Value Chains and Business Models in the Audiovisual Sector of the North and Central Denmark Regions by Filmby Aarhus

Value Chains and Business Models

in the Audiovisual Sector of the North and Central Denmark Regions

Digitisation has brought changes, which have the potential to stimulate economic growth and the creation of new high-skilled jobs in the audiovisual sector. The audiovisual industry in the Baltic Sea Region consists mainly of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) with limited capacities for innovation by own resources. First Motion looks at the topic from different angles and combines them into a unified approach thereby fostering innovation. The thematic scope encompasses support and exploration of modern communication technologies and the innovative usage of emerging cross-media possibilities. FIRST MOTION is • An EU project for the Baltic Sea Region • Funding new formats and ideas • Developing a distribution platform • Researching new markets and value-chains • Developing training and education courses up to Master level • Improving clusters and policy guidelines www.firstmotion.eu

Contact: Danish regional First Motion partners Mette Elmgaard (melm@aarhus.dk) and Kristian Krämer (kristian.kramer@alexandra.dk)

Filmby Århus (FA) is running a business park for AV businesses (mission to develop the av sector in the West Danish Region), also serving as secretariat for The West Danish film Fund. FA´s interest in First Motion is to gather new knowledge on cross media production and distribution and make this available and operational for a larger circle of entrepreneurs and SMEs in an agency concept, which can serve as a model for other regional growth incentive schemes around Europe. The new knowledge and best practices shall be related to the needs and mechanisms relevant for economical and cultural development in regions. FA is co-managing partner for WP4 and WP5. www.filmbyaarhus.dk

The Alexandra Institute (AI) is an “Approved Technological Service Institute” building bridges between research, business community, public institutions and citizens. AI develops IT based products & services that create social value and contribute to financial growth by means of research-based innovation. In First Motion AI contributes with different competencies such as business understanding that focuses on knowledge about innovation management, commercial modelling and effect measurement, which can root down technological innovation and provide the optimal framework for a successful innovation process. Creative and artistic processes that use and examine the potential that lies in digital art and digital experiences when it comes to qualitative content and business opportunities. www.alexandra.dk

Contents 2

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Introduction

Research method Navigating the report

Audiovisual and media education in the North and Central Denmark Regions

University study programmes Professional bachelor and Academy profession study programmes Vocational education and training programmes Summary

Media Networks and Clusters in the North and Central Denmark regions.

Media networks Business clusters International networks represented in the regions Other relevant networks

TV-Channels and -production in Denmark

Current channel-overview TV and independent production companies TV-advertising and independent production companies Public service investment in Danish Film Sizing up an industry

Production and development support for the audiovisual sector

25 28 29

Public funding schemes A few words on indirect support Final remarks

A selection of Media companies in the North and Central Denmark Regions

35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57 59 61 63 65 67

Basmati Film Deluca Film Dollerup Hills and Mark Film GameCraft Huge Lawn Software Happy Flyfish JA Film Javira Kiloo KonXion NĂśRD NĂ¸rlum Oscar Film Picturewise Progressive Media Radiator Film Soundmill

Business models and value chains in the digital age

69 69 71 74 78 80 82

Recommendations for development of the audiovisual industry in the North Denmark and Central Denmark regions

84 86

Literature and links

Appendix 1: Overview of the Danish Vocational and Higher Education System Appendix 2: Overview of education programmes

100 110

Finding solutions Creating turn over and profit: WFH and IP-production The DIY-approach Proximity to end-user Crowd funding Transparency and cooperation Final remarks

Recommendations to sector policy makers Recommendations to the audiovisual industry Links - in order of appearance

in the North and Central Denmark Regions

Appendix 3: Overview of television channels in Denmark

Introduction

Digitisation has brought about new opportunities for media content-producers. This challenges traditional value chains in the sector and puts emphasis on the development of new business models for a digital world. First Motion is a Cross Media EU project for the Baltic Sea Region. The aim of the project is funding new formats and ideas; developing a new distribution platform, developing training and education courses, and improving clusters and policy guidelines. An important part of First Motion is researching new markets and value chains. This research has been conducted within the framework of the Baltic Sea Region programme First Motion 2007-2013 and initiated by Filmby Aarhus and The Alexandra Institute1, Danish regional First Motion partners, represented by Mette Elmgaard and Kristian Krämer. The research was executed and the report drafted from June 13th to July 22nd 2011 by Lisbeth Mathiesen. Thanks to Sebastian Holmgaard Christophersen for providing the layout, to

Filmbyaarhus.dk; Alexandra.dk

Kristian Bang Nørgaard from Shareplay for great input and a special thanks to the companies, who shared their thoughts and experiences.

Research method The report describes existing parts of the audiovisual value chain (education, networks, TV and funding) from the perspective of The North Denmark Region and the Central Denmark Region. This part of the report is based on national and international literature reviews, research of educational programmes; research of media networks and clusters in the regions, research of TV channels and the independent TV production sector, and research of public funding schemes and other support-schemes aimed at audiovisual production. The report also explores the changes in value chains and the development of new practice related to business models, aiming at sharing experiences, experiments and practice of media

In this context subcontractors were defined as companies whose main activity involves post production, production services, technical supply, and contracted production for IP production companies. This does not include advertising agencies (these were placed in a different category). See northseascreen.eu

companies in the regions. This part of the report is based on industry interviews. The audiovisual industry in North and Central Denmark consists mainly of small and medium sized companies and enterprises. A recent mapping conducted by North Sea Screen Partners (NSSP) found more than 400 media companies in the two regions. Approximately 150 of these are IP producers or subcontractors2. In drafting this report we interviewed 17 of the 400 companies by Skype and phone and thus chose a qualitative over a quantitative approach. The companies were chosen based on their curriculum within IP development and production (cross check with West Danish Film Fund, DFI, Computerspilzonen, and The Producer’s Association), curriculum within new media and cross media production (as above + digital production and/or marketing) and from a generic aspiration of collecting point of views from a variety of companies representing different experiences and areas of production: computer games,

apps, film, TV, digital content, social communication marketing, advertising, sound, animation, and post production. Though these companies represent the media sector of the North and Central Denmark regions in this context, we do not claim that they are representative for all IP production companies or subcontractors as such, or that the statements and point of views of the 17 companies represent a generic sector attitude. Still, we do believe it might.

Navigating the report

The chapters of the report are written independently of each other. There are a few cross references, but still it is perfectly possible to read everything in the order in which it is presented or skip to the part(s) of one’s own particular interest.

Audiovisual and media education possibilities in the North and Central Denmark regions: introduces the more than 130 different mediarelated educational programmes offered in the regions. Media Networks and Clusters in the North and Central Denmark regions: an opportunity to familiarise oneself with the different networks and clusters working to enhance and strengthen the media-sector in the regions. TV Channels and production in Denmark: a run-down of TV channels; sizing up the independent TV industry and TV’s direct commissioning contribution to production of television, commercials, and films. Production and development support for the audiovisual sector: a look at some of the direct and indirect funding schemes supporting the media industry and a few words on the scarcity of support for some media products.

A selection of Media companies in the North and Central Denmark Regions: an introduction to 17 different media companies, their core business and their visions for the future of the sector and their own line of business. Business models and value chains in the digital age: describes some of the tendencies emerging across sector from the interviews: ‘Work for hire and IPs’, ‘The DIY-approach’, ‘Proximity to end-user’, ‘Crowd funding’ and ‘Transparency’. The chapter also shares examples of practice, and planned practice, related to new business models. Recommendations for development of the audiovisual industry in the North and Central Denmark Regions: relate to some of the cross sector issues emerging in the age of digitisation and to issues facing the AV-sector based in North and Central Denmark. The recommendations are inspired and informed by the opinions of the industry in general, and the companyinterviews performed for this report in particular.

Audiovisual and media education in the North and Central Denmark Regions

The regions offer a wide selection of educational programmes within media and new media at different levels of education. Undergraduate, post graduate, professional bachelor programmes, and vocational training is offered by the educational institutions of the regions3. With few exceptions all media study programmes are offered in the regional capitals of Aarhus and Aalborg4. The vast majority of the programmes are taught in Danish, though in the name and interest of globalisation the institutions increasingly offer study programmes in English for international and Danish students. Some institutions, i.e. The Animation Workshop5 in Viborg, have taken internationalisation to heart and both recruit internationally and educate students for an international labour market.

have a permanent residence permit or a parent from a non-EU/EEA country, who is already working in Denmark6. The exception to the rule is adult and continuing higher education, where tuition fees of DKK 10.000 per semester are not unusual. And all students, whether in higher or vocational education, will have to pay for materials and literature.

