BCC(3) 36
Broadcasting Committee
Inquiry into Public Service Broadcasting
Submission to the Broadcast Committee of the National Assembly for Wales by University of Wales, Newport School of Art, Media and Design
"
The truth is the more television there is, the less any of it matters…the most important change, it seems to me, is the philosophy that underpins what we do... there has been a catastrophic, collective loss of nerve…too often it seems that the people at the top of this industry no longer ask themselves what they ought to be using this uniquely powerful medium for.”
Jeremy Paxman: Edinburgh Television Festival 2007 - as reported in the Guardian 25/08/07
1.0 Introduction
1.1 This paper is being submitted by the University of Wales, Newport to the National Assembly for Wales Broadcasting Committee as part of the Committee’s Review into Public Sector Broadcasting in Wales. The paper reviews the growth of the broadcast environment generally and indicates the potential for growth and development in the relationship between both creative content and the technologies used to deliver this.
2.0 The University of Wales, Newport
2.1 The University of Wales, Newport is based on two main campuses - one near Newport’s Civic Centre and the other at Caerleon, a few miles from the city centre. Newport has an international reputation in Art, Media and Design and hosts the International Film School Wales and the newly established Institute of Advanced Broadcasting.
2.2 The University of Wales, Newport is an ambitious and successful higher education provider; the only community and entrepreneurial University located in the Newport/Gwent area. With nearly 10,000 students and an FTE roll of about 5000 it is one of the largest employers in South East Wales..
2.3 The new campus planned for 2010 in the centre of Newport will add a further impetus to the development of convergent technologies and Creative Industries.
3.0 The Newport School of Art, Media and Design
3.1 The School of Art Media and Design at the University of Wales, Newport has a long tradition and reputation as a provider of degree level courses in Art and Design. The reputation of the School is at the highest level though achievement of a grade 5 in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, the School took a strategic decision to strengthen the research base for art and design in Wales by submitting a joint RAE submission with UWIC under the banner of the newly launched Wales Institute of Research in Art & Design (WIRAD), of which it was a founding partner. Within the School subject groups such as Design Futures, Synergy Games Research and the European Centre for Photographic Research consider digital technology and how it can fundamentally change the way we think and behave.
3.2 The School of Art, Media and Design also hosts the Interntional Film School, Wales (IFSW) and has appointed legendary film Director Ken Russell as a Visiting Professor to work with the School on a number of exciting new developments. Its reputation as one of three UK centres for research and development in the moving image is well-regarded internationally.
3.3 As the School moves to its new city centre location in 2010 it will enhance this reputation through innovative, interdisciplinary approaches to its provision and its Creative Industries and business engagement.
4.0 International Film School, Wales (IFSW)
4.1 IFSW is based at the University’s Caerleon Campus. The School is the recognised leading institution for the promotion and development of the audiovisual culture of Wales through higher-level education, research and training. There are currently over 500 undergraduate and postgraduate students at IFSW who benefit from being located in a thriving production region of the UK and from the School's excellent links with industry.
4.2 As lead partner in the Skillset Screen Academy of Wales, IFSW enjoys very close links with film and related industries both within Wales and more widely throughout the UK. These links are also recognised in the current development of a Skillset Academy specifically focussed on television and broadcasting.
5.0 Institute of Advanced Broadcasting (IAB)
5.1 The IAB has been set up in order to lead the developments in digital broadcasting in research and commercialisation in support of the Creative Industries in Wales, the UK and worldwide. Established as new venture and building on the international reputation of the School of Art, Media and Design, the IAB will engage in research, enterprise and commercial activities within the field of advanced broadcasting and communication technologies. The IAB will provide an environment where businesses and academics can work together in exploring new concepts and ideas to support future needs and solutions of the industry. In this regard, the University will draw on its internal and external academic and commercial agencies to investigate the convergence potential for print, TV, the internet and other broadcast technologies as broadcasting is experienced as a multi-technology consumer experience.
