as if DifferenceAt the Entertainment and Technology Summit presented by City National Bank in West Hollywood on Thursday, entertainment industry executives and visionaries discussed the advancement of technology and how it is affecting TV, film, gaming, music, digital media and consumers. Brands.
Leaders from brands such as Disney, Universal Television, Mattel, NBA, Twitch, Paramount, Taco Bell and more participated in panels that discussed the various ways new technologies are being applied to their businesses. Read below to see what leading figures in the entertainment industry have to say about the disruption of entertainment and technology.
In the crowded streaming world, innovation remains supreme
During the Titans of TV programming panel, television executives discussed their growing footprint in the streaming world, which is moving further away from cable television and toward ad-supported, subscription-based streaming services. “Leaders of entertainment and AMC studios still value innovation in storytelling and intellectual properties with established audiences,” said Dan McDermott, president of AMC Networks.
“What remains consistent is the value of long-term, high-quality creativity and storytelling,” says McDermott. “It’s a more crowded landscape than ever, but as a programmer, you’re definitely looking for IP units that have a built-in audience and fan base.”
Social media is a must-win battleground for brands.
At the Brand Story Elite panel, representatives from consumer and entertainment brands discussed the best ways to engage audiences in the often overcrowded and cluttered media environment. Nicole Weltman, who serves as the head of social media for Taco Bell, talked about competing with established news organizations to capture consumers’ attention.
“When we think about what our content is being viewed on, it’s going up against content from VICE and NBC, built-in viewership,” Weltman said. “When we think about what stories we’re going to let those fans tell their stories and make their voices heard.” She then explained a true partnership with pop artist Doja Cat as they promoted the return of their Mexican pizza.
Creating immersive experiences could be the future of audience engagement.
The Future of Audience Engagement: How Creativity and Innovation Are Moving Forward to Create Stronger Connections A discussion with today’s audience panel led by Omar Zayat, Senior Director of Industry, Entertainment, Meta, and Keisha Senter, Vice President of Culture and Impact, Monkeypaw Productions, the production company founded by Jordan Peele. The two talked DifferenceHow Heidi Chung’s experiences can further immerse viewers into the worlds they create around different media such as film.
Their collaboration resulted in a MetaVans experience centered on Peil’s new film, “No,” and Center highlighted some of the key questions her team asks when developing new ideas and practices: “We really think about how we can scale.” Is our content high? Is our content representative? Is it genre specific? Are we looking for ways to be crafty and fun? There are so many ways you can think about that with filmmakers, but also with your collaborators.
Web3 It has great potential to serve the entertainment industry.
At the entertainment industry panel Making Web3, industry executives discussed at length the ways in which new Web3 innovations can bring better and more efficient changes to the entertainment industry. Melody Hildebrandt, CISO and President, Fox Corp. and Blockchain Creative Labs, shared two key areas where she believes the potential of Web3 can be addressed for the benefit of consumers.
“I really think technological innovation is enabling completely new models for media in two key areas. One is on the content side, how exactly is content created and marketed? The other side is distribution, and we believe there’s a way to bring content directly to fans in a much cleaner way.” Hildebrandt talked about Web3’s impact on the industry.
Stagecraft could change the possibilities for future virtual productions.
Lynne Brennan, Lucasfilm General Manager and EVP, and Janet Lewin, Lucasfilm SVP of VFX and ILM General Manager, explain how using Stagecraft as an “end-to-end virtual production tool” has changed the face of production at Lucasfilm. After experimenting with the device on the likes of “The Mandalorian,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” “The Book of Boba Fett” and the upcoming sequel “Andre,” the executives shared positive predictions based on Stagecraft’s benefits.
“What Stagecraft allows is this incredible collaboration with all the front-end department heads and filmmakers before we even shoot,” Brennan shared. “Then all of these in-camera visual effects, which means we can save money in our visual effects budgets, and we can save time in our post-production program and get this amazing quality result.”
“I think it’s really our filmmakers and that’s what makes it so exciting,” replied Brennan, speculating about what the future might look like.
“We now have a proven production method, but we like to be inspired by new ideas brought to the table. We also want to use development in this space, both in off-the-shelf real-time with tools like Unreal, but also with future developments in LED technology,” she continued. It’s hard to predict. There’s a barrier to entry for some products right now to use the toolkit because it’s expensive. But if you get a return on investment, it can be very effective.
