Producers will survive in the convergence environment, says CFTPA chair

Stephen Ellis, chair of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association, lauds his industry’s efforts to address the challenges of convergence and the new media environment.The following is an edited excerpt of his address last month to the Banff Television Festival: ...I was particularly struck this year, even on entering the Banff park gates, with the degree to which the entire park is geared to accommodate the arrival of our industry. I was skimming through the wildlife and safety section of the mountain guide pamphlet and was intrigued by a passage entitled, What Should I Do if I See a Distributor? It read: If you are driving stay in your car and consider not stopping. If you are not in a vehicle, stay calm. If you are approached by such a predator, send a clear message that you are not potential prey. Pick up small children immediately. Yell. Do anything you can to make yourself look bigger. Be prepared to use pepper spray if you have it. Do not crouch, play dead, run or turn your back to the animal. So there you have a bit of practical advice for the uninitiated festival delegate. I’m pleased to say that the plans I announced at last year’s Banff luncheon have largely come to fruition. The association has gone about addressing the ongoing convergence of both technologies and corporations by effectively re-inventing the CFTPA. On the technology front, we’ve embraced all forms of content producer – be it film, television or interactive media. Corporately we now recognize Canadian production houses regardless of their shareholding mix, or the holders of the copyrights in their work. In setting all of this in motion, we think we’ve overcome the prospect of the organization seizing up on matters of policy. We’ve accomplished this by placing disclosure requirements on both board and committee members, coupled with conflict of interest rules governing our decision-making process. In February, at our annual conference, Prime Time in Ottawa, we unveiled the new, sprocket-free look, and announced a new strategic plan entitled, Fair Play in the New Media Jungle. Coming as I do from a production company that’s created many a wildlife documentary I hope you’ll excuse me for viewing the industry in a slightly zoological light. Because, as I look ahead through the undergrowth of the new media jungle, a number of questions present themselves: Are independent producers an endangered species? Once protected in a lush conservation area maintained by the government and its agencies, other industrial forces are now eroding their turf. And there is now overcrowding at the watering hole that sustained the herd and helped it flourish through a drought of licence fees and distribution advances. And, as the lines blur between predator and prey for producers, broadcasters and cable & satellite providers, will diversity be threatened by these sudden shifts in the balance of the food chain? As these species combine into interdependent groupings, the number of distinctive calls heard in the jungle would appear to be shrinking. And will the on-rushing meteor of webcasting be an extinction-level event? It certainly appears ready to blast a hole in the film and TV world as we know it, potentially blanketing us in the ashes of long-form programming. But with all of the threats to our species’ survival, I’m comforted by one of the tenets of natural selection, which is this: That nature is careless with individuals but careful with species. It may only be the fittest that survive, but I’m convinced that the independent species of producer will endure. And I hope that you’ll work with me to help make that a reality.

Producers will survive in the convergence environment, says CFTPA chair

Broadcast | July 25, 2001

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