Unexpected Media

Clip clubs, nerd nodes, memetic difference engines

The extended labathon, which started with the Hi8us/UK Sound TV workshop in January, finally ended yesterday where it had started in at the Spread Eagle in Midhurst. The 10 companies selected for the BBC’s Southern England Innovation Lab pitching to BBC commissioners yesterday.

Taken collectively they were the most engaging, creatively devised and compelling set of presentations we’ve had in all seven BBC Labs in the past two years. Imaginative use of post-its, chairs standing in for users, live performance, animatics and live music all featured in a series of succinct and elegantly crafted 5 minutes pitches. 3 projects got a ‘yes’, 3 were invited to pitch again to other BBC departments, 1 got an offer of partnership in finding other sponsors.

All the teams responded very well to the advice and criticism of mentors and commissioners. They were prepared to abandon cherished ideas and rethink their approach, making good use of the tools we asked them to use. There’s a good account of one team’s experience here.

Matt Locke, who has championed the Labs as a way of engaging with indies over the past two years, is leaving the BBC at the end of April. From my perspective there has been immense benefits from the project for everyone involved. The 40 commissions themselves (from a total of 40 from 68 projects pitched) are the most obvious outcome, but they represent a small part of the value of the process to both the BBC and the participants.

For the BBC, the Labs are a great way of identifying talent, not just in the residential workshops but also at the launch days. It’s a very practical way of introducing independent producers used to working with commercial sector clients to public service values and helping them to understand the particular, unique needs of the BBC. The lab process is also part of the process of the BBC working out its own approach to new media: developing the briefs, bringing together commissioners from departments across the corporation (often for the first time), responding to pitches and working through issues with the participating teams.

For the participating companies a commission is the primary goal but the long term benefits are in the contacts they make, the techniques they learn and the beginning of a relationship with the BBC. Even if they get a ‘no’ for the project they pitch at the Lab, they have started a dialogue: they are in a very strong position to return in the future with a different proposition honed to the needs of commissioners and with a deep understanding of how to present ideas to the BBC.