the aftermath of the tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown, told from the point of view of the old man and his dog.
In the Children/Preschool Showcase, speakers shared what the young audience wants. Content remains king across all demographics, and a strong storytelling leads to an emotional connection with young audiences. Jacqueline Chan, General Manager of Southern Star Singapore, emphasised that children respond particularly well to conflict and humour in the storyline. Throw these two elements into the crucial first five minutes of the show and you’ll most likely have their attention. Speakers also recommended shorter episodes – no more than 15 minutes each for children, and five-minute shorts for preschoolers.
Today’s tech-savvy kids also provide broadcasters with a wider platform for reaching their audience. Short episodes and interstitials work well for productions targeting the very young demographic through online platforms such as Hulu, Netflix and iTunes. Kids these days, the speakers pointed out, know where to find the rest of a show they have seen through various online platforms.
In the Convergence Showcase the spotlight was on merging social media with videos streaming. Razmig Hovaghimian, CEO and Co-founder of Viki, shared how the content aggregator site allows interactivity by allowing not just comments from audiences, but gives users a chance to contribute to original content already on the site. Through ‘fan subbing’, the online community subtitles and edits subtitling for Viki’s online content.
Formats Showcase discussed what gives a format the ability to travel beyond its regional or territory-specific audience. An entertainment format needs to be both engaging and refreshing; even a familiar pitch can be considered adaptable if it has unique elements not present in the ‘borrowed’ format.
Beyond traveling across geographic and cultural barriers, Patrick Schult, CEO of Media-Stable pointed out a successful format should break demographic barriers and have general appeal across various age groups.
SuperPitch 2012
Participants from more than 10 countries pitched their ideas to panels of decision makers comprising heads of programming and commissioning editors.
Best Documentary pitch went to Coastwatchers of The South Pacific by Execam Ltd, New Zealand. Coastwatchers of the South Pacific is the untold story of a secret intelligence network of volunteers who stationed in secret across the Pacific Islands to spy on Japanese troop movements during the Second World War. Best Formats pitch was given to Hot Guards by Fly Entertainment Pte Ltd, Singapore. Hot guards is a reality-competition series that will see babes and hunks duke it out in a series of lifeguard challenges at an exotic beach location in Asia. Best Children/Preschool pitch went to Naraka Adventure by Nada Anime, Taiwan; an animation series that tells of the adventures of three girls and a software engineer who are transported into a fantasy land found in an App the engineer was developing.
