Confessions of an Executive Producer

'boards RIP

I remember when 'Boards magazine first came out. I thought what a great name. It said it all. They would report on the people who generated the boards and the people who produced and directed them. A decade later the industry doesn't really generate boards anymore. Creative today takes on many forms, rarely do we see the classic storyboard. They appear as decks generated from keynote. Maybe we receive a series of photos hand picked from Getty images. Sometimes it's just a script. 

Just as the presentation of industry creative has changed so has trades who follow them. 

Last week Brunico communications announced it was closing 'Boards magazine. Simultaneously Brunico will close the print version of Playback, a Canadian Film and Production trade publication, and deliver solely an online edition. 

Although the demise of 'Boards saddens me it does not come as a shock. Don't get me wrong, I liked 'Boards a lot. I preferred their website over Creativity. They covered the global production world. They had solid writing. They were innovative with the creation of the Summit. What I liked most is they published my writings and once put in me on their IT list. Those are reasons enough to mourn their closing. So, what happened?

I wrote a post a while back about 'Boards. I suggested they close down the publication and become completely digital. Turn themselves into the Huffington Post of the ad world by aggregating articles from other publications like Ad Age, Wall Street Journal, NY Times, Shots, etc. The only original writing would be editorials and special profiles. There is one small problem with my genius idea, where will the revenue come from? 

Boards like all other trades make their money through advertising. They charge more for print ads than ads online. Due to the recession and other factors, it's safe to assume by the sudden closure of Boards and Creativity no longer publishing a print edition, there is a shrinking desire for companies to advertise. Who would've thought Shoot would outlast Creativity and Boards. 

If you are a production company, editorial shop, music house or some other vendor there are more effective ways to garner attention than a print ad in a trade. There are Facebook fan pages, company blogs and twitter fees. Ten years ago none of these were options. Today if your client wants to find you they do it through Google. Your branded by your site. As evidenced by Boards closing the most cost efficient and effective way of getting people there isn't through print ads.

The closure of Boards displays yet another victim of old media unable to sustain itself in the digital age. Trade publications are becoming a thing of the past and not just in our industry. There is still a need for a voice to report on the business. This void is being filled mainly by bloggers and the few remaining magazine that have transitioned to online. 

I do believe that someone will eventually aggregate industry editorial, news and opinion to create a site that not only sets the industry standard but also becomes profitable. I wish that publication was Boards but maybe from the ashes of the old will arise something new. Hopefully it will be a reflection of what we have become not of what we were. 

'boards summit review

I never attended a 'Boards Summit until this year. It was fascinating. A great event. I was honored to be included so, thanks Rae Ann Fera, Ed White, Bruce Wellington and the entire team who put together this happening. There is no doubt I will make it a regular event on my industry calendar whether as speaker or attendee.

For personal reasons, I was only there for one of the two days. I still managed to catch a couple of insightful panels and speeches. Equally as informative were the conversations taking place in the lobby. People from various sectors of our industry filled the hall - music houses, production companies, post facilities, ad agencies, media buyers, cost consultants, overseas service companies. You name it they were represented. I loved eaves dropping as I passed through the crowds. The conversations, as you may guess, all centered around the same theme. How is your business doing? What is the next thing? Lively debate about a particular forum. People came there to network and look for some answers, or if not answers, at least some inspiration.

If there was any critique I could makeand it's nothing 'Boards could do to change it, is the need for more problem solving and positivity. As I mentioned yesterday, the morning key note speech was entitled "The Production Company Model is Dead". There were other references made throughout the day of our industry being doomed, fucked and hopelessly broken. And, this is from our industry leaders. 

Most times the comments were couched in self deprecation and well timed cynicism. These devices can place a humorous perspective to help us cope with reality. At times well needed but must be follow up with at best with some possible solutions and at worst some inspiration. 

If there was anything we learned from Obama's election is we are need of even a glimmer a hope. We can debate the effectiveness to date of his policies or his ability to deliver on his promises. What is undebatable is providing a vision of better days ahead. To promote the possibility of a brighter tomorrow. To emphasize community spirit over self interest. To lead through problem solving. 

