Isabella Parish on Production’s Positivity in 2018

I love singing shrimps, gravity-defying cats and overzealous DIY, but mostly I love the fact that, despite the plates shifting in the client, agency and production company relationships, the creative production community is still making the best, weirdest and most beautiful advertising ever. 

At the beginning of 2017, I worried that our bravery had been stifled and that we would be paralysed by a double-edged sword of fear and change that could only produce bland content. Yet we have barrelled through 2017 with a mountain of brilliant work dialling up what we do best and often pushing for change. And as things get a bit more precarious due to our surreal politics, and the trickle-down effect of this, we have been actively supporting each other and talking openly about how we are going to make things better in our industry.

Endless opportunity

I have loved that production companies are still supporting young directors in music videos and low budget content, in a way that other entities can’t or won’t do. Finding, nurturing and encouraging talent from the ground up, creating an environment in which they can express themselves, is one of our most important roles, and if we can feed a little diversity into the industry from here, then even better.

I see the previously steep client/agency/production power pyramid shifting into a mountain range of peaks as each area of the production process, from the writing to the delivery, is taking control of its own destiny. We all need each other and there is no doubt that the traditional 30-second TV ad afforded us by excellent programme makers (please continue to make Hunted and the loathsome Love Island!) is what we all know and love, but the nearly perpendicular trend of short-form content being commissioned by media platforms, such as YouTube, Snapchat or the New York Times, has given us a new freedom and endless opportunity for filmmaking if we are willing to jump in. 

Consumption of fiction and non-fiction, branded or commissioned by the platforms we are watching them on, is where our heads are; this is where we spend our day, where we get our news and our stories. Many of us go home and turn the TV on, but we browse all the way home and even while watching The Handmaid’s Tale (especially episode four, that was so tense I had to hide in my Facebook feed, watching the screen through my fingers).

We need to get smarter in the way we engage with short-form content because, unlike straightforward TV, you can skip an ad with a swipe of a finger. Brands need to invest more in entertainment. At 1stAveMachine, we recently launched a YouTube channel and were able to stretch our creative output to make films that we don’t usually have access to in the commercial space. This meant we had the freedom to explore themes and stories for a longer period of time than just a traditional two-to-three month production stint. I’m sure that in 2018 we will see an increase in the convergence of entertainment and advertising.

Virtually certain

Where developing technologies such as AR/MR/VR will end up isn’t exactly clear yet. But these technologies aren’t going away and it is our responsibility to experiment with content in these new spaces because whenever the train arrives, we better be on it. In the two years from 2008, a boom in smartphones meant that if you didn’t have the latest device you were an outcast, and I predict that 2018 is going to be the same for VR and associated technologies. Earlier this year 1stAve announced a collaboration with VR creators network Kaleidescope, which has enabled us to work with artists who each have their own speciality, from storytelling to interactive to functional, but all perfectly poised for this new media.

What I do hope for 2018 is that we will work with our friends and colleagues at agencies, production companies and brands to make sure that positive change, even in the smallest area, is at the nub of each conversation. Maybe we need to make ethical decisions about the platforms we support, but let’s be sure to include a conversation at the start of every project that might be about employing a more inclusive crew, committing to an eco-efficient shoot, or tackling big-picture issues – and let’s celebrate that!