He has now followed it with Havana/Miami which looks at the different aspirations of and challenges facing young Cubans on opposite sides of the Straits of Florida.

“The Cuban Revolution happened more than fifty years ago – long before they were born.
All of them are young, with a rich Cuban heritage.

Living just 90 miles apart,

in the USA and in Cuba,

They share common dreams, hopes, worries and desires.

They are the future.

Each week,
3 videos from Havana,
3 videos from Miami,
Over 3 months.”

Let me start by considering a broadcaster which does appear to have redefined its role in a digitally networked world. I have chaired a couple of panels in the last six months on which Tom Koch, who is responsible for international licensing for PBS in the States, was a speaker. The first time I heard him talk about PBS’ approach to digital media was at IBC in Amsterdam where I produced a panel to answer the question “Does TV speak digital?”

Tom proposed that PBS in general, and WGBH in Boston in particular, has adapted well to the changing landscape and was becoming fluent. He said that around 6 years ago the network had taken a strategic decision no longer to think of itself as a broadcaster but as a producer/publisher/distributor that identifies issues, subjects and themes which are of interest and generates ideas for content and services related to them.  The idea is at the centre of the development process and decisions about the appropriate media with which to engage users/an audience come later. In this context he described television as the “executive summary” of the content developed across a range of platforms.

In many cases a project will now be designed to have a 5 year life cycle. Examples of this approach include Evolution, Commanding Heights, Latin Music USA, and We Shall Remain.  PBS’ experience has demonstrated that over a period of years, the reach for these projects will easily outstrip the audience for a TV broadcast and that users will engage more deeply with the material. In some cases programmes will be broadcast at the launch of a project, in others the web proposition comes first with user response and participation providing content not just for the growing online resource but for a broadcast programme as well: Digital Nation is one such case. The longevity of these web-based projects can also make them attractive to sponsors who wish to be associated with their subject-matter or values.

One reason that PBS has been able to adopt this approach is that it is not in direct competition with the major commercial networks in the US: it has a share under 5% and sees the new platforms as providing a way of engaging more people more deeply. BBC and Channel 4, by contrast, remain ratings driven broadcasters for whom television remains the most important platform. The BBC sets out to be the dominant broadcaster in the UK and devotes immense resources to getting better share than its commercial rivals. BBC1’s success in doing so in the early part of the decade has only reinforced its focus on maintaining that position. Channel 4 may only have a relatively small share but television is the only medium that matters to its senior management. When Crossover ran a lab for the channel’s commissioning editors, one of them stated very clearly that his success in his job was only assessed on how well his shows rated with a TV audience.  As a result, although interested in experimenting with other platforms, there was no incentive to commit any of his budget to doing so.

It’s not so long ago that the BBC was further ahead in adapting to digital technology than any broadcaster in the world. I was invited to run internal creative labs there in 1999 because there was a real appetite for innovation and experimentation, for inventing new services and formats, imagining the future. There was even a department called ‘Imagineering’; although the name was unashamedly purloined from Disney, it did indicate a willingness to take a divergent approach to envisioning the future of media. This was the time that Marc Goodchild was able to exploring interactive documentary with “Walking With Beasts”, Gary Hayes was piloting non-linear narrative with X-Creatures, Sophie Walpole commissioned the BBC’s first ARG, Jamie Kane, Jon Kingsbury was re-inventing Video Nation for broadband; many seeds were planted. Many of these early trials proved to be false starts but even the projects that weren’t hits were an invaluable source of learning about the affordances and grammar of interactive and participatory media, as well as about users and how they actually used the new devices available to them.  Specialist interactive development teams were established for drama and entertainment, factual and learning, sport and news.

Ten years on and the BBC has a much more conservative view of its role in the digital era. This is in part because of external pressures, some legitimate concerns about distorting the market, and incessant attacks from commercial players taking every opportunity to clip the corporation’s wings. But although some of its retrenchment is an understandable response to criticism from outside, the BBC has made a series of structural decisions in the past five years which have trapped it in what is essentially a 20th century framework from which it will find it difficult to escape.

