I was invited by Campaign to write a similar article three years ago, predicting the trends for 2012. At the time I believed that production for online advertising would engulf production for television at a more rapid pace than has been the case. It is amazing how TV still holds the more prominent place. Yet we are happy to see new trends coming up and production companies riding the flow.
At the time I also felt that production companies lacked potency. Now I believe almost the opposite to be true. We have gained potency. And I say this specially because we have been han- dling the execution of fully integrated campaigns, not only the film part.
What distinguishes production in this region is slightly more creative liability – researching and selecting the right directors to propose for each brief, versus agencies coming to production companies elsewhere for specific directors on their rosters.
Producers are the creatives’ partners. Now more than ever before. Especially given the advent of new media and the evolution of video production.
Despite gloomy economic predictions for the region – low oil prices and other political factors – I believe 2016 will be a good year. At least I hope so, being Leba- nese and by default optimistic. I feel we are catching up with the rest of the world when it comes to being daring and up-to-date.
I base my predictions on the projects at hand:
• TV will still have the larger share in 2016, after all it still has the biggest reach. Comedy having the lion’s share.
• Branded content is growing exponentially and online production is no longer viewed as the cheaper production option but a lower cost one. There is a world of difference between both terms. The latter means that increasingly agencies and clients are understand- ing and embracing the different approach to a smaller crew, real locations, less art direction and the use of natural lighting etc. yet with very creative exe- cution. The beauty of online videos is the poten- tial for engagement they bear. And that can only materialise with simple and poignant creative concepts and an honest execution. Creative content generated by production companies is on the rise,creating a new medium for advertising and a great filmmaking opportunity for producers.
• We enjoy smaller productions based on good concepts and we would love to see more of them but this year we will also see big productions destined specifically for online platforms and not TV.
• New technologies will influence production more and more in the region. We will have more interactive and experimental projects based on new media. New apps connected to differ- ent devices and video is always the best communi- cation tool.
• Social media production will be on the rise. Instagram videos will no longer be a 15-second cutdown of longer ads but videos specifically created to best use those 15 seconds. Cross platform production is essential for clients to have maximum reach.
• Case study films were seen as a bit tacky for a while although recently there has been a big boost. That will continue with case study videos using contem- porary film techniques and documenting interest- ing activations, events and campaigns. The most award-winning pieces in the branded content and enter- tainment realms have actually been case studies and not creative films per se.
• Commercials in the form of music videos are becom- ing more common. We will see more brands using music and songs as com-
munication pieces. • DIY videos and user-gen-
erated content are not necessarily what we wel- come most as production companies, especially when they are slowly but surely taking a bigger slice of the pie. However, they are undeniably the best way to unveil and discover new talent.
And finally, if I am allowed a wish for 2016, it is to see the end of scam ads. The worst are scam ads that are obvious and abusive and based on false insight. Otherwise, if we can not be rid of these ads, awards organisers should invent a category to award scam ads and thereby save the industry’s creative integrity.
Rita El Hachem is executive producer at Stoked