Tourism and media. Opportunities, models and options

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).

Audio-visual companies meet in Terrassa, City of Film by UNESCO

Organised by the Cluster, around sixty agents from the audio-visual industry visited the Audio-visual Park of Catalonia, in Terrassa, after UNESCO recently chose the city to be part of the Creative Cities Network in the Film section. This is an important milestone in the effort to internationalise the industry.

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Miquel Rutllant is the new chairman of the Catalan Audiovisual Cluster

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.

“What could we learn from the Danish audio-visual system to apply in Catalonia?”

“What could we learn from the Danish audio-visual system to apply in Catalonia?” is one question asked during a session entitled “The Danish audio-visual model”, which began the Audio-visual Talent Week, a meeting space between emerging talent and the audio-visual industry organised by the Cluster, from 28th November to 1st December 2017.

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In addition to opening the Week, this session was part of a group of activities in which the Cluster aims to analyse the different audio-visual models in the world. The French and North-American models have been tackled so far (Click here to find out more).

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The Denmark model was the focus on this occasion, as it is a country which Catalonia has often taken as a reference, and for this reason, the round table had top-notch participants with diverse backgrounds. David Matamoros, the representative in Spain of the Danish production company Zentropa (founded by Lars Von Trier) was the moderator of the round table, which saw the participation of Madeleine Ekman (Zentropa Sweden), Martin Kofoed (Danish Film Institute), Petar Mitric (University of Copenhagen), and Ton Lladó, a Catalan economist specialising in the Danish model.

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Watch the streaming session here => DANISH AUDIO-VISUAL MODEL

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World TV Day: A debate on the success of TV series

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.

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Eastern Europe: opportunities for the audio-visual market

The countries of Eastern Europe offer a good opportunity for growth in the audio-visual sector and for Catalan companies that wish to open markets. This was the main conclusion drawn from the work day for partners only, which the Cluster organised together with ACCIÓ.

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ZOOM Brands 2017. Brands and the new media [video streaming]

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 Cluster takes part in the conference organised by ‘Distretto Produttivo Puglia Creativa’

The Audio-visual Cluster participated in the meeting of managers of European cultural and creative industries held in Bari (Italy) on 30th and 31st October. Organised by the Italian company Distretto Produttivo Puglia Creativa, the conference was part of the “ChIMERA – Innovative Cultural & Creative Clusters in the Mediterranean Area” project, a programme created for the networking of clusters and institutions in the creative and cultural sectors.

Virtual reality and short film

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.

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The Cluster participates in the international conference CHIMERA, in Slovenia

Invited by the Chamber of Commerce of Terrassa, the Audio-visual Cluster travelled to Ljubljana (Slovenia) to take part in the international conference “CHIMERA – Innovative Cultural & Creative Clusters in the Mediterranean Area” (3rd to 5th October).

The conference brought together clusters and institutions relating to cultural and creative industries in Europe, and was an opportunity to network with a nearby and emerging market like Eastern Europe.

The Cluster presented the Catalan audio-visual sector and participated in the discussion panels on cultural and creative industries in Europe.

The Cluster Promotes the Video Game Industry

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).

Video, Music and Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality technologies have emerged as a driving force for change, both in the audio-visual and in the music sector. Are they economically viable? What creative potential do they hold? What is the forecast for their future?

In order to answer these questions, the Audio-visual Cluster organized the session “Virtual Reality, Video, and Music,” with internationally-known VR producers, within the context of the professional conference component of Primavera Pro – Primavera Sound.

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The session included the participation of Steven Hancock, from Melody VR, the largest music content library of VR; Adam Rogers, from Gentle Manhands, American producer of videoclips and VR animation; Xavi Conesa, from Visyon, a Catalan benchmark company concerning the VR content, the Immersive and Augmented Reality. The moderator was Fèlix Balbas, from Minimo VFX, a 3-D and VFX company.

Goodie Cardboard 360, which works on the distribution of VR technology, distributed VR glasses among the attendees.

Light and Dark Sides of the Documentary Industry in Catalonia

What brought a producer (Tono Folguera – Lastor Media), a creator (Neus Ballús – El Kinògraf), a distributor- festival (Juan González – DocsBarcelona), a thinker (Jordi Balló – UPF), a Danish critic (Tue Steen Müller – founder EDN), a television programmer (Miquel Garcia – TV3) and a representative of the administration (Blanca Piulats – ICEC), together at a single table?

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Why did they meet at a round table moderated by Paco Escribano (Absolute Minority) attended by more than a hundred people, including a prestigious selection of members of the audio-visual sector? Invited by the Catalan Audio-visual Cluster, as part of the DocsBarcelona Festival of 2017, in a session titled  “The documentary industry in Catalonia”, they spoke about the evolution of the sector since it began to be developed in Catalonia and the challenges that the industry faces – and will face – both in the present and the future.

