How a digital Britain helps film companies reach and build new audiences for business growth

23/06/2009

"The Take 12 programme allows us to test how traditional business models can be adapted for emerging digital technologies."

NESTA and the UK Film Council have today released interim findings from their pioneering Take 12 programme. The 'Take 12: Digital Innovation Guide' is a collection of emerging lessons on how to exploit new digital technologies to drive growth in British independent film companies.

Recommendations for how to harness digital media to build and reach new audiences and increase potential for growth and investment include:

• Audiences are no longer just 'viewers' online; they are participants, authors, contributors, publishers - make this work for you.

• Get the director, writer or actor to write a blog or Twitter. This can make your audience feel part of the filmmaking process.

• Use free tools (such as such as Google Blog Search and Twitter) to track the performance of your campaign by monitoring site visits and bookmarks. But don't mistake popularity for financial success.

• Don't give away any potential revenue in return for digitisation costs - look into getting it done yourself.

• Aim to sell content to as many platforms as possible and keep the deals non-exclusive or for short exclusive periods. This lets you experiment.

• Look to new sources of funding - brands and content creators can be natural bedfellows (think Shane Meadows' Somers Town financed by Eurostar).

• Try to understand what would make your audiences pay for content (i.e. a fair price point or 'added value' in the form of quality of experience).

• Do not be afraid to experiment and get things wrong - the whole industry is still learning and there is no perfect online campaign. Take a 'perpetual beta' approach which allows you to add in new features on a regular basis and to engage your users as real-time testers.

Jon Kingsbury, Director of Creative Economy at NESTA said, "The Take 12 programme allows us to test how traditional business models can be adapted for emerging digital technologies. Feeding back these learnings to the rest of the industry will help ensure independent film companies are well equipped to take advantage of the exciting new opportunities that a Digital Britain presents.'

John Woodward, Chief Executive Officer of the UK Film Council said, "The findings and recommendations of the Take 12 companies will make an invaluable contribution to the way we unlock, make and consume film in a fully digital Britain. With continued political and pan-industry support, we must grasp the enormous possibilities a digital world offers and ensure that it benefits everyone."

The Take 12 programme, which commenced in July last year and runs for 18 months, works with 12 independent film companies ranging from film production, through to distribution and sales companies, all of which are at different stages in the business lifecycle.

The companies are paired-up with an 'innovation partner' who provides specialist advice and business support with the aim of improving each company's potential for growth by exploring opportunities for new methods of distribution.

The interim Take 12 findings will be available to film companies attending the Edinburgh Film Festival and will also be distributed among other business support agencies across the UK. The recommendations will also be discussed at a panel event at the Edinburgh Film Festival on Tuesday, 23 June.

Download the 'Take 12: Digital Innovation Guide'

Contact

For further information, please contact Jan Singleton on 020 7438 2606/ jan.singleton@nesta.org.uk or Chani Hirsch on 020 7438 2601/ chani.hirsch@nesta.org.uk

Notes to Editor

About NESTA
NESTA is the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, an independent body with a mission to make the UK more innovative.

NESTA's Creative Economy Programme works with over 300 businesses across the creative industries and tests the best way for them to grow. Together with our internationally-acclaimed research, NESTA's body of work on innovation constitutes a strong evidence base on how to drive growth in the creative sector. www.nesta.org.uk

UK Film Council

The UK Film Council is the Government-backed strategic agency for film in the UK. We aim to stimulate a successful, vibrant film industry and to promote the widest possible enjoyment and understanding of cinema throughout the UK. 

We invest Government grant-in-aid and Lottery money in developing new filmmakers, in funding exciting new British films and in getting a wider choice of films to audiences throughout the UK.  We also invest in training, promoting Britain as an international filmmaking location and in raising the profile of British films abroad. We aim to deliver lasting benefits to the industry and the public through:

• creativity - encouraging the development of new talent, skills, and creative and technological innovation in UK film and assisting new and established filmmakers to produce successful and distinctive British films;

• enterprise - supporting the creation and growth of sustainable businesses in the film sector, providing access to finance and helping the UK film industry compete successfully in the domestic and global marketplace;

• imagination - promoting education and an appreciation and enjoyment of cinema by giving UK audiences access to the widest range of UK and international cinema, and by supporting film culture and heritage.

Download

Download the 'Take 12: Digital Innovation Guide'