Opening new markets abroad is an indispensable milestone in guaranteeing the future of the audiovisual industry. In this session we discussed the possibilities of internationalization of Catalan companies, their experiences, challenges and opportunities that are found, and on what policies are being carried out by the Generalitat.

Roundtable with the participation of Carles Brugueras (general director and executive producer of Polar Star Films), Albert Lorente (coordinator of the Industries of the Experience in ACCIÓ-Agency for the Competitiveness of the Company), Miquel Rutllant (president of the Cluster Audiovisual de Catalunya, and general director of the Lavinia Group) and Francisco Vargas (director of the Audiovisual Area of the Catalan Institute of Cultural Companies). Moderator: Daniel Condeminas (communication consultant).

Video summary of the session: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u3kO-Fuo2U

On Friday, May 25, we co-organized the Round Table ‘Creating a documentary production company’ within the framework of DocsBarcelona.

Our speakers talked about what their journey was and how they have experienced the creation of this project. Why did they decide to create this new business? How do they get financing to start the first projects? How do they get stability?

Laura Collado, Eli Dalmau, Paula Palacios and Stacey Tenenbaum spoke. Moderates the session Noemí Cuní.

Video summary of the session: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RPv6eJ5Wyw&feature=youtu.be

The Audiovisual Clúster has organized, along with the New York Film Academy (NYFA), a session on script creation with Paul Brown, screenwriter, director and multi-award-winning American producer who has participated in productions such as X-Files, Star Trek or Disney films.

In light of a hundred attendees, Paul Brown has focused his explanation on the creation of characters, through examples of cinematographic referents and current international series.

This session marks the beginning of a collaboration with the NYFA with the aim of establishing bridges with the US audiovisual sector and linking the Catalan university and training centers associated with the Cluster with their American counterparts.

Once again, Barcelona was the setting for the Mobile World Congress, one of the world’s largest mobile technology shows which brings together companies, institutions and investors from across the world. In 2018 the Congress has seen the participation of some member companies of the Cluster who had stands and presented their latest projects.

The companies are (click on each company to see the details of their stands):

Cellnex Telecom: Operator specialized in wireless telecommunications for broadcasting in Europe. It provides audio-visual services to broadcasters and “Smart Cities” solutions

Filmarket Hub: Online platform for audio-visual professionals and producers to facilitate the search for projects, funding or job opportunities

Tviso: Online platform specialized in the cataloguing and personalized managing of audiovisual content (films, documentaries and television programs)

VISYON (projecte Vroadcaster): Digital services company specialized in virtual reality, augmented reality and immersive technologies

Vodity: Video on demand platform that offers films, documentaries and series with specialised content in the history, culture and science fields

Watchity: Collaborative video platform to follow events by amalgamating, in streaming, participants’ device footage

The Cluster companies attend 4YFN – 4 Years From Now

Thanks to the collaboration agreement between the Cluster and the Mobile World Capital, the Cluster members have been able to attend 4YFN — an international meeting of emerging technology companies. More than 20,000 people and about 700 investors have attended this year. This is a great opportunity to learn first-hand about the latest trends in technological entrepreneurship.

For the second consecutive year, the Audio-visual Cluster participated at the “Saló del Cinema i les Sèries” (Cinema and Series Show), a meeting place for professionals and fans of the sector that takes place annually in La Farga de l’Hospitalet. This time the Cluster has taken part by organising “Tourism and Audio-visual. Opportunities, models and options”— a session aimed at reflecting on the growing relationship between audio-visual productions and the tourism sector.

With Pere Claveria (Terrassa Film Office / Parc Audiovisual de Catalunya), Eugeni Osàcar (CETT-UB), Carlota Guerrero (Catalunya Film Comission), Patrick Torrent (Agència Catalana de Turisme-ACT) and Jaume Banacolocha (Diagonal TV).

The new presidency begins a new stage based on the strengthening of the Cluster and focusing on internationalization of the Audiovisual sector

Miquel Rutllant was appointed Chairman of the Catalan Audio-visual Cluster last Tuesday 12th of December, after the Assembly of Members unanimously approved the proposal of the Board of Directors and of the outgoing Chairman, Jordi Mendieta.

Director General of Lavinia since 2012, Miquel Rutllant is a senior telecommunication engineer who graduated from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, and also has an MBA from IESE Business School. He has worked in the telecommunications and chemical industries and has held senior positions over the last 15 years in companies in the audio-visual sector, including the position of Sales Director of TVC Multimèdia at the Catalan Media Corporation (CCMA), and Regional Director of Audio-visual Engineering at VITELSA.

Rutllant had been the Vice Chairman of the Cluster to date, and has taken the role of Chairman with the aim “to follow the line taken by the former Chairman, with more activities, more interaction between partners, and more collaboration with other sectors and markets.”

In his presentation before the Assembly of Members, Rutllant also stressed that, during his term, he aims to strengthen the international side of the Cluster. “We need to find ways for all companies to internationalise, including small and medium-sized businesses. The sector needs it now more than ever.”

The outgoing Chairman, Jordi Mendieta, who was appointed in December 2016, has generated a period of growth for the Cluster. The number of partners, scheduled activities and the number of contacts with national and international sector institutions has increased over the year. Jordi Mendieta is now a member of the Board of Directors.

According to official data, the audio-visual and multimedia industry has a turnover of 1.662 billion euros — a figure that represents 18% of the overall Spanish audio-visual industry, and 16% of the Catalan cultural sector. It also has 2,235 companies with 14,047 employees.

This year, the World TV Day in Catalonia  focussed on the success of fiction series, both from the point of view of the narrative and the business model that accompanies them. The session, held at the TecnoCampus in Mataró, had the support of the Catalan Audio-visual Cluster.

Targets transforming into audience; technological platforms becoming televisions; brand value transforming into content… It is not news that brands explore new formulas to promote their products, including advertising on TV, on the internet or social networks, as well as new formats such as branded content and virtual reality.

However, brands are beginning to explore a new strategy: the creation of their own audio-visual media. TV channels, applications and online platforms with their own content are the trends in brand communication. This is a new model that opens up new avenues in the relationship between the audio-visual sector, agencies and brands. Zoom Brands 2017 analysed the new strategies and success stories with the participation of companies including Lavinia Next (Ideas & Solution Factory at Lavinia Group), ‘La Caixa’ Foundation and Agència &Rosàs (with the ALMA project), ZOOPA Creative Studio and Nestlé TV.

The leading company in the field of virtual reality, (VR) VISYON, the leader in post-production, Antaviana Films, and the distribution company of VR glasses, Goodie Cardboard 360, met at FILMETS Badalona Film Festival in a session organised by the Cluster and  Badalona Comunicació to discuss the relationship between emerging VR technology and short film formats.

The Cluster will promote the video game industry with a plan that focuses on talent and aims to strengthen the competitiveness of companies.

The initiative comes out of several meetings recently held with creators and representatives of the video game sector, a sector that has emerged with a strong rate of growth in Catalonia over the last few years.

In one year (from 2014 to 2015), the video game sector grew 41%, and by 2015 it was comprised of 120 companies (24.8% of the national total for Spain), 1,687 employees, the highest employment rate in all of Spain (38% of the total), and a turnover of 217 million euro (42% of the national total).