It is worth noticing that there are no tuition fees in the Danish education system, neither for Danish citizens nor for students from the EU or EEA countries. You also do not pay for tuition, if you

3 4 5

See appendix 1 for a more thorough introduction to the Danish education system The exceptions being Viborg, Grenaa and Herning www.animwork.dk/en/

www.studyindenmark.dk

University study programmes Aalborg University7 and Aarhus University8 both offer a number of bachelor and master degrees for students eager to pursue a career within the audiovisual and media sector9. Digitisation and the technological development have left an imprint on the educational system and the selection of study programmes. At a glance two tendencies stand out: The first is that many of the study programmes offered are aimed at developing and designing new media production technologies and software, but also at developing skills in concept and content development for new media. Medialogy, a B.Sc and M.Sc study programme offered at Aalborg University, is a good example. The educational focus is in combining technology and creativity as means to designing new processes and tools for art, design, and entertainment in order to meet the requirements of the contemporary media industry. Though perhaps not initially recognised as media study programmes, Computer Science, B.Sc and M.Sc.,

7 8 9

www.aau.dk www.au.dk See appendix 2 for a complete overview of study programmes.

offered at both Aarhus University and Aalborg University, also educates students to work in the mobile communication and new media industry, as does Software Engineering (B.Sc Aalborg) or IT-software development (B.Sc Aarhus). Merger of academic fields The second tendency is the merger of academic fields that have traditionally been separated, most notably humanities and natural sciences, creating new interdisciplinary study programmes. One example is Digital Design, a BA and elective study programme offered at Aarhus University. The focus is on the use of IT as a tool in social interaction and communication (e.g. email, chat, blogs) and a medium used for communication, play/entertainment and art (e.g. computer games and digital information displays). Students are taught to design and create IT programs for cultural purposes, such as digital street art, interactive sound, storytelling, and

digital communication for children. Another example is Humanistic Informatics at Aalborg University, which currently offers three different BA specialisations: Information Science, Communication and Interactive Digital Media. Interactive Digital Media focuses on creative and critical development of interactive digital media and communicating experiences and knowledge via new media; Information Science teaches students to design user centred information systems and to develop ICT-solutions; At the Communication programme students work with interpersonal communication, communication in institutions and organisations and media, and are taught to analyse and develop communication, information and media as cultural, technological and societal phenomena. The two latter specialisations are also offered as MA programmes. Aarhus University offers two BA and MA programmes that are, to some extend, similar in content to the above: Media Studies and

Audiovisual and media education in the North and Central Denmark Regions University study programmes Information Studies. Information Studies is an interdisciplinary subject that combines historical and social research with science, design and computer science subject areas and introduce students to disciplines as different as programming, communication theory, design processes, technology history, and organisational analysis. Media Studies covers subjects such as media text analysis, qualitative and quantitative audience research and media and cultural theory.

Classical media production If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking for a classical artistic degree in film and television production there are two elective subjects to choose from. Media Studies at Aalborg University (at BA/MA level) offers a practical approach to film and media, production as well as media theory and analysis. At Aarhus University Film and TV (BA level) offers an opportunity to become proficient in the theory and analysis of film and television products and in addition the chance to test oneself in practical, creative and communicative disciplines.

10 11 12

www.musikkons.dk http://www.it-vest.dk/en/ www.dadiu.dk

Continuing with the classical disciplines Aalborg University offers two BA programmes and one MA programme in music: Music and Popular music and sound production; and Aarhus University offers a BA and MA programme in Musicology. And if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re into music, and blessed with enough talent to be admitted, The Royal Academy of Music10, with departments in Aarhus and Aalborg, offers BA and MA programmes in Rhythmic Music, Classical Music and Electronic Composition, and a wide selection of different specialisations within each programme. New media M.Sc at IT-vest Another sound sensitive and very contemporary programme is Audio-design. The M.Sc programme focuses on interactive and adaptive sound design, at aesthetics and the role and function of sound in different audiovisual media. The programme is offered by Aarhus University at IT-vest, networking universities, which is an educational and scientific network between three university institutions in the western part

of Denmark. IT-vest was formed in response to public and private enterprises in Denmark claiming and forecasting a severe lack of qualified IT employees with university degrees11. Other M.Sc. programmes offered by Aarhus University at IT-vest are Digital Design and Information Science. Aalborg University at IT-vest offers five M.Sc programmes: Information Architecture, Software Construction, Interactive Digital Media, Experience Design and Game Programmer. The latter is aimed directly at students eager to pursue a career in the computer game industry and focuses on programming of games and the processes behind game and software development. Game Programmer is also offered as an elective subject at MA level. The National Academy of Digital, Interactive Entertainment (DADIU12) is a collaboration between universities and art schools from all of Denmark. DADIU offers a one semester game programmer specialisation at M.Sc level, with students

Professional bachelor and Academy profession study programmes producing actual games. And moreâ&#x20AC;Ś In addition to the above mentioned programmes the universities and The Royal Academy of Music offer a selection of elective subjects, plus varying diploma- and master-degrees for those willing and able to return to the educational system â&#x20AC;&#x201C; even at a mature age. These programmes are usually custom-made for people with work experience and structured as part time studies. Generally these also require payment of tuition fees. Not all study programmes are mentioned above, neither the various possibilities of combining BA, B.Sc, MA and M.Sc programmes. A list of available university level study programmes can be found in Appendix 2. As mentioned previously the vast majority of the programmes are taught in Danish. The programmes offered in English are marked with blue in the appendix.

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www.djh.dk www.ucn.dk www.viauc.dk

The professional bachelor degree, sometimes referred to as profession bachelor, combines theoretical studies with an applied approach and always includes a work placement (of minimum one but often several semesters). Same principle applies to the Academy profession degree, the main difference being that these programmes are shorter than the professional bachelor programmes. There are three institutions offering professional bachelor degrees in media production in the regions: The Danish School of Media and Journalism13 (Aarhus), University College of Northern Denmark14 (Aalborg) and The Animation Workshop (Viborg, part of Via University College in Mid Jutland15). The Danish School of Media and Journalism offers a total of nine different programmes. Among the more classic programmes are Journalism, Photojournalism and Graphic Design, and a programme for prospective photographers, Photographic Communication. This programme is primarily aimed at a career in advertising, de-

sign, and web agencies, just as the programme in Media Production Management. TV and Media Management is a programme focusing on content planning and production of TV programmes within all genres and content production for new media, and the programme in Creative Communication aims directly at educating students to work with concept development in traditional or new media. The programme in Interactive Design teaches students to design concepts for digital media and the creative and innovative use of technology. From 2011 a new degree in Communication is offered. The programme focuses on strategic communication for different types of organisations and the use of different communication platforms for different communicative purposes. The programme is aimed at careers as communication consultant or advisor in public or private organisations.

Audiovisual and media education in the North and Central Denmark Regions Professional bachelor and Academy profession study programmes Other new media programmes The programmes at University College of Northern Denmark are mainly designed for careers in new media. There are two entries, both at AP graduate level: Multimedia Design or Graphic Design, both of these available in Danish or English. These entries can be combined with Webdevelopment, E-concept development or Softwaredevelopment to create a full professional bachelor degree. The E-concept development programme is aimed at careers in concept development in digital media, cross media development and production etc. This programme, along with the Webdevelopment and Softwaredevelopment programmes, is also offered in English for international student â&#x20AC;&#x201C; or Danish ditto pursuing an international career. The same programmes, except for Softwaredevelopment, are offered by Business Academy of Aarhus16 and Academy of Professional Higher Education17, Mid Jutland. These two institutions, along with University College of Northern

16 17

www.eaaa.dk www.eamv.dk

Denmark, also offer an AP Graduate Degree in Computer Science, in Danish or English. Animation The Animation Workshop in Viborg offers two professional bachelor degrees in Character Animation and Computer Graphics Art. As previously mentioned The Animation Workshop is an international school with an international corps of teachers and on-campus housing for students. Students will learn to master animation as a language, a mode of expression, an art form, and a craft. The programmes qualify for careers as 2- and 3D character designer or animator, layout and background artist, concept designer, storyboarder, illustrator, Art director, etc. There are no tuition fees for EU/EAA students, but the students do pay for housing. The Animation Workshop also offers two 15-week professional courses: 3D Character Animation and 3D artist.