It's easy to take pot shots at business models in flux and an industry in decline. It's hard to provide answers. There were plenty of people that did that both as speakers and attendees. Personally I'd like to see our leaders rise to a higher level through the tone of their rhetoric and force of their actions. Regardless, the conversations taking place amongst the attendees were as transparent and communal of any industry function I have ever attended. That's reason enough to keep me coming back. 

Now that's the summit is over we can return to our regularly scheduled programming. I even have a guest blogger this week that pretty much refutes much of what I've said on particular topic. Can't wait to publish it.

the reports of our demise

In response to reading his own obituary, Mark Twain was quoted as saying, "The reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated." Now I know how he felt when I saw the title of this mornings keynote speech at the 'Boards Summit, "The Production Company Model is Dead". 

It is being given by Bob Greenberg, a legendary figure in advertising. His words carry weight but to the best of my recollection he never owned a production company. Regardless, I think there are too many speeches connoting death. It is provocative but too easy a proclamation.

If you are a reader of this blog, you know I'm very often critical of the agency model, the production company model and the client marketing model. We are battered and bruised, but dead? I don't know. I made a bunch of commercials this year. And, also a whole lot of other stuff. As far as I can tell, I wasn't alone. 

The production company foundation is still based in talent management, filmmaking and storytelling. Those skills will never go out of style. Do we need to innovate our model? Do we need to adapt to the ever changing business climate? Of course. What business in America today doesn't? 

This afternoon at the summit I'm going to speak directly to the exaggerated reports. I want to provide what I believe is the natural evolution of the production company model as it faces todays challenges. No talk of death only of rebirth. 

As I practiced the speech over the weekend for my wife and our friend Susan Kirshenbaum, Susan suggested I promote my message in a more tangible way. Through her stroke of inspiration, I'm providing a statement of encouragement. A modern day homage to Mark Twain's famous quotation. 

The first 50 people from the production community (and that includes edit and viz efx) who come to my speech will receive a free one of a kind t-shirt. Please see below. 

 

For those of you wondering,  I am not the t-shirt model in the picture. I'm not that buff. That would be John Duffin, my HOP in LA. He took time away from his weekend to get these fabricated on a rush schedule. 

Thank you Susan for your idea. Thank you John for making it happen.  

So come early, get a good seat, receive a free t-shirt and stand up for our community. 

sneak preview

Tomorrow I'll be at the 'Boards Summit. I'm speaking on two panels. The first takes place on Tuesday morning and is called, "Business Unusual". Charles Day and Chris Tardio are the moderators on a discussion about business innovation during these transitional times. I shouldn't embarrass myself on this one. It's extemporaneous bullshitting, plus I know Charles and Chris will carry the weight along with the other panelist.

In the afternoon is the Town Hall discussion "Envisioning the Future". Now, that's an entirely different story. I need to give a prepared speech. Rumor is there is a secret Epoch office pool on at what time during the speech I'll choke. The winner gets their choice of venue for free lunch Friday for the entire month of December. 

Below is a sneak preview of my presentation. As I mentioned last week, I received much needed help from Hudson Lines. He put together the slides that accompanies the speech. I owe him big and intend to pay him back. 

Here's the context. Being the only production company representative on the panel, I chose to talk from that perspective. I didn't feel qualified to layout some futuristic business model. It wasn't me.

The theme is for production companies to become more proactive and less reactive. In short, embrace the new era of transparency and engagement through social media by viewing our culture differently. I'm going to try do this through my own personal exploration. 

A brief on the slides:

1. Intro.
2. Being asked to speak only because I blog.
3. How I found Hudson and chose the topic of this speech. 
4. My first venture into social media.
5. The launching of my blog and building an audience.
6. Tracking my readership growth.
7. The hypocrisy of partnering in a branded content co. without knowledge. 
8. Learning to participate not just observe.
9. Prod companies evolving from gatekeepers of talent to curators of talent.
10. Thoughts on how are models must adapt to support this evolution.
11. The change in media forces us to do so.
12. What we can do to engage and entertain our audiences.
13. An example from my childhood. Texaco sponsoring NY Opera.
14. Another more recent example, BMW films.
15. Striving to gain consumers attention by giving them something in return.
16. All sectors of the ad industry trying to win the online marketing race.
17. How social media helped me build community. And more...
18. Supporting our competitors helps speed up innovation.
19. Innovation only happens through risk and mistakes. 
20. Less predictions. More participation.
21. A look into the future. 