5.2 The IAB will be managed through an Executive Board complemented by the establishment of an advisory board with membership drawn from experienced business executives and practitioners from a wide range of businesses with interests in seeing this field develop. It is a joint venture between the University and businesses with support from the Welsh Assembly Government which has expressed particular interest in the advisory board concept. The IAB will draw on the expertise of business professionals to further develop their creative thinking processes and produce broadcasting solutions that can be transformed into commercial outputs.
6.0 Ubiquitous Computing Technologies
6.1 As the world responds to changing technologies, consumers will experience broadcast content in so many different ways. The internet, print and broadcast media can potentially harness integrated content and deliver it in digital ways which expand the user experience through location technology, mobile technology, small screen devices, GPS and sensing technologies. Robotic cameras and other recording media will extend the functionality of today’s webcams to the extent where they will become both personal and mobile. Embedding technology into every object of significance from furniture, clothing, environments, vehicles, tools, packaging and goods in general will see displays and interfaces being simplified, miniaturised and personalised with information being routed according to personal and object contexts.
6.2 Technology will no longer be just useful; it will extend the values, experiences and opportunities of consumers into emotional engagement with their environments and potentially into virtual environments. As ubiquitous computing becomes more commercial and ambient displays, tag technology, sensor networks and other facets of this expansion of technology become widespread, there will be a much more connected world and the demand for content will increase exponentially. Devices like the IPod allow huge amounts of digital content to be carried and to be accessed through expanded WiFi networks.
6.3 Film, news networks, TV and Internet content delivered digitally will require a review of current digital rights management (DRM) and intellectual property rights (IPR). New rights models such as the not for profit Creative Commons are being seen as responding to the phenomenon of internet communities drawing on many millions of individual content producers. Models of distribution such as those that waive revenues direct from the user but rely on other forms of revenue generation through advertising are being seen on a regular basis with examples from Google and the music industry. We are all aware of the growth of the use of "instant” mobile phone photography and video to record disasters, crimes and dramatic events and their incorporation into news broadcasts. We are less aware of the implications of increasing levels of true two-way interactivity for the creation of innovatory media products - and blithely unaware of the implications of all this for production values, IPR and so on.
6.4 Deeper interaction between users, content and location is potentially a huge area for development, but business models for this have hardly yet been explored, much less exploited. We are not talking about remote possibilities. There are already practical locative media using handheld mobile devices to tell a story along a route around a tourist attraction or at sports events. The same technology can deliver location-aware content at particular times and at particular locations and can even interact with static advertising displays to personalise commercial opportunities.
7.0 The Broadcast Paradox
7.1 Any discussion of a "Public Service” offering that does not take cognisance of the many ways in which broadcast content can be created, presented and consumed is completely missing the point. It is important here to remember how late 20th Century cinema successfully reinvented itself in the face of what had appeared to be a fatal challenge from television. New products, new production processes, new modes and locations for consumption all played their part in this resurgence. It is important also to remember that the existence of a highly successful commercial cinema industry has not suppressed audiovisual creativity. Broadcasters need to lose the Reithian fixation with "more is worse”.
"Numbers now seem to be the only universal measure for excellence we have: how many, how much, how often... We are losing sight of the innate value of programmes in our fixation on the success that can be measured by profit, profile or performance. The relentless quest to find out what viewers want and then to give it to them has made for sameness as we all seek to engineer the most effective schedule.
(David Liddiment, ITV, McTaggart Lecture 2001).
7.2 It was surely not the "...quest to find out what viewers want and then to give it to them...” which brought things to this pass, but rather a massive failure of imagination on the part of the broadcasters themselves. Standards obviously matter, but the patrician assumptions that there is or can be any "universal measure for excellence”, or that market discipline is an outrageous intrusion into the creative liberty of the broadcaster must be seen for the red herrings that they are.
7.3 The multi-channel future had been clearly in view for a decade or more when Liddiment launched his petulant tirade at Edinburgh.
"The television set of the future will be in reality a telecomputer linked by fibre optic cable to a global cornucopia of programmes and nearly infinite libraries of data, education and entertainment. All with full interactivity. These... will revolutionise the way we are educated, the way we work and the way we relax…"
Rupert Murdoch, (McTaggart Lecture, Edinburgh, 1989)
7.4 If the 20th Century was the golden age of 'cinema’, then the 21st century should, with its possibilities for high-definition digital programming, be the golden age of 'TV’.