Vocational education and training programmes The vocational education programmes combine theoretical and practical training, with emphasis on the latter. The programmes range from 1.5 to more than 5 years in duration. Around 2/3 of the education is spent in an apprenticeship in a company or organisation. Mercantec18 in Viborg offers programmes in classic media production: Film and TV Assistant and Photographer, and a short VET programme in new media: Web-integrator. The latter can also be attended at Media College Aalborg19, Grenaa Technical School20, Herningsholm Vocational Education21, and Business Academy Aarhus. A programme qualifying for a career as Media Graphic Designer can be entered in Aarhus, Aalborg or Herning. The programme teaches students technical and creative production processes such as design and prepress, and planning and publishing in print and digital media. Media College Aalborg and Grenaa Technical School both offer two new cross media pro-

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www.mercantec.dk www.mediacollege.dk www.gts.dk www.herningsholm.dk

www.efc.dk

grammes: Digital Media – Multimedia Animator and Digital Media – Multimedia Integrator. The Multimedia Integrator programme teaches students to design, produce and maintain a homogenous graphic line in screen based elements and integrate sound, video, graphics, and text in digital solutions, while the Multimedia Animator programme focuses on the skill of 3D modelling. International film production course Finally, the 8.5 month international Film Production course at European Film College22 should be mentioned. You can attend as a day or boarding school student and both require payment of tuition fees. The course mixes film theory and practical filmmaking. The majority of the students are in their early twenties when attending, and the course is a great opportunity to test and try the artistic discipline of filmmaking before applying for film school admittance (in Denmark or abroad) – or taking a different path to a career in the film industry.

Summary

The North and Central Denmark regions offer a big buffet of different educational programmes. If there is anything lacking, it is perhaps a programme for future producers. With the huge emphasis and challenge of raising finance for and making media and new media production profitable, the business needs producers with solid skills in ‘conventional’ financing as well as new business models, not setting aside the skills related to development and production of various media products.

Media Networks and Clusters in the North and Central Denmark Regions

Networking has long been recognised as an important part of social and professional life. The term ‘Network Society’ was introduced already in the 1970s and a great deal of scientific research and literature, in sociology, media science and related fields, has centred around networks as a new order – or glue - in society; the link between networks and individualism; the influential role of computer mediated communication in networking, as seen in the rise of social media such as Facebook etc.23 In general networks and networking are seen as integral parts of professional life.

Central Denmark Region. Most of these are supported and facilitated by public bodies in the municipalities and/or regions24, with a clear incentive of being business enhancing initiatives stimulating growth and innovation in the audiovisual sector25.

One could distinguish between personal and professional networks, though in real life these often overlap, or between formal and informal networks, where the former require some sort of orchestration by a network facilitator, whereas the latter might have a more loose structure – or no structure at all. Below we will describe some of the media-related networks found in and across the North Denmark Region and the

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I.e. Castells, M. (2000) and Wellman, B. (1999) And some also by the European Regional Development Funds

25 26

The North and Central Denmark regions are also home to media-related business parks or clusters. In the Porterian sense a cluster is defined as: “A geographically proximate group of interconnected companies and associated institutions in a particular field, linked by commonalities and complementarities.”26 As it is the case with formal networks, the formation of business clusters is a strategic business development focus in both regions.

In that sense these networks also fit into the category of “indirect support” as defined in the chapter regarding funding. Porter, M. E. (2008)

Media networks Shareplay is an interregional trans or cross media network aiming a taking part in developing the future media sector. Shareplay creates networks across fields, media and professional competencies. Shareplay provides service to their members with activities focusing on innovation, matchmaking, knowledge sharing and development of competencies, and offers seminars, lectures, workshops, post-workday meetings, conferences, events etc. to the members of the network. The network is open to anyone working in media and the creative industries, including researchers and students. Shareplay is operated by a consortium consisting of The Alexandra Institute, The Animation Workshop, Bretteville, and Filmby Aarhus27 and supported by the North and Central Denmark regions. See Shareplay.dk/English and Shareplay.ning.com

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Dream Media is a network for businesses and professionals from the media and digital content industry in North Denmark. The network aims to inspire and create a basis for co-development and co-production of products and services, and sharing of knowledge between companies and across different lines of business. Dream Media is a cross platform network, gathering people from film, theatre, television, mobile content, advertising, electronic sound, games, and music. The network wishes to stimulate professional diversity and cooperation. Dream Media is facilitated by Bretteville Hotspot28 supported by a number of businesses in the Region and collaborates with Shareplay. Two sub-networks have grown out of the Dream Media network so far: “Sports and new media technologies” and “Sound communication, sound branding and sound design”. See Dreammedia.dk (in Danish) and facebook.com/dreammedia.dk29

Alexandra.dk; animwork.dk; Bretteville.dk; filmbyaarhus.dk See below Dreammedia will become a part of Shareplay from August 2011 Dreamgames will be facilitated by Shareplay from August 2011

Dreamgames gathers professionals from North Denmark interested and/or experienced in computer games, in the widest meaning of the phrase, and interactive digital media. The network aims at creating a professional environment and stimulates growth of new ideas and new companies. Dreamgames arranges a variety of thematic network meetings on topics such as casual gaming, 3D animation, entertainment for children, etc. The network cooperates with Aalborg University which makes it possible to invite and attract renowned lecturers and speakers. Dreamgames is a part of Bretteville and facilitated by the Commercial Department at the Municipality of Aalborg. Dreamgames offers its members access to a game studio which makes it possible for students or entrepreneurs to experiment with game or digital content development. Dreamgames.dk (in Danish)30

Media Networks and Clusters in the North and Central Denmark Regions Media networks Headstart New Media Network is a physical and digital network for anyone interested in new and social media, communication, and new media tendencies. The network aims at breaking ways for a new Aarhus based cluster within new media, supporting creation of new businesses as well as providing knowledge for existing companies. The main purpose is to create more jobs in - and growth for - media, communication, and knowledge businesses. Headstart New Media Network is operated by the Municipality of Aarhus, Shareplay, Update, and the private company Seismonaut31. See Headstartnetwork.ning.com

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Aarhus.dk; Shareplay.dk; update.dk and seismonaut.dk Animwork.dk; aau.dk; au.dk; ku.dk and http://en.fi.dk/

Imagine 33 is a company network and working partnership for a core group of animation companies situated in the environment around The Animation Workshop in Viborg. The network aims to be able to take on any possible assignment related to visual communication. The members, companies and freelancers specialise in different areas of preparing, producing and finalising content for film, television, internet, games, illustrations etc. The companies are financially independent, but cooperate towards building a strong team of talented individuals. More information at Imagine33.com

Animation Hub is a national innovation network situated in Viborg. Animation Hub aims to assist the spread and use of animation to new domains within business and society, and to promote the use of animation as a communication tool in science, medico, news production and interaction (i.e. learning, games, animated user interfaces). The network arranges meetings, seminars and online activities related to knowledge sharing and development, and it is open to members from companies and institutions with a professional or academic interest in animation. The network is operated by a consortium consisting of The Animation Workshop, Aalborg University, Aarhus University, and the University of Copenhagen and sponsored by The Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation32. Animationhub.wordpress.dk (in Danish).

Business clusters Filmby Aarhus is a media cluster and business park situated in the centre of Aarhus. The cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s former power plant has been restored to new glory and now accommodates more than 60 media companies, two professional film studios and various media projects and organisations, such as First Motion, North Sea Screen Partners, Shareplay, and the Cine-Regio secretariat. Filmby Aarhus supports media production through The West Danish Film Fund. Filmby Aarhus aims to be a leading supporter of development of TV, film and digital storytelling and to counterbalance the strong film environment in Copenhagen. Filmby Aarhus is a decentralised unity under the Municipality of Aarhus33. Filmbyaarhus.dk (in Danish)

33 34

Aarhus.dk Aalborgkommune.dk

Dreamhouse is a community of new and small scale businesses sharing office space in Nordkraft, Aalborgâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s former and recently restored power plant. Dreamhouse aims at supporting the formation of new businesses and creating synergies between the companies and their knowledge. Dreamhouse is facilitated by the Commercial Department at the Municipality of Aalborg34 and also offers access to mentoring and counselling related to launching a new business. Dreamhouse is not exclusively for media companies, but also accommodates companies working with art, architecture, culture and IT. Dreamhouse.dk (in Danish).

Bretteville is a small but ambitious and energetic cluster and business park aiming at being a digital hotspot and support the creative digital sector in Aalborg. The Bretteville house accommodates 16 companies specialising in games, animation, sound and music, multimedia and software development. Bretteville has been successful in supporting entrepreneurs building healthy businesses in Aalborg. Bretteville also facilitates Dreamgames and Dreammedia, cooperates with other networks and educational institutions, and hosts different types of seminars in cooperation with DI ITEK, a business community for companies working with IT, electronics, and telecommunication. Bretteville is a strategic business incentive supported by the European Regional Development Funds and the Commercial Department at the Municipality of Aalborg. See Bretteville.dk (in Danish).

Media Networks and Clusters in the North and Central Denmark Regions Business clusters The Animation Workshop is first and foremost an educational institution. However, a cluster of animation companies seem to be forming in and around Viborg, home to the school, drawing on the professional environment provided in part by the activities of The Animation Workshop and in part by those companies currently creating momentum for animation production in the area. There are signs of what one could describe as a successful marriage between a knowledge institution and a business sector.