Jerry Solomon - Boards

View more documents from Hudson.

If anyone understands any of this (Lord knows I don't), please feel free to make comments or critique. You can also provide any words of encouragement. Lord knows I need that too. 

Hopefully I'll see some of you there. Wish me luck. 

13 days and counting

In less than two weeks from today, I'll be appearing at the 'boards summit. Take a look a the crew who is on the panel with me. If you don't recognize me, I'm the one with the least impressive title and the most unprofessional headshot. 

 

You may recall a few weeks back I posted an S.O.S. It was a plea for someone who could help me avoid public humiliation. Many of you forwarded suggestions, ideas and software. One person, Dominic Lahiff, actually took the time to write a detailed list of ideas. It is very much appreciated. Through this process one person became my savior and muse, Hudson Lines. 

Hudson sent me an email telling me about his experience as a speech writer for a CEO of a major corporation. He had worked on these type of presentations before, not only for the CEO but also for himself. He was willing to offer his services to me for free but in return he wanted career advice and introductions. I love the barter system so I took him up on is proposition. 

When I was in NY a couple of weeks ago we sat down. Wanting to make my down payment in advance, he gave me his story first. His background and talent is impressive but he is still in the career exploration phase. After listening to him all I could think of is how do I create a position for him at my company. There should always be room at Epoch for young, ambitious, creative and smart people. Now, I just need to figure out where, if not in my world then at least in my expanded universe. First, I need him to bale me out.

I started the meeting by pitching my ideas to Hudson on the history of the relationship between agencies, production companies and their audiences. I then segue into how it's dramatically evolved in the last year. He nodded approvingly and told me it was a good idea but completely wrong...for me. He said the speech needs to be personal. I need to talk about my exploration and experiences in social media. How it changed me personally, changed my company and ultimately how it is changing the direction of the entire industry. He then started to reference things I had written. As I listened to him speak, I turned to my computer and dragged my previous notes I spent two hours in the plane writing quietly into the trash.

Hudson and I are in the midst of working on the presentation. I hope to get done in time to post before the 'boards summit. I'd love receive some feedback. As I said in my first posting, this blog got me into the mess I'm hoping it can get me out. So, why not take full advantage.

Hudson Lines - Reason #127 on why social media works and is here to stay.  

digging myself a deep hole

I received an email last week from Rae Ann Fera inviting me to speak at the 'boards summit. It had something to do about what our business will look like in the (hopefully) post recession era. Truthfully, I didn't pay that much attention. I was so flattered I just replied "yes" without giving it a lot of thought.

After confirming with Rae Ann, I figured I'd better read what I signed up for. I started with the other panelists. It was impressive. Lars Bastholm, Rick Webb, Harvey Marco and Diane Jackson. I assumed my inclusion is to represent the production company community. And then i actually read the details of the email.

It said this session will follow a Pecha Kucha format. I had no idea what that is. Thank goodness for Wikipedia. I found out it's a slide show presentation originated in architecture but has become popular in several creative forums. Under the format each speaker is allowed 6:40 displaying one slide every 20 seconds. It's not some extemporaneous public bullshitting I hoped for. It's a real thing. It requires serious preparation. These other speakers have an entire staff of people with skills in photoshop, powerpoint and image searches. They do this kind of stuff all the time. All I have is a roster of directors and some bidders. Panic began to set in. 

With no where else to turn, I'm putting out a call for assistance. Here's a brief description of the topic:

Town Hall: Envisioning the Future

Forget the downturn, think about opportunity and what the world will look like after the first truly global recession. In this fast-paced session based on our popular Town Hall:2010, industry leaders will present their ideas on what the economic strain will ultimately mean for business, innovation and creativity.

I have a few ideas on this topic but I'd like more. I'd want to truly represent the production community not just have it be my voice. So, if you have any ideas, know an expert in Pecha Kucha, or even someone that can help me put together a presentation, please share. 

I figure this blog got me into this mess maybe it can get me out of it.