By PETER CORBETT
IN THE NEXT THREE YEARS we are going to witness two only partially related, but profound media revolutions.One is the implementation of digital television (DTV) and the other surrounds broadband access to the Internet. I would argue that the simultaneous implementation of both of these is going to profoundly affect every media.
The cable and DSS (direct satellite systems) companies are going to deliver both to the home. The telcos are going to try to compete. Since there will eventually be only one line to your home for entertainment, Internet access and telephone, the war is already being waged over what that line will beaphone or cable.
But, once this line is in place, then your TV, your computer and phone all become digital media interface devices. Radio, print, catalogues, phone books, TVanothing remains the same! That is why you see such seemingly ridiculous valuations of Internet portal sites and companies like Broadcast.com.
What should be exciting to us as an industry, is that the increasing bandwidth is enabling our skill and talents. Already we can deliver motion graphics, cartoons and computer animation that starts to approach our standards over the Internet. Broadband and its sister (interactive) ITV will allow the richness and full motion video of TV to become interactive, and more importantly, transactional.
However, this is the age of one-on-one marketing so what is going to decline, is the scattershot mass media approach that is often used in TV advertising. The buzz right now is mass customizationwhere each customer can literally be customizedaor do their own customizationato deliver the media and product information each person wants to hear.
What we have to learn as an industry is how we are going to remain relevant. Evocative human emotionsaWhen did the Internet last make you cry?ahumor and spectacle will always be powerful ways to cut though and communicate. The trick is to integrate that into this new emerging digital media landscape. The alternative for commercial production is to keep chasing an ever-shrinking pie that will start to look to the advertisers like an increasingly expensive and inefficient way to reach the consumer.
So, one-on-one here, what is going to be your personal role in all this? Are you good enough to rise to the surface of a shrinking pool? Or do you need to adapt and learn to progressively migrate your talents and skills?
“Memoir of a Snail” Takes Top Prize At London Film Festival
The Official Competition jury said: “Our jury was incredibly moved by Adam Elliot’s Memoir of a Snail, which is a singular achievement in filmmaking. Emotionally resonant and constantly surprising, Memoir tackles pertinent issues such as bullying, loneliness and grief head-on, creating a crucial and universal dialogue in a way that only animation can. The jury is delighted to recognize an animated film alongside its live-action peers.”
Rounding out the winners of this year’s films screening In Competition are:
- Winner of the Sutherland Award in the First Feature Competition – On Falling (Dir. Laura Carreira)
- Winner of the Grierson Award in the Documentary Competition – Mother Vera (Dirs. Cécile Embleton, Alys Tomlinson)
- Winner of the Short Film Award in the Short Film Competition – Vibrations from Gaza (Dir. Rehab Nazzal)