Municipality of Viborg

This is further enhanced by a new initiative, dawning in late 2011: Arsenalet (The Arsenal). The Arsenal will be a creative growth house for entrepreneurs and already established companies operating within the area of animation and new media, offering office space, meeting facilities etc. and aims at becoming a professional and focused cluster drawing on competencies and know how provided by the professional businesses and educational institutions in the area. More info at Viborg.dk35

International networks represented in the regions Cine-Regio is an international network of currently 37 regional film funds in Europe. The members exhibit a range of support schemes and services to the film sector which aim to support film culture, encourage social cohesion and build regional infrastructure. Some of the members support production of media-content in the wider sense, such as TV and cross media. CineRegioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main objectives are knowledge sharing, film policy and co-production. Cine-Regio is an independent non-profit organisation and the Secretariat is currently based in, and facilitated by, Filmby Aarhus and The West Danish Film Fund. More information at cine-regio.org

Filmbyaarhus.dk; filmfyn.dk; tietgen.dk and ruc.dk

North Sea Screen Partners is another international network for all kinds of media in seven countries around the North Sea. The network assists anyone wishing to learn about and produce, shoot and post- produce film, TV, games, commercials, print, web, etc. North Sea Screen Partners is an on-going project funded by the North Sea Interreg IVB programme and the Danish partners are Filmby Aarhus, Film Fyn, Tietgen Business College and Roskilde University36. See northseascreen.eu

First Motion is an EU project for the Baltic Sea Region. The audiovisual industry in the Baltic Sea Region consists mainly of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) with limited capacities for innovation by own resources. First Motion looks at the topic from different angles and combines them into a unified approach thereby fostering innovation. First Motion supplies funding for new formats and ideas, and works on developing a distribution platform for audiovisual works. Research, training, education and providing knowledge for improving the conditions for audiovisual producers are also at the core of First Motion activities. More information at firstmotion.eu

Media Networks and Clusters in the North and Central Denmark Regions Other relevant networks In the digital era, which we have long since entered, the boundaries between different sectors become less visible and, in some cases, merely theoretical. The media and IT-sector share a lot of common ground, especially when we are talking new and cross media, and for some producers it makes more sense to engage with IT or ICT-networks, for instance ICT Norcom, than media ditto. As a network ICT Norcom37 aims at strengthening the collaboration between actors involved in information and communication technology (ICT) in the North Denmark region and promote the varied and diverse ICT-competencies of the region nationally and internationally. ITC Norcom will be hosting a game conference this September.

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It-forum Midtjylland38 is a network for IT-interested actors from companies, organisations and educational institutions in the Central Denmark region. The main focus in on knowledge sharing and the means to that are meetings, seminars and thematic workshops, e.g. regarding social media and app production.

http://www.brainsbusiness.dk/dk/ictnorcom_-_business_forum/ Itforum.dk http://www.ikraft.dk/en/node/136

iKRAFT39 is a five-year offer to all companies in the Central Denmark Region. The aim is to forward growth and development in the region by promoting innovative use of IT. Focus is on the development of new IT based business models, products, and processes for the benefit of companies.

TV Channels and production in Denmark

A number of terrestrial, cable and satellite channels operate in Denmark. Up until 1987 DR TV (Danish Broadcasting Corporation)40, a public service license funded TV channel, had complete monopoly in broadcasting Danish programmes. In 1986 the Danish parliament decided to launch a second public service channel, TV 2|DANMARK (TV 2)41, in order to ensure more Danish programmes for the Danes, and some competition for DR TV. TV 2 would be partly funded by license, and partly by advertising. It took another two years before TV 2 launched on October 1st 1988 and in just a few years surpassed DR TV in market share. However, TV 2 would not be the first channel to break DR TVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s monopoly.

40 41 42

dr.dk tv2.dk Tv3.dk

Launching on New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eve 1987 TV342, a MTG-operated channel, was the first satellite channel to deliver commercial, advertising-funded, Danish television in Denmark. By broadcasting out of London TV3 was able to bypass Danish media legislation. For the first time ever, the Danes could watch TV commercials in Danish. Quite a revolution!

Current channel-overview Since the late 1980s both DR TV and TV 2 have undergone changes. Today, the two pubcasters operate a total of 13 channels43. DR TV is still fully financed through license (tax), whereas TV 2 is now fully financed through advertising and, from 2012, will start collecting subscription fees. TV 2 has kept its public service obligation though. DR TV’s channels are all “must carry”, meaning that cable and satellite operators must distribute them (all are distributed in the DTT-net). The same thing applies for the TV 2 main channel, but not for the commercial TV 2 channels. Eight regional channels are also part of the TV 2 system. Of these three are geographically placed in the North and Central Denmark regions. The regional channels broadcast in daily windows at the TV 2 main channel, and in addition have a daily one hour primetime DTT-window. Unlike TV 2 and the TV 2 driven commercial channels, the regional channels are fully financed by license-fee and as TV 2, these

Out of seven TV 2 Channels, the six are commercial financed partly by advertising sales and partly by collecting subscription fees. See appendix 3 http://kum.dk/nyheder-og-presse/pressemeddelelser/2011/ juni/public-service-til-det-regionale-danmark/

channels operate with a public service obligation. From 2012 the regional channels will be operating a new 24-hour a day channel.44

to find airtime. The non-commercial local TV channels are in most cases operated on a grassroot or volunteer level. As the channels need a permit or license from the Ministry of Culture a full list of available channels can be found there.50 Finally, there are also commercial local TV stations, such as 24Nordjyske, operated by the Nordjyske Group, a media concern based in Northern Jutland.

Though DR TV is based in Copenhagen, it does have regional centres, and both DR Factual and DR Ramasjang are based in and produce out of Western Denmark. Swedish MTG operates three commercial, advertising-funded ‘free-TV’45 channels in Denmark and a growing number of pay-tv channels, such as the thematic TV1000 channels, Viasat Nature, Crime, Explorer and History and, in a joint venture with TV 2, TV 2 Sport46. SBS, fully owned by ProSiebenSat1 Media Group, operates four commercial ‘free-TV’47 channels in Denmark48. In appendix 3 you’ll find an overview of channels operating in Denmark in Danish49. In addition to the above mentioned, there are numerous non-commercial local TV channels in Denmark, and the DTT net has made it easier

45 46 47

In legal terms these might be considered free-TV, however receiving them does require payment of a subscription fee. http://www.mtg.se/en/Brands--Operations/Brands/ Cf. note 3.

48 49 50

http://www.sbstv.dk/kanaler_og_programmer Free-TV. http://www.bibliotekogmedier.dk/medieomraadet/tv/ikkekommercielt-tv-i-mux-1/tilladelser/tilladelser-og-sendetid/

TV Channels and production in Denmark

TV and independent production companies The introduction to Danish TV history above serves the purpose of outlining the backdrop of television in Denmark turning into a regular business and industry. Though the TV market is by no means a free market, changes in legislation and the political and viewer driven demand for more Danish television and programming has brought about radical changes for TV viewers and production companies alike, and created a basis for an independent TV industry in Denmark. One reason for this lies in the fact that TV 2 from the onset was obligated to commission all Danish programmes, except for news, sports and current affairs51 from independent producers. The placement of TV 2 headquarters in Odense (that is, well outside of the Capital Region) was also meant to benefit and support a production industry in all of Denmark, and not just Copenhagen. The fact that this effect might have diminished over the years is a different story.

51 52 53 54

The value of commissions In 2010, programmes from independent producers made up 86% of TV 2’s airtime52 and TV 2 commissioned and licensed programmes from 54 different independent producers. In 2010 TV 2 commissioned programmes from independent producers for a total of 402 million DKK (approx. € 53 million)53. In addition TV 2 cooperates with a number of suppliers and subcontractors in relation to in-house production of news, sports and current affairs. The commercial TV 2 channels, TV 2 Zulu, TV 2 Charlie and TV 2 Sport also commissions programmes from independents. Currently the number of hours and the total budget of these commissioned programmes are not available. DR TV commissions programmes from independent producers, though the majority of the programming is produced in-house. In 2010 DR TV commissioned TV and multimedia programmes for a total of 145.6 million DKK (€ 19.4 million) and commissioned production facilities

TV 2 also acquires services from independent producers in relation to news, sports and current affair programmes, all though these are primarily produced in-house. Excluding airtime for news, sports, competitions, advertising or text-TV.TV2 (2010) p. 45 Ibid. DR TV (2010) , p. 55

55 56 57

and equipment for 56.5 million DKK (€ 7.5 million)54. Regional channels The regional TV 2 channels do have substantial in-house production, but in addition to that commission or acquire programmes from independent production companies. In 200955 the three regional channels in the North and Central Denmark Regions56 commissioned programmes for approximately 1.9 million DKK, around € 250.000. It is not a lot, however, once the regional channels start their own 24-hoursa-day service, they will need more programming. The question of how that production will be financed, not to mention whether it will benefit local independent producers, has yet to be answered. Commercial commission The commercial TV channels, TV3, TV3+ and TV3 PULS, Kanal 4, Kanal 5, 6’eren57 and The Voice all commission programmes from inde-

2010 numbers not available at time of writing; June 2011. Tv2nord.dk; tv2oj.dk; tvmidtvest.dk See appendix 3

TV advertising and independent production companies pendent producers. And during the last years we have seen TV3 co-producing Danish TV fiction (supported by the public service scheme at DFI), a genre that is among the most expensive productionwise. Again, the numbers for total of hours and budget are not directly available, making it difficult to estimate total production volume this way. Sizing up the industry There is a different way of sizing up the independent TV industry however. A research project conducted by Copenhagen Entertainment, The Danish Producers’ Association et al. concludes that 110 independent TV production companies had a total turnover of 736 million DKK (€ 98 million) in 200958. The number includes turnover of independent IP production companies and export (international sale of programmes and formats undertaken by the production companies)59, but not subcontractors, meaning that the total turnover is most likely much larger. 2010 numbers are not yet available.

