Broadcast design studios are now providing interactive work while working with buttonedup workflows, sophisticated design and lower budgets

Post, June, 2008 by Ann Fisher

What are the big issues facing the broacast desing industry? Post asked Jonathan Bock-Verk, the newe president of promax/BDa (www.promaxbda,org), the industry association for broadcast desing professionals. "Right now is the most exciting time to be in this industry, because broadcast design has traditionally meant navigation," he says. "It meant do a bumper, do a logo, spinning letters. Every Tom, Dick and Harry with an After Effect suite or Final Cut can be a broadcast designer,"

He says the work is evolving, and people are now designing for a variety of platforms. "I'm not just talking about graphics on a a cell phone. Navigation means something very different now in the broadcast world or it will mean something very different very soon.

"Bofore, navigation meant "Tune in at 8.' Now, it's, 'Here's how to navigatc to a piece of content that you didn't even know you wanted, and here's how to buy it, download or access it on demand.'So broadcast design isn't just about linear design, it's about designing the experience from turning on the television though purchasing or accessing a piece of content on whatever platform."

He says that to stay competitive these days, studios need to be able to offer these services. "If you're only offering flat design and your competitor is offering design for the whole experience--the whole interactive experience on every platform, the expertise, the technology, the understanding of these mediums--that's a far more exciting value proposition,"

Some studios already recognize this sea change... Ken Reddick, creative director of Meld Media in Toronto, Csays, "We've been doing interactive alongside broadcast for a couple of years now. It comes down to being multidisciplinary and how that puts you in a different class than a straight broadcast design company. We've doing broadcast quailty video interactive work for the Web for our agency client using all the same equipment and software."

He says there is trend for motion graphics/broadcast design shops to do integrated interactive work, "For example creating elements for an opering or TV spot which are used in broadcast, but then also broken out for use in nteractive. In most cased it's one shop doing all the motion design work for broadcast and interactive."

Adds Joseph silver, creative director/designer for New York's Designomotion, "I've noticed that the venues for where people like us can show our work is expanding, Not quickly, but you're starting to see motion graphics on TVs is elevators and whole Foods store check-out lines, not to mention cell phones,"

Another trend is the momentum of sophisticated design. All the brioadcast designers interviewed mentioned it, as did Block-Verk, attributing it to more educational opportunities, more powerful, affordable technology and clients' emphasis on unique looks.

"Creative shops are using whatever technology they need to accomplish their goals. There are mind-blowing things that can be done in After Effects," says Bock-Verk. "I grew up in a studio that got the first Inferno in Canada. The things you can accomplosh today on a $600 laptop versus what cost one million dollars 15 years ago in remarkable. When Spin [the Toronto studio] got the first Inferno, that was a selling point regardless of the fact that it was going to cost you a fortune to be there. Now it's all about creativity and talent and the ability to convey a message and to express you through images regardless of the technology you have in-house."

Designomotion's Silver concurs. "I started in the broadcast industry 10 years ago and you had the Flame, but for people doing desktop like me, there was no culture yet. There wasn't Motionographer. com [a showcase of creative media around the world] or these other Website. We were still in the 'computer in the garage' phase. Now people are a lot more sophisticated and are learning how to do this in school."

Economic trends are harder to defing. Block-Verk says everyone complains about budgets being less, which he thinks is because the point of entry has dropped. He is concerned, also, ablut the "tremendous consolidation on the network and broadcast and studio sides. There are a lot more creative decision coming from a lot fewer people, and there's very little loyalty to creative houses."

On lower budgets, Designomotion's Silver disagrees. "Last year was the best year we ever had, and this year is going to be way better. So I'm a little bit confused because I'm reading all the numbers too and I'm kind of expecting the downtrend as well but, based on billings.there is no downtrend for us. I don't know why that is. maybe things are just playing catch-up or we're just lucky or our clients like us. Part of it might be that this year is an election year, an Olympics year, that's giving a little strengh to the market."

Meld Meldia's Reddick agress: "The budgets are pretty decent. We really try to tailor our approach to the budget we've been given. Big bidget or low budget,we're just going to do the work that;s appropriate because any low balling and doing a ton of work for no money isn't doing anybody, or the ilndustry, andy good. I think the best approach there is to be creative."