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The Cluster is Awarded the Bronze Label of the European Cluster Excellence Initiative Certification

El The European Secretariat for Cluster Analysis has awarded the Catalan Audio-visual Cluster with the  Bronze Label of the European Cluster Excellence Initiative

The certification, awarded after research undertaken by the European institution, evaluates the Cluster according to the European models and confirms that it complies with European quality standards.

The Bronze Label gives the Cluster access to a network of international contacts. The award represents a great step for the Cluster project, as its principle aim is to form connections between companies and institutions from the audio-visual sector both nationally and internationally.

Collaboration Agreement with Mobile World Capital

The Catalan Audio-visual Cluster signed a collaboration agreement with Mobile World Capital, a foundation working on the digitalization and development of mobile technology in Catalonia. This agreement seeks to create synergies and new business opportunities between the Audio-visual sector and the digital world, as well as to work together to turn Barcelona into an international digital and creative hub.

The agreement was signed by Jordi Mendieta, chairman of the Cluster, and Aleix Valls, CEO of  Mobile World Capital.

Final Cut vs Premiere. Trends in Post-Production

The changes applied to both main video editors (Final Cut and Adobe Premiere), plus the latest developments in storage systems are, on the whole, a reflection of the trends affecting the field of post-production globally: new forms of collaboration, the pace of work, team organisation and new technical requirements.

Therefore, the Cluster organised for the first time at the headquarters of SGAE a technical session on post-production: “Final Cut vs Premiere. New Workflows with a Collaborative System of Data Storage”, together with partner company Microgestió, specialising in implementation of new technology and training.

Saudi Arabia’s GCAM visits the Cluster

A delegation from the Saudi Arabia General Comission for Audiovisual Media (GCAM)visited the Audio-Visual Cluster and met with a dozen member companies. The delegation, led by Muammar Al-Fahad, Director of Investment Development, outlined plans to build an international Media Hub in Riad, with the aim of promoting the audio-visual sector in the country with the help of foreign companies.

The Media Hub strategic areas are set to be video games, training, infrastructures for production and distribution, pay-TV, and animation and design.

Catalan companies in the audio-visual sector were invited to take part in the project and to suggest ideas for its development. This is the second time the GCAM visits the Cluster and both institutions have agreed to maintain permanent collaborative contacts.

The US Audio-Visual Model. Catalan Experiences in the United States

Last February, the Cluster organised together with the PAC a session on the French audio-visual model, which set off a series of activities aimed at analysing the audio-visual industry in other countries. This time it was the turn of the United States. The session “The US Audio-Visual Model. Catalan Experiences in the United States”, in coordination with the Americana Film Festival and held at the headquarters of SGAE-Catalonia, saw the participation of a group of Catalan audio-visual companies from various fields with the shared experience of having carried out projects on the other side of the Atlantic.

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The session, moderated by Noemí Cuní (Grup Broadcaster), was based on the experiences and perceptions of the audio-visual sector in the United States by film producers Sergi Moreno (Lastor Media) and David Matamoros (Zentropa Spain), TV producer Albert Grau (Reset TV), 3D modeller and animator Fèlix Balbas (Minimo VFX),and US producer Kyle Martin.

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The French Audio-Visual Model with Xavier Lardoux

At a time when audio-visual policies in Catalonia are being redefined with regards to their strategy, it seems appropriate to learn about the models in neighbouring countries which have become an example internationally. For this reason, Productors Audiovisuals de Catalunya (PAC) organised, with the collaboration of the Cluster, the session “The French Audio-Visual Model”, with the participation of Xavier Lardoux, director of the Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée (CNC), in dialogue with Albert Serra, filmmaker and current president of PAC, held in the auditorium of La Pedrera.

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Online Distribution. New Strategies, New Content, New Users

It can be said that the last decade was marked by the emergence of online audio-visual distribution platforms. In a short period of time, we saw a growing number of more diverse companies embracing this business model. It was and, in a way, still is booming sector. Currently, it includes enterprises which range from pioneering local platforms specialising in online independent cinema to multinationals with mass consumer products.

És per això, per entendre el moment actual d’aquest sector i analitzar les tendències que l’afecten, que el Clúster ha organitzat, en el marc del Saló del Cinema i de les Sèries, la sessió “La Distribució Online. Noves estratègies, nous continguts, nous usuaris”, aplegant una representació significativa i diversa d’aquells projectes dedicats a la distribució online: Movistar+, Filmin, Flooxer, Tviso i Wuaki. Una sessió moderada per Alex Bas, responsable de continguts i nous formats de Diagonal TV.

That’s why, to be able to understand the current situation in this sector and analyse trends affecting it, the Cluster has organised the session “Online Distribution. New Strategies, New Content, New Users” at the Saló del Cinema i de les Sèries (Film and Series Fair). This session, moderated by the Head of Content and New Formats at Diagonal TV, Alex Bas, brought together representatives of online distributors involved in diverse and significant projects, such as Movistar+, Filmin, Flooxer, Tviso and Wuaki.