58 59 60

The fact that TV 2 is now completely financed by advertising revenues also ensures a substantial amount of business related to production of TV commercials to the independents. The same thing applies to the other commercial channels, including the ones owned by TV 2. Obviously, there is quite a lot of redundancy when it comes to commercials, as the same commercial might be aired on different channels, which is rarely the case with TV programmes60. The TV advertising legislation has also undergone liberalisation. For instance, it has become legal to advertise for over-the-counter medicine and alcohol. TV 2 and TV 2’s commercial channels operate under Danish legislation (regarding advertising), whereas both SBS and MTG broadcast out of London, thereby bypassing Danish law (and acting in accordance with Ofcom-rules)61. This means that these channels have commercial breaks within programmes, something that is not allowed in Denmark. That might be annoying to TV viewers, on the other

Jakobsen, M. H., Kruse, S., Søndergaard, H. & Vang, J. (2010), p. 8. It is not clear, however, whether the number includes subcontracting of news-production for instance. Unless a concern, such as MTG, has cleared rights for more channels, which is often the case.

61 62

hand it might allow for production of more Danish programmes due to larger turnover, which should benefit both production companies and viewers. Sizing up the TV commercials business According to the Copenhagen Entertainment report the independent producers of TV and cinema commercials represented a total turnover of 273 million DKK62 (€ 36.4 million) in 2009. Again, the number includes export (not surprisingly export made up only 6% of total turnover) and excludes turnover from subcontractors.

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/ Jakobsen et al. (2010), p. 9. Excluding TV-commercials produced in-house by advertising agencies.

TV Channels and production in Denmark

Public service investment in Danish Film Both the public service and the commercial broadcasters play an important role in the national (and international) film industry value chain. DR TV and TV 2 are both obligated to invest63 in Danish films. In 2010 DR TV invested 91.3 million DKK (approx. € 12.1 million) in Danish feature, documentary, and short films, and the talent scheme under New Danish Screen64. During the same year TV 2 invested 88.7 million DKK (approx. € 11.7 million) in the same type of productions65. The commercial channels can coproduce films, but usually their investment in the film industry is by acquisitions only. Returning once again to the Copenhagen Entertainment research the independent film producers, again only the IP producers, represented a total turnover of 800 million DKK (approx. € 106.6 million) in 200966.

63 64 65 66 67

Investments cover both acquisitions and co-productions. DR TV (2010) p. 57. TV2 (2010) p. 31 Jakobsen et al. (2010), p. 8. Jakobsen, H., Porse Nielsen, M. & Manto (2011), p. 4

Sizing up an industry As in many other European countries television in Denmark has developed from a one-channel, state monopoly situation to a multichannel, multiple choices situation. Though some might regret the general commercialisation of television, there is no doubt that the liberalisation of media legislation (and enterprising TV people) has resulted in more Danish television and, in this context, most importantly in the formation of a regular TV business in Denmark. Sizing up the independent television production industry is not an easy task. What we do know for certain is that DR TV and TV 2 commissioned TV programmes for nearly € 80 million in 2010. However, some subcontracting is not included in that number. We also know that the commercial channels commission Danish programmes from Danish producers, though we have no exact numbers related to this; that TV commercials are also produced by independents and that the two national pubcasters invested almost € 24 in Danish films in 2010.

Following the research conducted by Copenhagen Entertainment et al. previously referred to, the Danish Producers’ Association and Manto produced a report on the effect of Danish audiovisual IP productions on the wider socio-economy. In the report context IP production covers TV, commercials, film and computer games and effects related to the turnover of IP producers covers direct, indirect and related effects. Direct effects are subcontracting etc., indirect are sales and distribution whereas related effects are found in infrastructure etc. The report concludes that the total economic effect is a turnover of DKK 7.109.292.00067 – or nearly € 1 billion! This is of course an estimated and not a measured effect and as with any estimation, it is open to interpretation. However, the independent IP producers alone represented a total turnover of more than 2 billion DKK and the validity of that number is very strong.

The regional focus We have mainly looked at the TV industry from a national point of view all though the focus of this report is regional. It is no secret, and hardly surprising, that the majority of Danish film and TV production is conducted out of the Capital Region. It is also no secret that networking with commissioning editors and other decision makers is an important part of securing business to ones’ production company. There may be limitations to the production companies in the North and Central Danish region due to geography or ‘easy access’ to decision makers. In fact, several producers of both film and television state that they experience difficulties related to their chosen Western Denmark base, more precisely that decision makers are biased towards the Copenhagen based companies. The point is, however, that the business is there. In a country the size of Denmark, it should be possible to run a TV or Film production company anywhere in the country – in princi-

ple. Whether producers can grab a part of the business depends on a multitude of factors, of which some are mentioned above. In this chapter we have been running a lot of numbers and mainly focusing on the economic side of the television business in order to showcase that independent television production is most definitely a business – or even an industry – to be reckoned with. The effect of TV production and the importance of Danish TV programmes in producing and re-producing culture, language and identity, being carriers of meaning and symbols, developing creative talent and much more cannot be measured, but is of course no less important.

Production and development support for the audiovisual sector

Denmark has a long and strong tradition for providing public funding to artistic and cultural activities in general. Within the audiovisual sector film production has most notably been subsidised through The Danish Film Institute68, a government agency under the Ministry of Culture. There is little doubt that the national and international success of the Danish Film industry is, at least in part, the result of a film policy providing knowledge, funding and support for developing and maintaining creative potential in the sector. In recent years, however, funding and support schemes for computer games, new and cross media and TV production have emerged. When speaking of support and funding we distinguish between direct and indirect support. Direct support means subsidies and investment granted directly to development, production and distribution of audiovisual works. Indirect support covers support granted to business and industry enhancing or promoting schemes, such as support for networking69, film or TV festivals,

68 69 70 71

professional seminars etc. While the body of funding schemes for direct funding remains fairly consistent, indirect support varies as many of these initiatives are projects operating with and under a clearly defined time frame. One example is Cartoon Finance 2011, a Cartoon Master70 focusing on ways to diversify sources of financing and increase the revenues of animated TV series held in Viborg in June 201171. With few exceptions direct support is found at a national or Nordic level, while many indirect support initiatives are found at a local or regional level. Below we will list some of the most important public funding schemes relevant to Danish media producers.

www.dfi.dk See: Media Network and Clusters in the North and Central Denmark Region http://www.cartoon-media.eu/MASTERS/fin_index.php The venue is financed by the CARTOON association, MEDIA, The Animation Workshop and Shareplay with sponsorship of The North Denmark Region, The Central Denmark Region, Viborg Municipality, Animation HUB and more.

