To boost the success of the fund, the OMDC has relaxed a few provisions dealing primarily with submitting final (as opposed to interim) applications. In essence, the OMDC will accept by July 31 final applications from applicants whose year end falls AFTER July 31 but before January 1, 2011. The significance of this amendment is that internal costs that are not recognized until the financial statements of an applicant are produced (at the fiscal year end) can now be claimed, once those financial statements are submitted.

There is some thought at the OMDC that there may be a flood of applications in the next few weeks as many companies have a March 31 year end. Either way, if you haven’t got your application in yet and have not thought it worthwhile, reconsider. There may be money with your name on it sitting at the OMDC!

Films in the $12M -$40M ar not being picked up by the studios either to finance or distribute. The cost to roll out films in this budget range is far too high relative to the returns. So studios are not interested in financing or distributing. Films above this range can sustain the huge P&A spend because of the expected returns of a broad release. Films at the other end of the spectrum, don’t have the huge P&A expenditures nor are they likely to have a wide release so that marketing techniques and the attendant costs are smaller. But can anyone figure out a way to market the low budget film  utilizing the internet in a coherent manner? If so you might have an even bigger pool of clients: producers creating films in the $13m-40m range.

Another important trend is the move away from 1st gross dollar deals, the status symbol of having “made it” in Hollywood. Studios are finding it unpalatable that the talent reap a windfall from sales and the financiers of the film will not even break-even. In an attempt to redress this situation, the studios are offering “pool” deals which essentially create a pool of revenue to be split between director, producer and actors AFTER the break-even point. What goes into the pool and advances against the pool are hotly negotiated items. In general, whatever a participant’s percentage of 1st dollar gross will be doubled from the pool. If this is the trend in LA, it is bound to have repercussions in Canada.

Piracy is again at the top of the list for the studios. There are two themes in how to handle this problem: tougher enforcement and/or distribution techniques that mitigate the ability to pirate. Most speakers felt a bit of both the carrot and stick was necessary. The latter is certainly being put into place but there is still no clear way to remove the incentive to pirate. Talk invariably turns to collapsing the traditional release windows so that the market for the pirated goods no longer exist. The problem with such a strategy is no yet knows how to accomplish this and more importantly, there is a great deal of fear that a general release in all media channels simultaneously will kill the most expensive method of distribution: theatrical release. Ultimately, as one speaker contended, if there is enough “sugar” in the studio’s release of the film, the pirated version won’t be as popular. “Sugar” in this case being anything that adds to the movie watching experience from additional features that accompany DVD’s to website interaction with stars, directors etc.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP) FUND

The Ontario Budget of March 26, 2009 announced that the Provincial
Government would “invest $10 million in a pilot program, administered
through OMDC, that would refund a portion of the costs associated with
intellectual property development to Ontario-based companies in the
screen-based industries”.

WHO CAN APPLY

Canadian controlled companies in Ontario with a proven track record in
the business of creating screen-based content products in Ontario for at
least one year prior to the year of application to the fund may apply
for expenditures incurred on or after April 1, 2009 and up to and
including March 31, 2010. Companies can apply up to twice: at their
fiscal year end, and once at a time of their choosing.

IP FUND INFORMATION
The rebate will be calculated at 30% of eligible costs up to a cap of
$150,000 for the span of the pilot program.

IP FUND ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES
• The IP Fund is designed to assist qualifying Ontario corporations by
providing a partial refund of costs incurred for eligible early stage
development activities for screen-based content properties including:
o optioning or acquiring story rights;
o concept, story and character creation;
o creation of game design and technical specification documentation;
o research for script and story purposes; creation of prototypes.

Go to the OMDC on December 14th for details and the guidelines. You can
bet there will be a rush of applications, don’t delay.

Here is the OMDC site: www.omdc.on.ca

The good news is that there are Web 2.0 opportunities for creative producers. In the Meet With session September 13, 2009, the conversation centred on using Web 2.0 capabilities (Blogs, social networking, etc.) to build an audience for your film or tv program. The first step is to analyze the elements of your film that might interest a particular niche. Any film will have numerous possible interest groups. Take as an example the screenplay I am currently developing which has the following seemingly odd elements: the Yugo (a disasterous car from the former Yugoslavia that was launched in North America in the late 1980′s); a cellist from Slovenia; and Quebec sultry actress, Catherine De Lean. By appealing to individuals each interested in these separate elements (e.g. hold a contest for the best Yugo joke, connect to the Slovenian community in Toronto and invite immigration stories, tap into Catherine’s fan base) each of these separate interests can be introduced to the film. When it comes time to distribute, you are already ahead of the game in terms of distribution but also now have open ancillary markets to sell your film or television program, whether that be t-shirt, product sponsorship, or music from the film. Apparently, these revenue sources are going to become just as important to the producer in recouping costs and making a profit.

The fact is, that many distributors are now asking producers what the digital strategy will be for the proposed film. Without one, the distributor is likely to pass. And if you are a television producer, the new Canada Media Fund (CMF) to be launched April 1, 2010, will require each producer to submit a Digital Extension Strategy, detailing how the producer will exploit the proposed program on at least two different platforms.

Producers, get digital!

This launch is only one of several initiatives that I have begun in the last 12 months to embrace the expanding capabilities of the web. I am now purposefully adding to my LinkedIn account and have been pleased at it’s immediate usefullness. I have also acquired a Twitter account, but have yet to spend enough time on Twitter to enjoy its advantages.  All in good time.

As I get my feet wet in the world of blogging and twittering and leave behind my first website, I look forward to reaching out to my clients and contacts. It is my intention to provide them with information, tips, links and other resources to provide immediate value in negotiating the legal hurdles of the entertainment industry. Stay tuned for more changes and updates.