In company news, financing on
11 August 2011 tagged coproducing, financing, finnanimation, market intel with no comments
First off, apologies about the long hiatus of this blog. Some of you might have heard that I started as animation producer at Rovio Entertainment Ltd. (aka ‘the Angry Birds guys’) in the beginning of July. I’ve been swamped with my old consulting gigs and new assignments, so the blog had to take a back seat. This entry is also quite short but I hope to write more soon. Thank you for reading!
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Every now and then I get an email asking me about the Finnish animation sector. I thought I’d just share my most recent reply here for everyone to read. The question was about “getting an idea about how Finnish studios are doing, how’s the financial environment, how’s the role of government/agencies, how to collaborate with some Finnish studios.”
Here’s my answer:
The studios are doing well, the Finnish animation sector in general is growing at a good pace. Animation contributes 32% of the Finnish audiovisual exports (survey 2011 by FAVEX). A good list of studios and production companies can be found on the Finnanimation website.
The financial environment is that of a small European country. This means that there is a limited national audience (5 million inhabitants), forcing producers to seek out coproduction options. Like elsewhere in the Nordic countries, programmes are subtitled, not dubbed, which makes for easy intertanional transactions.
The Finnish Film Foundation supports short and feature films reasonably well, but takes a much more reserved role with TV projects (usually only helping to finance development and a trailer or pilot). The Centre for Audiovisual Arts (AVEK) supports small scale demo projects tailored to the new media / transmedia niche. TEKES, “The Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation” also supports some projects, especially with a more technological focus.
The film investment business in Finland is quite unevolved. However there have been some recent developments and one interesting player to look at is Mediatonic.
In order to start collaborations with a Finnish producer or studio you can just approach them via phone and email. Finns are very straight forward and down to earth, so it will be easy to get an answer to your proposal. There’s not much red-tape involved in coproductions, other than certain requirements from the Film Foundation or other funding body.
In financing, producing on
12 May 2011 tagged financing, how-to, sponsorship with 1 comment
This is the second part in a series of film financing blog posts. Like I wrote in the first part, I want to outline the more or less obvious sources outside of the traditional broadcaster/filmfund/distributor triangle, that a film or TV producer could tap into.
This week’s film financing source: Sponsorship
The idea: The sponsor gives you cash or in-kind products or services, in exchange for the right to display his brand in association with your project. The goal is for your film to give a positive image to the sponsor’s products, and for the sponsor’s message to reach a wider audience.
What’s in it for you: As with product placement it can be cash, depending on your audience profile and size. Often some kind of bartering is involved, where for example a media sponsor gives your production free advertising time in exchange for the benefits, or your production gets to borrow items or locations for free.
The catch: Similar to product placement, you need a defined audience that matches the sponsor’s goals and targets. Sponsoring is not as intrusive towards an audience, as the sponsor’s message is not embedded in the story itself.
How do you do it: There are lots of companies that specialise in building sponsorship relations between brands and sponsorable entities. But as they do a middleman’s job they will also charge a fee for their services. The other way is to pitch the same CMO’s and advertising agencies that you keep in regular contact with regarding your product placement opportunities.
Examples: Many television programmes are “brought to you by” a certain brand. Lot’s of films are also marketed “in co-operation with” a media company. These vary a lot from one territory to another, even for the exact same film.
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In financing on
2 May 2011 tagged financing, how-to, product placement with 1 comment
It has been said that a producer’s only job is to raise financing for his projects. When everyone competes for the same traditional sources (film fund, broadcaster & distributor), it makes sense to try and diversify your financing sources. In this series I want to outline the more or less obvious sources that a film or TV producer could tap into.
This week’s film financing source: Product placement
The idea: You prominently display a product, service or brand in your film or TV show in a way that is natural to the story and world of the film. The display can be visual, embedded in dialogue, or both.
What’s in it for you: At best cold hard cash, depending on your audience profile and size. At the least you can get the displayed items on loan for the duration of your shoot (compare with sponsoring).
The catch: You need a sizable audience (through secured distribution), you need to be able to profile it (see here regarding target audience thinking) and you need to make sure that the placed product fits well into your script so that it doesn’t irritate your audience.
How do you do it: Establish and sustain contacts with account managers at advertising agencies and CMO’s at large companies who represent relevant brands. Pitch projects to them regularly, but always make sure that you demonstrate what their client gets out of the deal.
Examples: Lucky Strike cigarettes in ‘Mad Men’, FedEx logos all over ‘Castaway’, the Dom Perignon in James Bond’s hand or all kinds of every day items in the supermarket scenes in any daily soap.
Tidbit: Many people dismiss the possibility for product placement in animated films. The number of product placements in animated family films has gone down in recent years, and there are good reasons for this. But the anarchistic ‘Terkel in Trouble‘ is a good example where the blatant advertising actually works for the premise of the film.