Two critical changes occurred early in Mark Thompson’s period as Director General: the specialist interactive teams were dissolved and, as New Media became Future Media and Technology, all editorial and commissioning control reverted firmly to television commissioners and controllers.  This re-assertion of the dominance of TV was reinforced by the decision to provide a webpage for every programme; it makes sense to do so but it also creates a fundamental structure in which ‘the programme’ can be seen as the BBC’s core product. Despite dropping the ‘tele’ in the new Vision Division, it was implicit in abolishing of the online genre teams that the real expertise and authority in drama, entertainment, documentary etc lay with the commissioners and producers in proper media like television and radio.  This reassertion of the traditional hierarchy was reinforced by the repositioning of what had been the New Media division and the replacement of Ashley Highfield, who had editorial aspirations, with Eric Huggers who did not.  And then, of course, there was the success of the iPlayer which has persuaded many people (including ex BBC1 Controller Peter Fincham) that, far from being replaced by it, TV may yet take over the web.

There is a multiplatform commissioning team staffed with people who are committed to extending what the BBC does but they have no real authority – or money. It is hard to point to any recent ‘digitally native’ BBC projects which are genuinely groundbreaking. There have been some successful cross-platform projects, such as Britain From Above, but these tend to be examples of a broadcaster staying well within its comfort zone: where there are opportunities to take a radical approach they are often fluffed. There were high hopes that last year’s Truth About Crime would the first truly integrated web and TV current affairs series for BBC1, but in the end the online component was secondary to the broadcast programmes.

In the past two or three years it is Channel 4 that has shown the most imagination in exploiting digital platforms. Embarrassing Bodies, Landshare, Battlefront, Year Dot and Routes are innovative projects which reveal a deep understanding of the specific characteristics of digital platforms. The channel has also begun to develop a new approach to commissioning better suited to the web and participatory media; they have also launched the 4iP initiative specifically to explore how public service might be re-imagined for contemporary media and their users.  The problem is that this activity remains on the fringes.

I remember being told when I was still a BBC staffer that because I had never made any television, I would never have any real credibility with the people who made the important decisions. There is little evidence that things have changed in the past five years.

Jamie Campbell from Juice Games who was a participant in Crossover Play has written an article about the experience. You can read ithere

Another participant, Karen Johnson, has given an account on her blog.

Channel 4 is delighted to announce a new partnership with Crossover, the cutting-edge media training organisation that specialises in preparing  producers to embrace the cross-platform future and new opportunities in emerging digital media. Channel 4 is leading the way by being the first broadcaster in the UK to put their commissioning team through immersive 5 day Crossover Labs to equip them for a ‘platform agnostic’ media future.

Crossover is fast becoming one of the world’s most respected training programmes in innovation and digital media. It brings together people from across the creative spectrum, from the worlds of TV, film, gaming, web design, theatre and science, and through a process of careful workshopping and mentoring, gets them to generate ideas for new types of media.

4Talent, will contribute financial support to Crossover to expand its portfolio of activities for 2009/2010 – beyond the Labs - to provide a deeper level of on-going support.  Crossover has designed a ladder of progression from workshopping ideas, through mentoring and business support, that will enable a new breed of super-producers to create the media of the future.  Channel 4 Commissioning Editors and 4IP will be part of the rich mix of Crossover alumni brokering relations and collaborating in the launch of the Channel’s  cross-platform future.

To pull all this activity together Crossover is holding a summit on 4th November in Sheffield. The Summit will bring together some of the UK’s and the world’s leading producers stepping into interactive production and leading thinkers on innovation. on the Summit Day

‘Crossover provides a proven and successful model for getting creative talent from different disciplines to work effectively together. Creative firms looking to grow their business need to develop these ways of working to fully exploit the potential for new revenues in a digital environment.
Jon Kingsbury, Director, Creative Economy Programme, NESTA

“The world of cross-platform content and distribution demands a range of skills from technical, creative, artistic and business contexts. Crossover is a perfect environment for talent to get together and really understand how creativity works in each others’ fields.”
Matt Locke, Commissioning Editor, Channel Education

As preparation for the workshop SABIP commissioned a research team at University College, London to undertake a literature review of publicly available research into what people are actually doing and their attitudes to copyright.  This included this report, commissioned by Marrakesh Records from media consultancy Human Capital which makes chilling reading for businesses which generate revenue by selling recorded music: “we find that the majority would even sacrifice sex for music. And yet music is increasingly becoming a commodity for which young people do not expect to pay.”