Public funding schemes FilmFyn is a regional fund covering South Funen in Denmark72. It is a small film fund with a budget of approx. € 1.5 million per year of which more than €1 million is invested in feature films shot on location in the area. FilmFyn is involved in several international films, from the development stage and onwards and work closely with other Danish and international partners and also works as a regional Film Commission. FilmFyn is a partner in North Sea Screen Partnership (NSSP). More information can be found at filmfyn.dk (in Danish and English). The West Danish Film Fund (Den Vestdanske Filmpulje). The West Danish Film Fund provides independent production companies with financial support for the development and production of professional film and media projects. The primary focus of The West Danish Film Fund is to support the production of feature films with the intention of strengthening the film industry and professional environment in the region73 where it operates. Financial support is provided in the

72 73 74 75

form of subsidies and/or investments in feature films, documentaries, short films, TV series, multimedia production and computer games. The West Danish Film Fund annually grants approx. € 1 million to production and development of film and media projects. More information can be found at filmpuljen.dk (in Danish). The Danish Film Institute is the government body responsible for implementing public policy regarding Danish films and cinema culture. The DFI support system covers all genres, on all platforms, from cinema, TV, computer, internet, over to mobile phone; from the experimental or cutting edge story to the film with broad commercial appeal. In late 2010 a new Film Agreement covering 2011-201474 was reached between political parties in the Danish parliament. During these 4 years Danish Film will receive support of approx. € 280 million. The new agreement also sees a financial strengthening of support granted to development of computer games and support for digitisation of smaller,

Owned by the municipalities of Svendborg, Faaborg-Midtfyn, Langeland and Ærø, TV 2/DENMARK, and Fionia Fonden. The municipalities of Aarhus, Viborg, Frederikshavn, Hjørring, and Holstebro. http://kum.dk/Documents/Kulturpolitik/Kunstarterne/Film/Filmaftale%202011-2014.pdf http://www.dfi.dk/Service/English/Funding/Terms-Feature-Film-2008.aspx

arthouse cinemas. There are five kinds of support: the film commissioner scheme, the market scheme, the Public Service Scheme and the talent development scheme at New Danish Screen, which formerly also included the computer game scheme. With the new Film Agreement development of computer games will be a new independent scheme. The film commissioner scheme at DFI: “The purpose of the DFI’s subsidies is to secure the continual production and dissemination of different types of films, so that the overall range of films, in terms of artistic quality, diversity, volume and audience appeal, sustains and develops Danish cinema and cinema culture, both domestically and internationally.”75 The scheme supports preparation of scripts and development and production of feature films of artistic merit, of short fiction and documentary films. It also supports the participation of Danish production companies in international co-productions. Writers, directors,

Production and development support for the audiovisual sector Public funding schemes or production companies, or a team of the aforementioned, can apply for support which may be granted based on the commissioner’s evaluation of the quality of the work and the curriculum of the applicant. DFI can also grant subsidies to minor co-productions, i.e. productions that have a non-Danish delegate producer. However, only Danish producers are eligible for applying for and receiving support. The market scheme at DFI: This scheme replaces the previous 60/40 scheme. Support can be granted to script, development, and production of feature films with a broad market potential and the support is granted on the basis of the quality of script, the audience and market potential, the distribution potential, the marketing strategy and the financial sustainability in the commercial life cycle of the film. This evaluation is undertaken by a panel of experts, of which two are appointed by the board of directors at DFI and three by the Danish Film Directors, the Film Distributors and the Producers’ Association respectively.

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New Danish Screen at DFI: this scheme is aimed at developing a new generation of filmmakers by supporting fiction and documentary films by new talents operating on a professional level or inexperienced filmmakers. New Danish Screen is a partnership between DR TV, TV 2 and DFI. From 2011-14 approx. € 15 will be available for funding within this scheme. Development of Computer Games: Support for development of computer games has previously been part of the New Danish Screen scheme, but in accordance with the new Film agreement support for development of computer games for children and youth will have its own scheme with a total budget of approx. € 2.5 million over the four years. Terms for this scheme are currently being developed and the first round of applications are expected to be evaluated in the autumn of 2011.

The new Public Service scheme is subject to approval by the European commission (COMP). The commercial broadcasters commission most of their Danish programming.

The Public Service scheme at DFI76: the scheme supports development and production of TV fiction, TV doc, children & youth programming ,and radio. The annual total grant amounts to approx. € 5 million. The aim of the scheme is to support the production of Danish quality programming (original, potential of making an impact, high production value) at the commercial TV (and radio) stations, and to increase the amount of public service programming in general. Commercial broadcasters reaching at least 50% of Danish households and with a Danish programming profile can apply for and receive support. In reality, however, production will in most, if not all, cases be undertaken and/or initiated by independent producers77. For more information about DFI and the support schemes, visit dfi.dk/Service/English.aspx or dfi.dk/Service/English/Funding.aspx.

Nordic Game program: the aim of this programme is to support the development of Nordic computer games. The programme is a part of NORDEN, the Official Co-operation in the Nordic Region, which is financed by tax revenues from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland. The Nordic Game programme supports development of computer games for children and young people, meaning that the main emphasis is on games for this target, but games developed for a more mature target are not excluded from receiving funding. Support is granted to independent Nordic computer game development companies. The term ‘computer game’ is defined in a very wide sense: “any widely available, non-proprietary platform for digital and electronic interactive games is eligible, including mobile phones and Nintendo DS, for example”. Regarding the term ‘games’ the following applies: “this means entertainment, not products that are primarily for education, research, information, promotion, or advertisement.”78 In 2011 a total of € 800.000 will be granted as support. More info at nordicgameprogram.org (In English)

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Nordic Film and TV Foundation: The foundation’s primary focus is to promote high quality film and TV productions in the five Nordic Countries by supporting top-up financing of feature films, TV fiction/series, and creative documentaries. The foundation has an annual budget of approx. € 9.3 million and financial support is contributed one third by the Nordic Council of Ministers (NORDEN), one third by the Nordic Film Institutes and one third by Nordic Television Companies.79 Nordic production companies can apply for top-up financing for development, production, dubbing and distribution. Support can be granted based on “a comprehensive evaluation of the project, on the basis of artistic, content-related, production- and distributionrelated criteria, as well as those obligations that result from the latest Statutes and the Agreement in force between the Fund and the Partners of the Fund. The Fund poses no conditions regarding a common Nordic theme, joint Nordic co-production or inter-Nordic combination of staff or actors.”80 The criteria for applying can be found at the website (full English version available), but it is

http://www.nordicgameprogram.org/ Full list of companies can be found at: http://www.nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/index.php?sid=6&ptid=3 http://www.nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/index.php?sid=28&ptid=2

worth underlining that top-up financing means that any applicant must have ensured substantial financing, nationally and/or internationally, before applying. See nordiskfilmogtvfond.com Nordic High Five: Cross Media Content for Kids: High Five Cross Media Content for Kids was established in the spring of 2010 as a one-off support scheme, but in the light of the success of the initiative there might be a new application round for this or a similar scheme. Nordisk Film & TV Foundation joined forces with UK cross-media-experts Power to the Pixel to strengthen the quality of children’s stories for mobile phones, game consoles, and online platforms. Support was allocated to seven selected Nordic cross media projects. Each project received 250.000 Norwegian kroner (€31,668 Euro) to work on and develop their project according to a tailor-made plan by Power to the Pixel, drawing on the expertise of a long line of international cross media consultants.

Production and development support for the audiovisual sector A few words on indirect support Shareplay: launching in 2011 Shareplay is a business enhancing programme, aiming a supporting and promoting small- and medium size cross media companies in the North and Central Denmark regions by initiating networking, tailoring professional training and working to enhance knowledge sharing and exchange between the industry and research institutions. A fund is at the drawing board, budgeted at granting annual development support for a total of â&#x201A;Ź 500.000. The fund, once established, will support ideas combining creativity, technology, and innovation within the transmedia area and stimulate products, projects, and businesses exploring the potential of cross medial possibilities. More information at Shareplay.dk

To a larger or lesser degree all of the above mentioned bodies or schemes also provide indirect support for the audiovisual and media sector. Another type of indirect (and direct) support is found at the regional VĂŚksthuse, Business Link Centres. These are operated by local authorities, regional growth fora and the Danish Enterprise and Construction Authority81. The Regional Business Link Centres aim their activities at entrepreneurs and businesses, providing advice, mentoring and consultancy for the new business owner, or for business owners looking to enhance, strengthen and/or develop their business. They also provide access to funding, either by guiding the business owner through the funding jungle, offering advice on venture capital and by offering direct financial aid to specific purposes. These Regional Business Link Centres do not only serve the media business, but all types of businesses. Indirect support for professional training, festivals etc. within the media sector can also

http://www.startvaekst.dk/kontaktvaeksthus and http://www.ebst.dk/vaekstfora

be obtained from private foundations, such as Nordisk Film Fond, or public foundations, such as Nordic Culture Fund, and organisations such as Computerspilzonen. Nordisk Film Fond is part of the Egmont Foundation, which aims to support and preserve Danish film and television, artistically as well as technically. The foundation supports individual and collective media-education and training, academic research relating to media and mediaproducts, film festivals, conferences for film and media professionals, and finally initiatives aimed at preserving Danish film culture. The foundation does not support development, production or distribution of audiovisual works. More information available in Danish at nordiskfilm.dk/omnordisk-film/nordisk-film-fonden/ Nordic Culture Fund, part of NORDEN, the Official Co-operation in the Nordic Region. The aim of the fundation is to support the cultural cooperation between the Nordic countries. The

fundation supports cultural cooperation taking place both within and outside of the borders of the Nordic countries and supports activities characterised by quality, vision, accessibility, and variety, where both traditional and new ways of working can be developed. Contributions can be granted to e.g. conferences, concerts, tours, exhibitions, and festivals. More information, in English, at: nordiskkulturfond.org The Computer Game Zone: The goal of the Computer Game Zone is to establish a framework that enables developing the game industry into a healthy, internationally oriented industry with viable businesses geared for growth. With a budget of 3 million Danish kroner from the Capital Region of Denmark, a cash investment from the Producers’ Association at about 2 million Danish kroner, and, not least, with project investments from partners in the consortium, the Experience Zone for computer games will reach a total budget of well over 20 million Danish kroner over 3 year. The Zone co-funds initia-

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tives that support its strategy, such as business networks, mapping, preparation of conferences, seminars, export strategies etc. More at computerspilzonen.dk

funds in Europe83. It is also worth noticing that though the regional funds label themselves film funds, many of them support TV too and some even new media production.