However, an umbilical cord now connects the TV to the computer. The technology that sat in the corner of the room, programmed by someone else, is in danger of becoming obsolete. The days of the TV 'scheduler’ are numbered. There have never been more channels, never more TV programmes made; and yet the broadcast world does not know how to move forward or how to reinvent itself to take advantage of these new 'ways of seeing’. Either the ocean-going broadcast tanker cannot turn quickly enough, or the broadcast ostrich has its head rammed firmly in the sand.
7.5 The paradox is, that at a time when new technical possibilities should be leading to a revolution in programming and production methods (led by a new wave of multi-skilled filmmakers) there is instead stagnation and dithering. It has never been harder to break into TV, it has never been harder to get commissions and never harder to progress meaningfully through a career. Not only is this new talent not watching TV, it is looking elsewhere (outside the traditional broadcast model) for work/creative release. The screen in the corner of the room does not have a right to survive.
7.6 In his book '
The long tail: why the future of business is selling less of more’, American journalist Chris Anderson argues that during the 20th C, 20% of products generated about 80% of revenue. So a record shop would devote large amounts of space to a few top bands, which everyone bought. Then online shopping changed this paradigm and they began selling 'less of more’ types of music to people nowhere near their shop (online) and they made as much (if not more) money as the old way. Anderson argues that, "
If the 20C entertainment industry was about hits, the 21C will be about niches”.
7.7 Apply this model to TV - and the day of the leviathan broadcasters is over.
Television is merely an electronic device - an empty technology like a typewriter without paper or a gun without bullets. It is the filmmakers/content providers that fill that technological device with 'stuff’. Give them access - and they will find ways to fill the technology, make money and exploit the constantly changing platforms.
7.8 It is the dual role of the IAB and IFSW to excite the new breed of audiovisual entrepreneurs that will need to create a new home and mobile entertainment (it will not be enough for them to be able to 'read’ this new digitality, but the new makers must be totally conversant and be able to write and speak this new digitality fluently). It is also our role to remind those in the broadcast environment (during this uncomfortable transition period) of their purpose and to provide teaching, learning and research appropriately to support their ambitions.
7.9 As an exemplar of the inflexibility of the current model the following case study should be noted as being relevant;
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BBC Wales 'opt outs’ are very much in the hands of the BBC in London to 'override’ if deemed necessary. For example, in February 2008, BBC Wales commissioned a 30-minute documentary for their Arts strand about the ARTES MUNDI show at the National Museum in Cardiff. Originally the film, PAINTING HUMANITY, was scheduled for broadcast around the end of April to tie in with the opening of the show at the museum. However, because of the world snooker finals the TX date was moved by the network to May 19th, only a few weeks before the exhibition closes in early June. It could be argued that the Welsh audience were short changed by that move and that the film lost some of its relevance, but the decision is out of Welsh hands. If the digital switch over is simply seen as opportunity to transplant the old broadcast model simply into a digital clone - then a chance to give autonomy to the Welsh voice will be lost.”
7.10 New platforms and new models of programming offer the prospect of a radical change in the Public Service offering, where 'regional’ content is liberated from the ghetto of the "graveyard slot” and made available on-demand and in the language of choice. A new generation of digitally aware creative people who can make this step are currently being produced in Welsh Universities - and then being lost to Wales.
8.0 Wales and Broadcast Content Providers
8.1 Digital Broadcasting, where the current focus is primarily on digital switchover, has been scheduled to take place in Wales between 2009 and 2010. The timing of the digital switchover is a clear advantage to the launch of the IAB as focus will be clearly focused on the digital revolution and questions about what the future will provide in terms of technology, networks, distribution and content.
8.2 The above technologies and structures are primarily geared at the domestic entertainment market with 9.3 million homes in the UK currently using DTT (Digital Terrestrial Television, i.e., Freeview box through aerial) and 9.1 million Sky satellite TV subscribers. Other developments are in the use of mobile TV, HDTV (High Definition TV) and VoD (Video on Demand).