One of their major findings is that all the serious surveys into how people behave towards copyright material in the digital world has looked at young people under the age of 23, mostly students at universities in the mid-west. There is very little evidence about the attitudes of older demographics.

As one part of the workshop, I had the delegates build a map of the media ecology in which government is now reframing regulation for intellectual property in the creative industries. The delegates were asked to identify key factors shaping the new media landscape and then create ‘tag-clouds’ indicating the major issues. This is what they produced:

Landscape for intellectual property regulation in the UK

“Traditionally the creative media industry is split into different categories - Film, TV, Radio, Photo
Imaging, Publishing, Computer Games, Advertising, etc. The boundaries and divisions of these
seemingly stand-alone sectors are based output; the final format or product. They have historically
had their own supply chains, their own workforce, and their own audiences.”

“The merging of these sectors is often called “convergence”.  But the true impact of the digital
technology is much deeper and more profound than the meshing of content or platforms. The
increasing ubiquity and shrinking cost of this technology is leading to a rapid merging of the
processes, products and profits of these sectors.”

In this article Triston propposes a different way of looking at and describing the creative media industry to examine, explain and foresee these changes currently happening.

He’s inviting thoughts and comments on the Skillset blog.

As part of the preparation for it, I asked one of the 4iP Commissioning Managers to give me a list of projects or websites which he thought would meet the programme’s criteria. Here is what he sent me:

1) Just Giving: Brilliant example of where the web allows for more effective charity fund raising. Simple to use, clear public service application, makes people’s life’s better, has revolutionised the fundraising ecosystem. Revenue generating and sustainable business model too.

2) Gym Fu: Innovative use of technology that turns users into movers. An example of small, lightweight software that has the potential to have a disproportionate impact on peoples’ lives. It’s hard to tackle the obesity problem from the top down but making exercise fun and competitive is a great way to tackle it from the ground up.

3) Wikipedia: Needs no introduction. One of the best examples of participation on the web and controversial in a Channel 4 like way too. The public service benefits are enormous and far reaching. The business is sustainable but not for profit which is fine for 4iP.

4) Mint: Not yet available in the UK but a hit in the US. Allows you to make sense of your finances and track your spending in new ways. Will use the network to compare your interest rates with others. In a time of recession it helps you decide where to cut back and how to reduce debt. It’s clearly a profit making business.

5)  Free the Postcode: The postcode database - which turns a post code to a latitude/longitude and back - is not free in the UK. In fact, it’s very expensive. The UK Post Code owns it and sells it to various companies that make use of it for things like insurance or parcel tracking. There are however many people who’d like to use it for non-profit purposes. They have iPhone and Android apps that

6) Army Rumour Network: The aim of ARRSE (in so far that it has one) is to provide a useful, informative and amusing site for people with an interest in the British Army. They don’t promote the overthrow of HMG, nor do they exist to toe the party line. Users can expect to find both reasoned argument and complete ARRSE within it’s pages. It exists for all. From a 4iP perspective it exists as both a pressure vent for the British Military Community, as well as an extremely valuable sounding-board for identifying the issues and concerns of all ranks.

7) Open Steet Map: is a free editable map of the whole world. It is made by people like you. OpenStreetMap allows you to view, edit and use geographical data in a collaborative way from anywhere on Earth. The project was started because most maps you think of as free actually have legal or technical restrictions on their use, holding back people from using them in creative, productive, or unexpected ways. From a 4iP perspective it’s an enabler and a tool.

