The CSB has received a number of responses to Robert Connolly’s recent white paper, Embracing Innovation: a new methodology for feature film production in Australia. We’ve added extracts from some of these responses below, and would welcome further debate on the subject.
Andrea Buck, producer of The Jammed, comments:
Robert expresses so much of what we at the Picture Tank have been feeling for a long while, as demonstrated by our own methodologies for production and distribution (in association with Titan View) of The Jammed. Working primarily from private equity gave us the freedom to work out our own models, and adjust to market forces as we progressed.
We have entered a new era of film production and distribution globally, with new possibilities and new markets and revenue streams opening as audiences across the globe become available instantly. To compete and survive in this new world requires lateral thinking, innovation and flexibility. Hopefully the Australian industry can adjust and innovate to allow our creative talent to not only survive, but to flourish.
I was so encouraged to read Robert’s report, and to know that we are not alone in this thinking. Hopefully like minds will gain a critical mass to bring about a new era in Australian film.
Independent filmmaker Sam Genocchio was also strongly supportive of Robert’s paper:
The Hollywood business model will never work in Australia; we must think outside of the square and meditate on [the fact that] lower budgets equals greater profits. Producers and crew shouldn’t look to make money off the production, they should look to making money from the production.
Meanwhile, producer Oscar Scherl offered a more qualified response:
In my opinion, most if not all of Robert’s proposals are excellent; however, they only address ‘micro’ problems, and it is difficult to see that the entrenched systems will ever be changed. A bigger picture needs to be addressed first, which in turn will make it possible to address the micro-solutions of Robert’s white paper. By that I mean the sustainability of established producers and independent financing and, very importantly, the distribution of lower budget films has to be looked at most urgently, hopefully by Screen Australia.
Richard Harris, CEO of the South Australian Film Corporation, has also responded in detail to ‘Embracing Innovation’. Click here to read his comments.
‘Embracing Innovation’ is available as a free download here (PDF, 204KB). We encourage interested parties to use the comments function below to offer their opinions and contribute to an ongoing discussion around Robert’s ideas.
