Canadian content entered a new era with the recent launch of the Canada Media Fund (CMF). Our traditional views of content must change and we must embrace a world of multi-channel distribution, cross-platform production and transmedia storytelling.
I'm Alan Sawyer, a consultant specializing in the changing world of television in Canada, and Ihelp producers and broadcasters find appropriate interactive partners for their CMF and/or Bell Fund projects and collaborate to deliver high-quality results that meet audience expectations and funding requirements.
While not all television projects are affected, for many, the world has changed. Traditional broadcast, by itself, is no longer enough. Video On Demand (VOD), online streaming and basic "brochure-ware" companion websites are options – but these won't be funded by the CMF and won't help broadcasters meet their performance envelope expenditure requirements. Increasingly, we can expect that broadcasters will mainly be interested in pitches that already include the requisite interactive elements that will help them meet their obligations under the CMF's Performance Envelope Program.
We are entering an era of convergent projects under the CMF and for most television producers this is a foreign world.
The digital media component can't be an afterthought – it must be part of the DNA of each project, considered and incorporated in a project's nascent days.
This forces producers to reconsider how they create content – and, for most, with whom they will create their interactive content, as most producers lack the in-house skills to create convergent projects that will meet the CMF's requirements.
No two projects are alike, and there's no one-size-fits-all approach to convergent projects. Cookie cutter solutions lack the innovation that the CMF and the Bell Fund seek to fund.
I help producers (and, sometimes, broadcasters) to find the right interactive company for their project. I only work with interactive companies that have proven track records and that I've personally vetted.
On the TV side, I only work with projects I've vetted to ensure that expectations, creative vision, timeline, broadcaster commitment (if applicable) and budget are realistic.
By only bringing together appropriately matched prospective partners I maximize the value of that one commodity that's in short supply for everyone – time.
This isn't just a match-making service that sets people up on a blind date and then disappears. I'll be there for the meet-and-greet session(s), the pitch(es), and, if all goes well, for the negotiations. Beyond that, my involvement will continue for the life of the project, monitoring progress and quality, and, if needed, helping to resolve differences fairly and equitably.
Why me? Well, I've spent years in the digital content space, and:
I speak "TV" and "tech", bridging the gap that often occurs when the disparate worlds of traditional media and digital media come together
I've been a Bell Fund evaluator since 2007 and have also helped develop successful Bell Fund projects. This gives me good insight into the "state of the art" when it comes to innovative, high-quality cross-media / trans-media projects
I'm also an evaluator for the Independent Production Fund's new Wed Drama Series Pilot Program
I know most of the top innovators in the interactive media space (and if I don't know them personally, I know their work)
I've successfully done this kind of "match-marking" before (please refer to this reference [PDF document])
My expertise in this is recognized: I was hired to advise the CMF Board of Directors, in a private session, about the characteristics and qualities of both good and bad convergent projects and emerging trends in convergent programming and audience behaviour
