Mark Overett of New Holland Pictures attended SPAA, in Sydney 13-16 November

Many thanks Screen Queensland for helping facilitate my attendance at SPAA 2011. 

In general terms, I thought the conference was very good – with terrific speakers and strong attendance figures (very interesting to note the presence and participation of so many Aussie broadcasters).  

It is fair enough to say that I did not attend perhaps as many seminars as I would have liked – but on the other hand, this was due to the fact that I had a very full schedule of meetings on a broad slate of New Holland Pictures’ projects.

Of course knowing how true the adage is that “no-one in the film industry knows anything”, it is still re-assuring to hear the success stories of Producers such as Emile Sherman (The King’s Speech) and Nelson Woss (Red Dog).  Ahhh, maybe one day… 

Market Trends

Apart from the fact that there did appear to be a noticeable increase in the buoyant attitude of both producers and distributors/sales agents, the major trend in my opinion was the increasing recognition of cross-platform delivery platforms (in particular the three other delivery windows of computer, phone and ipad) – and our need as producers to come to grips with it and investigate its potential as an income stream.  According to David MacDonald from YouTube, at least one Australian content provider is now earning $100,000 per annum from You Tube.

It was also interesting to note the increase in financing players entering the market:  Aver Media, W2 Fulcrum Media and Kiwi Bank (the latter two not at SPAA, but met separately).  All are fine-tuning the list of sales agents that are acceptable to them.  A trend that is continuing is the reliance by distributors and sale agents on “name” cast – even for low budget films.  A challenge to say the least.

“Genre Films” remains a popular buzzphrase, with “horror” in particular identified as one of the few areas in which independent producers have a crack at actually making a nett profit, diving in and around the major studio players like a baby seal in a shark tank… so maybe there is a chance we can keep our head above water!

Benefits

This is very simple.  By attending events such as the SPAA Conference, we as Producers get to experience an immersion in latest trends and news that affects our industry.  But it is not just a knowledge-topping-up love fest…

It is an opportunity to network.  And specifically in my case, it is an opportunity to pitch projects to distributors, sales agents, financiers and broadcasters – the medium to long-term benefits for New Holland Pictures and the Queensland production sector being potentially considerable.

It is fair enough to say that I did not attend perhaps as many seminars as I would have liked – but on the other hand, this was due to the fact that I had a very full schedule of meetings on a broad slate of New Holland Pictures’ projects.

Of course knowing how true the adage is that “no-one in the film industry knows anything”, it is still re-assuring to hear the success stories of Producers such as Emile Sherman (The King’s Speech) and Nelson Woss (Red Dog).  Ahhh, maybe one day…