They Work For You: TheyWorkForYou.com is a non-partisan website run by a charity which aims to make it easy for people to keep tabs on their elected and unelected representatives in Parliament and other assemblies. It allows anyone in the UK to keep a closer eye on money and power as well as making hitherto buried information findable and usable.

Crossover Play will explore new forms of entertainment for digital media: the relationship between play and narrative, formats dependent on user contributions, mobile or location based entertainment with a broadcast component. And of course, games: social and casual games, games that involve live events and performance, augmented or alternate reality games, games with emotional depth, games that appeal to non-gamers.

The Lab will comprise a blend of masterclass, presentations, workshop, screenings and, naturally, play. Participants will have a unique opportunity to explore and experiment with game forms and digitally mediated play; working as individuals and in teams they will also brainstorm, develop and prototype ideas for new ones.

Crossover Play will foster new collaborations between talented and experienced producers across different silos in the audio-visual industries, sparking innovative projects that push the boundaries on existing and new platforms.

Crossover is supported by Screen Yorkshire, North-West Vision and Media, London Development Agency, NESTA, The Skillset TV Freelance Fund and The Wellcome Trust.

The lab takes place 15 - 20 March 2009.

To apply go to:
https://sheffdocfest.com/crossover_labs/4/crossover_submissions/new

Application deadline 23 Feb 2009.

Pact is making the tools freely available to producers across the industry. The templates provide a simple legal framework for producers to work together when developing intellectual property. It is hoped that this initiative will improve the quality and number of multi-platform proposals going to UK broadcasters such as the BBC and Channel 4.

John McVay, Chief Executive of Pact says: “Producers from both the TV and new media sectors have told us that they need a simple framework to help them to develop their multi-platform ideas. With the help of NESTA, the launch of this guide and these legal templates will be an invaluable resource, allowing more companies to create more truly convergent projects in the future”.

Jon Kingsbury, Director of the Creative Economy Programme at NESTA says: “One of the barriers to creative and commercial innovation is the lack of clear, open-source material that encourages creative businesses to converge. Tools like these are a pre-requisite for effective collaboration and will enhance independent producers’ development of multi-platform content ideas.”

This Guide To Collaborating provides producers with the information and a legal framework to make co-creating multiplatform projects run more smoothly.

The documents are currently available on the Pact home page.

We’re now looking for participants for this year’s Crossover programme.

Crossover is an extraordinary series of ‘innovation labs’ for creative professionals from a diverse range of backgrounds: game developers, tv and film producers, web designers, animators, theatre practitioners and others. Each Crossover lab is an immersive, five day incubator fostering new collaborations and original ideas for cross platform media content and services.

We are now looking for people to take part in Crossover Docs and Crossover Kids.

Crossover Docs (October 5 - 10)
Social media, social networks, alternate reality games, serious games, user generated content and participatory story-telling: are there new ways to engage audiences with factual topics and documentary subjects?

In Crossover Docs, factual and documentary film and television producers will work with games developers, web and interaction designers to invent innovative projects for cross-platform delivery. A focus of the five day, residential lab will be on interactive projects which address big ideas and contemporary challenges including climate change and other scientific issues.

Crossover Kids (Dec 1 - 5)
Crossover Kids will explore the future of children’s media and develop original ideas for cross-platform projects.

Children have always loved TV, but the days when passive viewing was their only option are well and truly over. They’re media literate and demanding more sophisticated, interactive content which is fragmenting the market. So what does this mean for content creators? A decline in traditional TV commissioning and falling budgets? Or an framework for innovation and collaboration?

Crossover KIds offers you a unique opportunity to experiment with a diverse, talented group of creative professionals: tv and film producers, game developers, web designers, animators, theatre practitioners and toy creators.

To find out more about Crossover and to apply to participate in any of the lab, visit www.crossoverlabs.org.

Crossover is funded by Screen Yorkshire, Skillset, NESTA, the Wellcome Trust and the London Development Agency.
It is supported by the BBC and Channel 4.