Solutions to wasted industry effort on table in post mortem of Telefilm new media fund

Telefilm Canada is defending itself against suggestions the agency needs to do more to cut down on the number of unsuccessful applications to the Canada New Media Fund. Earl Hong Tai, western regional director and new media sector head for the federal cultural agency, says that while he recognizes the latest round of applications resulted in a high number of rejections, Telefilm is dealing with a highly fragmented industry in economic turmoil and fierce competition for funds. In the wake of new funding announcements this month (CNM Update, Jan. 15/03), some digital media producers in Canada have told Canadian NEW MEDIA that Telefilm isn’t putting enough effort into pre-application discussions that would cut down on a raft of unsuccessful efforts. In its latest round, just 26 of 168 applications were approved for assistance in the various fund categories worth a total of $2 million in repayable investments. Some industry insiders have noted that each application, when person-hours and creative material are taken into account, costs the company making the pitch about $20,000-$25,000. Multiplied by the number of unsuccessful applications, as much as $3.5 million in unsuccessful effort may have been spent by the industry in this latest round, sources say. Tai says he’s never seen a study that would accurately assess the costs to industry in making applications to Telefilm, but acknowledges that considerable efforts are made by all parties involved. "I…recognize that a lot of work goes into these applications, and I think a lot of that relates to the fact that it’s a very competitive process," he tells Canadian NEW MEDIA. "When you’re talking about eight out of 10 projects not being successful in receiving funding, it can’t help but be competitive. Everyone’s going to put in an extra effort, whether it’s a requirement of Telefilm guidelines or not. I have to say that it works on both sides. The applicants have put a lot of money into trying to secure funding from us, but at the same time, too, you have to recognize that on our side of the table, we also have to put in lots of work to evaluate these projects. It’s not in our interest to create paper for paper’s sake." Tai says the entire process is under the microscope as part of a post mortem being conducted on the fund as it approaches its third and final fiscal year. Among other things, streamlining the application fund is on the table. Included in that discussion will be one suggestion on which almost all players will be able to agree – that the fund is not currently large enough to satisfy all comers. But Tai says there are several external factors working against the industry over which Telefilm has no control. He cites fragmentation as a significant challenge, repeating what’s now an oft-cited check to the industry’s overall growth. "I think communication with the industry is important, but the challenge from the point of Telefilm that we’ve found in past is that unlike television or feature film (where) in those industries we’re able to communicate with the producers association – the , for example, is a forum you can have meetings with and it’s easy to communicate our message – the difficulty with new media is that it’s a fragmented industry. There isn’t an association that myself or any of my staff could actually approach and get the message out," Tai says. "…he other thing about having such a fragmented industry is that, unlike tele-vision and film, if things aren’t working well, we do hear from the industry through various lobby efforts. We’ve never had a lobby effort from the new media industry and at times I think that’s an initiative that I’d like to see the industry and the clients put forth. Bearing in mind, too, that a lot of the clients who were in business that we dealt with the last four years aren’t even there any more. We’re dealing with a whole different set of clients. It’s one of the issues that we grapple with in terms of how to structure a fund, and we can’t deny that there are economic business factors that push that. While we can provide funding to the industry, there’s no denying that we’re still struggling with the business viability issue. I’m not sure that there’s a lot Telefilm can do to make businesses more viable." The relative newness of the industry also means companies don’t have the same background as their film and television counterparts in applying for funding assistance. One prominent new media producer who has been very successful in winning Telefilm new media funding says he doesn’t find the process too great a burden. "The reality is that the applications for new media are no more onerous than in television, and it may be that a lot of the new media companies around Canada don’t have the same legacy of business affairs as the established television companies do and, therefore, find the business affairs overhead of these applications somewhat onerous," says Collideascope Entertainment president Stephen Comeau. "But any established media production company, in my mind, shouldn’t find… the process at Telefilm new media any more onerous than any other Telefilm program or provincial equity program or anything else. "The onus is not, in my opinion, in Telefilm’s hands per se. If they wanted to do something as a goodwill gesture, it may be to have seminars at the different production centres explaining, very carefully, how the fund works and what’s expected. If new media company A drops twenty-five grand cooking up an application for the Canada New Media Fund without first informally vetting it, figuring out the guidelines, positioning the application against those guidelines, creating materials etc., etc., then of course they’re not going to get the cash and of course they’ve wasted their money. Is it Telefilm’s fault? I don’t think so… "The high rate of unsuccessful applications is purely a function of resources. The competitiveness within that fund is very, very high. The projects that get the cash are the ones that are fully developed, and it takes money to do that. So, if you don’t have the money to develop an application, or you don’t have a slam-dunk idea with all the business in place, then don’t bother applying."

Solutions to wasted industry effort on table in post mortem of Telefilm new media fund

Broadcast | January 23, 2003

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