HITS

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — At the Oct. 18 HITS Fall confab, a panel of content creators, talent experts and IT experts all mulled the same questions: what are the biggest challenges facing Hollywood in today’s digital world, and how can the industry overcome them?

In 2020, content companies will be dealing with an even more connected world than we have today, with 8 billion potential customers who’ll want content on every device and at any time. And in the four years between now and then, who knows what new technologies will emerge?

Eric Iverson, chief information officer for Creative Artists Agency (CAA), has noticed a pattern that’s emerged in recent years: it seems consumer content expectations only continue to grow, and every time Hollywood answers, the expectations grow again.

He said the speed and the expectations surrounding content are both feeding off each other, and one of the areas of media and entertainment that needs to do the most catching up is on the creation side, with the investment in new equipment, he said. Productions tend to run very, very frugally today, Iverson added. And that’s important, because with the emergences of virtual reality, it’s not just about the story “Going forward, we should talk in terms of better storytelling and experiences,” he said.

Eliot Sakhartov, an account technology strategist for media and entertainment for Microsoft, said that for everyone in the industry, a lot of the answers lie in the data. And that’s especially true with emerging technologies, which can help ease the process, including things like facial recognition and automatic translation.

Because there is no such thing as successful, manually driven supply chain in today’s digital world. Just ask John Koscheka, EVP of digital manufacturing and distribution for 20th Century Fox. Fox deals with more than 2,000 customers worldwide in 194 different territories, with content distributed in 64 different languages and in 14 different media formats. That needs digital innovation.

On top of that, he said, because so much has changed, and changed so fast, everyone today needs to play some roll in the supply chain. “We as an industry need to rally together, from the pre-production and talent process, and remember that we’re all in this together,” he said.

And that begins at the start of any content endeavor, Koscheka added. Fox has seen some excellent examples on the TV side on how making talent a part of the process early on can results in more accurate — and more profitable — worldwide distribution, especially when it comes to scheduling.

Produced by MESA in cooperation with the Hollywood IT Society, HITS: Fall is the largest gathering of the Hollywood IT community and its technology partners of the season. This year’s annual event hosted over 350 attendees from across the Media & Entertainment industry including CEOs, CTOs and executives from major studios, distributors and top service providers.