Getting in the digital frame

A screen producer's guide to the digital landscape

• Jennifer Wilson
• Centre for Screen Business

13 January 2010This guide is designed to assist both new and established screen content producers in getting to grips with online distribution, audience dynamics and monetisation.

The media world is undergoing a seismic shift, as audiences increasingly turn to online and interactive content. Meanwhile, media brands that were unknown a few years ago (Google, YouTube, Facebook) have now become household names. Screen content producers cannot afford to ignore this changing mediascape.

But for many in the film and television industry, the digital world remains a scary and difficult place. The business models are unclear, the audience is fragmented and the distribution models are too complex, too open or both. Additionally, the digital world has its own unique terms, unfamiliar or even puzzling to film and TV producers.

Education is the key to resolving these uncertainties. In particular, producers need to understand three key concepts: 1) how to distribute content in the digital space, 2) how to create an audience for this content and 3) how to generate a return from it.