8.3 In Wales, broadcasting in general has raised its image with the success of the TV series Dr Who and Torchwood; with both winning Welsh BAFTAs over the past three years. It is widely recognized that a strong broadcasting industry has a positive effect on other allied industries often collectively classed as the Creative Industries and that these, in turn, leverage regional businesses dependent on growing SMEs such as legal, financial and production houses.
8.4 Within the University, the IAB is designed to provide development opportunities for a wide range of businesses in the Creative Industries around various media, the broadcasting sector as well as communication technology based companies. By providing this holistic view of digital broadcasting the IAB will be well positioned to support a wide range of businesses to develop new markets and products to meet the future demand of this ever changing and fast moving industry. The IAB will provide a unique setting in bringing together businesses from across the supply chain of digital broadcasting.
8.5 Digital broadcasting is clearly focused at the domestic mass market for entertainment, however there are other sectors that can benefit from the technological advances such as the business sector for communications and data transfer and the education sector for on-line delivery and learning. These other markets of business and education opportunities will be the focus of the IAB’s activities.
9.0 Current and Future University of Wales, Newport Activities
9.1 Background work has already started in exploring the framework for IAB activities in relation to the SME sector in Wales. The University was awarded a £41,800 Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) grant from the Knowledge Exploitation Fund (KEF) to develop an innovation framework for collaborative creative R&D between academia and industry. The project called "Ty Poeth” (Hot House) explored how to develop the design thinking process by establishing teams of creative designer-researchers and key SME experts to develop a set of processes and procedures for SMEs to give them a better understanding of the creative R&D process.
9.2 In parallel with the creation of the IAB, the University is also exploring a number of options for the creation of incubator units to support the growth of new start-up companies. The incubator facility is seen as an important adjunct to the IAB as it provides a mechanism and infrastructure for any business developments arising from the IAB. In addition, the University has received funding to carry out an IP audit of its activities in general. A key focus of this study has been opportunities for IPR exploitation for the IAB.
10.0 Newport’s New City Centre Campus
10.1 In 2010 the University will open its £35M, flagship, city centre campus located on the river Usk in the heart of Newport as part of the City’s £2BN regeneration strategy. Designed to combine and exploit the academic and commercial potential of the Creative Industries around business, enterprise, computing technology, screen media, film, design, performance and music, the Media Futures Academy will extend and enhance current activity in an innovative and dynamic centre for research and development across a range of technologies and disciplines. Unique in Wales and bringing together national and regional commerce and academia in a 'Hothouse’ for research and enterprise, this new campus is designed to maximise the potential for spin-off opportunities, incubation strategies; and business, entrepreneurship and enterprise growth in the region.
11.0 Conclusions
11.1 We understand the established broadcasters’ concerns with the continuation and protection of their particular commitment to the public service remit, but we would urge that a broader view should be taken as to how this might be addressed in a multi-platform future. In particular, we would draw the committee’s attention to the potential Research and Development resource that Wales has in its academic arts and media sectors.
11.2 These sectors enjoy international esteem for their research and creative outputs and yet are largely ignored, unaddressed and under-exploited by the broadcast industry, other than as a source of an 'oven ready’ (their words) labour force. The Welsh Assembly Government would do worse that to leverage a closer and more effective collaboration within its strategic creative sector and with the academic institutions which provide the graduates for this.
11.3 Graduates leave universities with a range of modern technological tools from internet, film, TV, web ad other multi-platform technologies and are often frustrated by the lack of vision and opportunity to use those skills creatively, very often constrained to work within traditional boundaries. They move, of course, to London or Bristol to work within the traditional centres and are frustrated by the lack of opportunity to develop their not inconsiderable breadth of expertise and knowledge.
11.4 The traditional model of broadcasting has the opportunity to wean itself off the centralized programming model of London-based media where allocation of broadcast slots is a top-down process. Why cannot content development in both the English and the Welsh media be continuous, autonomous, downloadable and readily available in a range of formats?
University of Wales, Newport
23 May 2008