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In producing on
13 April 2011 tagged business, producing with no comments
When you develop an animation project you will be faced with lots of challenges. You might be tempted to quit at various stages. But how do you know when you should quit and dump the project?
Seth Godin has written a book called “The Dip” on knowing when to quit. He says that a free market rewards the extraordinary, the “best in the world” (or “best in your niche”). If you are number one in the market you reap 10 to 100 times the benefits than number two. This means that if you are only doing your best, and you can see that you will not succeed at being THE best, you should quit.
Godin’s idea translates very well into animation development. Every year the film markets at Berlin or Cannes are flooded with projects that try their best. But only a handful of them really shine as the best in their categories. Godin suggests that you ask yourself three questions when you consider quitting. They can be applied to animation development as well:
1. Are you panicking? If you quit when you are panicked, the results can be costly. You should aim to quit in the planning phase, and not when you’re in the midst of the problems. This means that you need to do your homework BEFORE you invest time and money in scripts, character visuals, bibles and trips to film markets.
2. Who or what are you trying to influence? If you are trying to influence a single person, you’ve got limits on what you can do. This is very often the case with film projects, and can mean that a few key people turning down your idea is enough for it to be scrapped.
3. Are you making measurable progress? Look for milestones that can be set in advance and measured. If you are not making headway in the time you’ve set for the project, or if you are indeed falling back, you should seriously consider killing the project.
When you reach the decision of killing a project, kill it fast. Do not spend any more resources on it. A rule of successful poker players is to never throw good money after bad.
But also remember: The way to success is paved with discarded projects. So don’t mourn the past but concentrate on making your next production the best in the world!
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In animation, producing on
7 April 2011 tagged business, market intel, producing with no comments
1.) The world wide animation business was estimated to be worth 158 billion USD in 2008 and is expected to reach 249 billion USD in 2012. This figure includes industrial simulations and b-2-b applications of animation (ca. 20% of the total), as well as gaming, video, television and film.
2.) The animation business is a quite small family, especially in Europe. There are only a few markets and events that are mandatory to attend. Though if you want to become a player you’d better show up at most of them, so the other attendees know that you are serious about your commitment.
3.) Animation crosses cultural boundaries like no other kind of audiovisual entertainment. Animated worlds and characters cite very little cultural references. They are created out of thin air and are easily relatable to audiences everywhere. Also, animation is always dubbed, which makes for less awkwardness in localized versions.
4.) A project needs a good reason to be animated. When I read a new script, the first question I ask is: “Is it justified that this is an animated project?” Animation is more labour intensive and expensive than live-action, so there better be very compelling reasons for a film to be produced with animation technology. Animation is not a gimmick or genre, it is a storytelling device.
5.) A project’s visuals are immensely important at all stages of development and financing. When you present a project to a potential financier or coproducer, your story will carry a lot of weight. But as animation is a very visual art form everyone will want to know about the look and feel of your particular project. The financing of your production will depend on a well executed look that suits your story and characters.
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In financing on
31 March 2011 tagged audiences, financing, how-to with 1 comment
The answer to this question is the most important decision that you will make when developing and financing an animated feature film, TV-series or any other project. Actually this applies to any other product in any other business as well. The question is:
“Who is our target audience?”
Why is this so important? Because if you are not aiming at a specified audience you will not reach anyone at all. And if your target is too wide you will choke on your goal. Only studios like Pixar have the deep pockets required to target ‘everyone’ and even their films have core and secondary audiences.
It is of course scary to choose a target. You have to cut out a part of your potential audience. Except that they never were your potential audience to begin with. No project can be equally appealing to everybody. If you are bowing to one part of the market, you are showing your back-side to another. You need to make decisions.
The target question will be asked of you over and over again during development and financing all the way to the marketing stages of the finished production. If your target is not clearly defined, or if it does not correspond with the project’s other features like its visuals, you will not be able to finance your production.
It’s that simple.
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In animation, company news, financing, producing on
22 March 2011 tagged coproducing, ebook, filmmaking, financing, how-to, producing with 2 comments
I have just finished work on my first ebook, called “Coproducing with Germany – how to plan a film project with German involvement”. You can download it for free here.
It is designed to help filmmakers in their quest to secure film financing for their productions. The ebook is filled with practical advice, expert interviews and current trends regarding coproducing in general and the German financing landscape in particular.
Go and download the ebook, read it and use it in your next production!
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In film making, producing on
15 March 2011 tagged festivals, filmmaking, how-to, shortfilm with no comments
After a productive and fun Tampere Film Festival last week I wanted to share my tips for having a great film festival experience.
1.) Find inspiration
Watching international competitions is a convenient way of catching up with what is going on in the business. New ideas cannot be avoided during an intensive screening marathon. Checking out retrospectives and other curated screenings is also important: If you don’t know the history of your art you might end up ‘inventing’ something that has already been done 50 years ago.