Final remarks

This being said, the vast majority of all available subsidies and support is granted for Films with a capital F, with TV programmes, computer, mobile and console games and new/cross media productions receiving the (last) minority. Whether enough is enough, depends on political views, where you are placed in the value chain, and what kind of production you are involved in - and perhaps also your geographical location.

The Danish film/media-industry, or to use a more PC and less commercial phrase, the art of filmmaking in Denmark is quite substantially subsidised. This is not unique for Denmark, but follows a European tradition of state support for creative filmmaking82. In addition Danish production companies obviously have the same opportunity as other European ditto to apply for MEDIA or Eurimages funding, not to mention the various opportunities for obtaining regional funding around Europe when co-producing with other European companies. With the Cine-Regio Secretariat currently placed in Aarhus there is a good opportunity for producers in the Northern and Central Region of Denmark to familiarise themselves with this network of regional film

I.e. “Council of Europe” on film policies: http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/film/default_en.asp www.cine-regio.org

It is probably naïve to hope that the sum of all public funding will grow in years to come. In the wake of a global financial crisis, the wind is so not blowing in that direction! And, going out on a limb, more public subsidies might not necessarily be the best or only solution either. The distribution key of available public funding in Denmark might change in future years though.

Production and development support for the audiovisual sector Final remarks

Market and turnover According to Nordicgames.org the Nordic computer and video game market is the sixth or seventh largest in the world. But Nordic games account for less than one percent of the titles on sale in the Nordic region84. There are no available numbers for the market share for Nordic games, but it is unlikely that it exceeds 2%. The domestic market share for theatrical film releases in Denmark in 2010 was 22 %85.

for production of computer games while the new Film Agreement was negotiated. But they did not succeed in convincing politicians behind the agreement that computer games are cultural products liable for more public support. Computer games, it was argued, fall into a grey zone between culture and commerce86.

At the moment there is no available direct public support for production of computer games. If one can argue that there is a direct correlation between the amount of public subsidies and the national and international success and esteem of Danish film, then the same logic should apply to the gaming industry. Not least, if the aim is to support creative growth.

It seems that argument is to some extend rooted in the game sectorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commercial success as an export-business. According to â&#x20AC;&#x153;Danske indholdsproducenter. Film, TV og Computerspil i tal 2009â&#x20AC;? Danish film companies represented a total turn over of 800 million DKK and Danish computer game companies 380 million DKK in 200987. If we look at export though, game production companies represented a total turnover of 252 million DKK (or two-thirds of total turnover), compared to DKK 28 million for Films88.

What remains clear in the current situation is that The Computer Game Zone and other opinion makers lobbied to get more public funding

The debate about public funding has so far centred on the inequality in available public funding or support for films versus games. It is

84 85 86 87 88

fairly evident that when it comes to new or cross media projects, the picture becomes even more blurry and the funding even harder to find. We shall leave the debate with one final remark. As digitisation puts its mark on and changes distribution, production, consumption and access to content, but also financing, funding and the shaping of media formats, it will be interesting to see, whether the traditional perception and labelling of art and culture versus commerce will change too.

In retail! Danish Film Institute: Facts & Figures 2011. www.dfi.dk/FaktaOmFilm/Tal-og-statistik.aspx http://politiken.dk/kultur/tvogradio/ECE1087284/spilbranchen-savner-serioese-stoettekroner/ Jacobsen et al. (2010), p. 10. Ibid. In all due fairness it should be noted that export-number for films in 2009 are unusually low, actually dropping from DKK 140 million in 2008.

A selection of Media companies in the North and Central Denmark Regions

Basmati Film All about quality Producer-veteran, Ellen Riis, launched Basmati Film89 4.5 years ago, drawing on her year-long experience from Nordisk Film in marketing, acquisition, PR and release and not least, the building of a distribution unit for TV rights. Riis has a strong track-record in production of television, short films and documentaries. Basmati Film is involved in every step of the creative process, from concept development to financing and production and Riis also offers consultancy and teaches at the university, Aarhus Tech and The Animation Workshop. Riis currently finds herself in a very comfortable spot with projects and people seeking her cooperation. Basmati Film co-produces several animation projects, of which one is international, and Riis is also a line- and co-producer on live action. “I really enjoy being part of a creative constellation where people can learn from each other. Proximity to projects I get involved in has been my strategy. I’m passionate about films, but just as passionate about people and processes”. A hearty approach to film production may be satisfying on many levels, but bottom line is not necessarily one of them. In order to claim larger ownership, in the financial sense, Basmati will

start developing and producing feature films or other IPs with an audience potential that allows for recoupment of investment. Looking to the future The terms of the business are changing. More production companies, ideas and opportunities, but not more money. For Riis there is opportunity, but also necessity in the change: “We need to find new financing and business models; to stop talking and start testing, experience rather than theorise. I’ve made it a priority to explore new business models in many of my new projects, meaning that I’ll be working with other people in the financing process than I have done previously. I’ve just been asked to enter the Transmedia Triangle collaboration, which is about actually acting on the new possibilities. I really wish to test all sorts of funding methods, supplementing the ‘conventional’ way”. Examples of work Walrus: Producer, stop motion TV series with huge cross media potential. International coproduction with Trikk17 in Germany, written by British Pete Reeves, directed by French Denis Chapon and post production to be undertaken by Ja Film in Aarhus.

The company name is a pun. In Danish “rice” and “riis” have similar phonetic pronunciation.

Upstairs: Producer, short fiction 40 min. Produced in collaboration with New Danish Screen/ Danish Film Institute. Premiered at CphPix. April 2011. Directed by Jesper Maintz. Væk fra Spjald (Away from Spjald): Producer, short fiction 25 min. for Deluca Film. Directed by Lars Wass & Thomas Glud. Won the Audience Award at CFC Short Film festival in Toronto and the Canal+ award at Nordic Panorama 2008. www.basmatifilm.dk +45 23 25 74 14 Basmati Film Klosterport 4E, 3. floor DK-8000 Aarhus C

Deluca Film Curriculum speaks Formed in 1995 Deluca Film in Aarhus is one of the largest film- and television production companies in western Denmark, employing 10 people full time and currently also a sea of freelancers as Deluca is producing this year’s Christmas calendar for TV 2. “Ludvig & Santa Claus” is a series of 24 episodes and a massive, artistically and financially ambitious, project, filmed on location at the 900 year old Convent of Børglum in North Jutland. Primetime TV and film production along with commercials remain the main focus for the company which primarily produces for the Danish market. But Deluca Film also produces quite a lot of web-TV and has spent much time – and money – exploring the possibility of creating digital distribution and web-channels. “The financing is extremely difficult and so far we’ve not come up with a sustainable business model,” says CEO Morten Rasmussen. Deluca is not genre-specific but produces documentaries, fiction, factual, and entertainment and have built a solid track record over the years. “But you are never better than your last production”, Rasmussen states: “The Danish TV

business is becoming more centralised. You really have to fight to get a project through and you must expect to finance development out of your own pocket and take on a larger responsibility in financing the production. There’s less money amongs broadcasters”. Looking to the future Rasmussen perceives producing for television as a high risk business in Denmark, since there are very few channels actually commissioning content. Working more towards the international market could be a solution but it is one Deluca Film is yet to delve into. “Not all projects are fit for an international market. So far we’ve worked the other way round and imported ideas that is optioned international formats. Still, we believe our potential for growth lies within our core business”. Examples of work Ludvig & Julemanden (Ludvig & Santa Claus): 24 episodes, Christmas calendar. The boy Ludvig and his family stay temporarily at Børglum before moving abroad. Ludvig goes treasure hunting, hoping to find enough money for the family to stay in Denmark. But Ludvig’s family are not the only convent inhabitants. Ghastly ghosts guard a mysterious secret and suddenly a much stressed Santa appears. Deluca Film for