2.) Compete and discuss
Of course, if you have a film in competition you have an extra reason to attend and be excited about the screenings. To dissect your competitor’s films as well as your own can be rewarding and instructive. But even if you don’t compete, the multitude of different movies will spark rewarding debates about cinema and beyond.
3.) Network
Film festivals are a great place to meet many of your contacts, acquaintances and friends at once. But you should also take the opportunity to meet new people. A good networking rule is to set the goal to make a new connection at every event you attend. People are usually very approachable at festivals, and the most commonly used icebreakers are:
- “What do you do, are you a filmmaker?”
- “Do you have a film in competition?”
- “Is this your first time at [insert festival name]?”
- “Have you seen any interesting films?”
4.) Do business
Film festivals are excellent places to hold meetings and conduct other business. When many of your industry contacts are at the same event it makes sense to attend as well. Schedule the appointments in advance and you will have some very productive days while you advance your projects.
5.) Have fun
Last but definately not least, don’t forget to have fun. A film festival is a good break from your studio routine, peppered with inspiration and great people. Enjoy it to the fullest!
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In animation, producing on
8 March 2011 tagged audiences, distribution, market intel with no comments
Here’s a good article on Variety about how marketing concerns have started to play a bigger role in European productions. The attitudes are changing, even though European film remains a more ‘artistic’ affair than Hollywood or Bollywood productions.
The idea to use test screenings for animated projects is interesting, but tricky. With European budgets, there is usually not enough money to make any changes, even if test screening results would call for them. Another issue is the unreliability of market research. People are known to answer one thing in a questionnaire, even though they actually believe another.
Don’t disappoint your audience
However, test screenings to determine a finished project’s positioning can be a smart approach. Movies have to be marketed accurately, so that the expectations of the crowds match the actual film. Disappointed early audiences can easily kill a film through negative word of mouth.
Paul Young, CEO of Irish Cartoon Saloon recounts his experience with ‘Brendan and the Secret of Kells’ on Cineuropa:
“I think what happened in Ireland was that Disney didn’t know what the film was and we pitched it a little bit more like a Disney film. […] It’s very different from a commercial film like Kung-Fu Panda in the sense that it’s more traditional [and] for [a] younger children and family audience. I think pitching it more like a Disney commercial film might [have given] the wrong impression in Ireland.”
As always, there is a middle ground between rejecting test screenings as commercial humbug and completely re-editing a film on every whim of a focus group. I think European animation producers would be wise to finetune their projects’ marketing campaigns and make sure that expectations are set correctly. With the continuous changes in the film financing landscape, producers who don’t shy away from tests will be a step ahead of the game.
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In animation on
1 March 2011 tagged distribution, market intel, producing, seminar notes with no comments
Leading up to the release of my ebook on coproducing with German companies, I wanted to share this look into the German animation distribution market with you. This information was gathered from a presentation by Benjamina Mirnik, Head of Acquisitions and Coproductions at Universum Film, given at the Cartoon Masters Feature event in Munich last November.
Talking about the animated feature films market in Germany, Mirnik gave the following outline:
- 2005-2009 there were an average of 17 animated features released per year.
- 46% of these films were released by independent distributors.
- The animated features gained a share of total cinema admissions between 10,9% (2005) and 17,9% (2006) for an average share of 14,4%.
Germany remains one of the largest audiovisual markets, as you can see from the number of films released annually. It is also important to note the high market share of the independent distributors, as the Hollywood majors will rarely distribute an independent animated feature. An interesting part of the presentation was the look at the German VoD and DVD market:
- The digital market in Germany, as everywhere else, is constantly growing. Generally, total digital sales amount to approximately 3% of total DVD sales. DVD sales will remain the main home entertainment distribution channel for at least the next 3-5 years.
- Animated films are neither stronger nor weaker than other genres available for digital distribution, when compared to DVD sales.
- DVD sales of animated films in the children’s entertainment segment have remained stable.
- The major studios demonstrate, that high quality storytelling and animation coupled with deep marketing pockets suffice to achieve success in the German market. However, independent productions still rely heavily on branded properties, that are well known in Germany.
- Stereoscopic 3D projects are dominating the release and production of animation projects at present, but stereoscopic 3D will not suffice on its own to make a film a success.
Parents still want to use the good old DVD-babysitter, which can be seen in the stable situation in DVD sales in the family and kids segment. It’s just easier to buy the DVD than to pirate it, especially if the kids want to watch it over and over again on the TV. Mirnik also outlined the success factors for animated feature films released in Germany by independent distributors:
- Brand awareness resulting from a well known IP that the film is based on,
- a top creative team
- and sequels.
Sequels and previous brand awareness both point to the same conclusion: Producing feature length animation is a risky business. Producer’s do anything in their power to lower the risks, and familiar IP’s and prequels often pave the road in a way that no marketing campaign can.
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