TV 2 supported by West Danish Film Fund, the Municipalities of Hjørring, Frederikshavn and Brønderslev and the North Denmark Region. Koma (Coma): Short Fiction about 16-year old Jonas, who faces tough choices between love and friendship. Produced by Deluca with support from DFI. Nominated for a Bodil in the Short Fiction Category, 2007. Peitersens forunderlige rejse (Peitersen’s wonderful journey): Unconventional series of 8 travel magazines for TV 2, featuring handyman and artist Erik Peitersen working his way through the world. www.delucafilm.dk +45 70 21 40 50 Deluca Film Bjørnholms Alle 4-6 DK-8260 Viby J

Dollerup Hills and Mark Film Animation rules Dollerup Hills is a creative playground for producer, animation teacher, and owner of Mark Film, Anders Nejsum and partners. The company was created 2 years ago in order to separate fiction and IP production from the other activities at Mark Film. “In the visual industry you continuously form new relationships and develop new ideas and we needed a place for those to grow”, Anders Nejsum explains. While Mark Film works with animation as a communication and interaction tool for corporate businesses and museums, Dollerup Hills is currently developing an animated feature about the life and work of Danish philosopher Soeren Kierkegaard. Delivery is set for 2013, the 200 year anniversary for Kierkegaard’s birth. The nature of this project makes it possible to look for alternative funding from private sponsors and supporters of cultural life. “We have also considered micro-funding the project, but we’re on a pretty tight deadline with this feature”. Funding projects in Mark Film is a whole other story, as the company mainly does work for hire.

Mark Film is steadily building up a curriculum in producing animation for companies like Vestas and ISS, exhibition work for museums like Moesgård and Energimuseet, and innovative solutions within the healthcare area. Looking to the future It is still early for Dollerup Hills, but Nejsum is confident that the outlook for animated fiction is positive, not least in exploring animation for an adult audience. The focus is on strategic development, of project and products as the potential lies in developing and owning own IPs. The challenge for Nejsum is finding the time to pursue this: “There is definitely also a potential in looking at new funding methods, particularly for more commercial projects, and this is something we’ll look into going forward”. Examples of work Either – Or: animated feature about Soeren Kirkegaard. Dollerup Hills with support from The Open Workshop and West Danish Film Fund. Hip operation: a telemedicine trial with the Regional Hospital of Silkeborg. Mark Film developed an animation concept for patient training,

aiming at preventing anxiety and accelerate healing. The Grauballeman: An experienced based website about the famous 2000 year old bog body. Launch is set for august 2011. www.dolleruphills.dk www.markfilm.dk +45 96 16 50 10 Dollerup Hills and Mark Film Rødevej 3 DK-8800 Viborg

GameCraft The freedom of choice GameCraft is an Aarhus-based development company specialised in flash and Unity3D productions. The company develops games and multimedia and primarily delivers for web and mobile, but so far not for the larger consolegames. “There are advantages to working with small scale productions because you take on the full process and production, which is more fun than ‘the factory line up’ you meet in big budget game productions”, says Pelle Christensen, CEO of GameCraft. The larger slate of production is done as work for hire, either as a supplier or subcontractor for clients. GameCraft is strengthening its focus by forming strategic alliances with other companies with complementary business focus and thus moving towards offering cross media content in cooperation with others. But Christensen is also set on developing and producing his own IPs within games: “The only thing holding us back is money! We value our freedom to work creatively with projects we find interesting which has stopped us from looking more seriously into private funding. But I do believe in trying out crowd funding, which is still 90

DR TV’s children’s channel and online universe.

a fairly untested business model for games. This could also work as viral marketing or as a way of creating mutual trust financing – that is: attracting investors by proving interest and loyalty towards an idea”. Looking to the future The games business continues to deliver growth and GameCraft experiences an increasing demand for Serious Gaming in particular. For Christensen the future of GameCraft lies in in-house concept development and design and outsourcing of programming: “But we’re not just about computer games, but about games in the wider sense. People are still playing old school board games - in fact sales figures for board games are increasing. This is another direction we’ll be exploring – and of course we’ll withhold the digital rights for anything we develop”. Examples of work Skæg med tal (Fun with Letters): micro game based on a TV show, featured at “Lille Ramasjang” online90. The players must spell their name with items inside the level. Each level has a physics simulation and obstacles that mess up the spelling.

Klimakatastofen (Climate Catastrophe): produced in conjunction with the Copenhagen Climate Summit. Three minigames related to climate changes. Help Mr. F. build a huge cowfart to knock a hole in the ozone layer and keep those hippies from destroying his equipment and more. Faarup Sommerland (Faarup Adventurepark): interactive map of the park. www.gamecraft.dk +45 31 37 40 04 GameCraft Mejlgade 50 baghuset 2 floor DK-8000 Aarhus C

Huge Lawn Software Saving the world, one app at the time Aalborg-based Huge Lawn Software is all about apps. The company specialises in designing and developing high quality applications for iPhone and iPad. Starting as a sole proprietorship in early 2009 the company is now an Ltd employing four people. Huge Lawn Software works across sectors and assists both industrial and media companies in jumping on board the app wagon. According to Uffe Overgaard Koch, CEO, specialising in Apple allows Huge Lawn to have a specific focus on interaction design, advanced programming and usability: “Users expect to be able to pick up an app anywhere and start using it straight away with no ‘user manual’. We deliver solutions that are to work on a very unstable network connection and at the same time we have to take issues such as the user’s battery time into consideration. This requires advanced technical insight”. The primary business model for Huge Lawn is work for hire. But the company has started developing their own apps and currently have two apps on the drawing board. Reinvesting a surplus of creativity, and turnover, into developing their own IPs is a strategic focus for the company, which is also forming partnerships with

companies producing other media products. Looking to the future Currently the user demand for apps is still greater than the supply and Koch predicts that the market growth will continue for another year or two and then level out. The company has no shortage of orders and currently finds itself in a privileged position. But further into the future Huge Lawn might well change direction and produce something entirely else. However, the company’s work space is mobility in the widest sense and Koch is confident that ten years from now, they will still be developing mobile products for an increasingly mobile world. Examples of work Vestas Weather iPhone app: Weather forecast for preferred places all over the world, user defined weather alarms, worldwide weather map and how much energy would a windmill generate at your current location. ONLY Denimize the World iPhone app: must have for fashionistas. Provides latest tendencies within the denim universe. Styles and collection, GPS-navigation to nearest retailer and latest ONLY videos.

PolyTune by TC Electronics iPhone app: from effect pedal to app. The polyphonic guitar and base tuner allows you to pick all strings and see which of these are in or out of tune. TC PolyTune is the best selling TC product to date with more than 100.000 downloads, and articles in Wired, Engadget, Gizmodo and more traditional guitar magazines and media. www.hugelawn.dk +45 28 28 78 78 Huge Lawn Software Herskindsgade 9 DK-9000 Aalborg

Happy Flyfish God is a fish too The Happy Flyfish’er Søren Fleng runs a film company specialised in national and international animation productions. The company has coproduced a number of animated short films, and generally divides its time between artistic fiction, TV fiction and more commercial productions, such as music videos and commercials. Up until now Happy Flyfish has focused on being a copro partner and subcontractor for other companies. Recently Happy Flyfish delivered character animation for the CGI-film “Olsen Banden”, the first Danish stereoscopic feature. Happy Flyfish also has a slate of projects in different stages of development. For Fleng it is essential to finds teams and partners to work with, both in development and production, and make the gathering of creative power a professional tool. However, the company has also experimented with finding creative sources by crowd funding: “We launched a French/Danish short film project on Kickstarter and it was an amazing experience to connect with so many interesting people already at a developing state. Creating a dedicated fanbase early on might help you propel your financing forward. And actually, flagging what we’re working on helped us raise funding for another project. We were contacted by a sound designer

who ended up taking the whole sound production to New Zealand and thus became a financing source”. Looking to the future Happy Flyfish will narrow down its activities and focus on two separate lines: animated TV entertainment for children and more quirky concepts. “For the latter line we’ll be looking to produce cross media content, film and web or TV and web, and most likely we will also go mobile. The target audience we’re aiming at here are mobile 24/7, which opens up opportunities. The challenge is to make us less dependent on public funding and try to attract venture capital and here again – having a solid fanbase might help us find commercial partners”. Examples of work Elleville Elfrid (Sunshine Cathy): animated 26x5 TV series for preschool children about 5 year old Kathy, an ordinary girl with an extraordinary heart who turns her everyday challenges into charming discoveries. Selected for the Nordic HIGH5 Cross Media Content for Kids. Kool Produktion, Norway in co-production with Happy Flyfish.

SUDD (Out of Erasers): 15 min. short film, live action mixed with 2 and 3D animation: “As the world transforms you’re the last one to find out”. Official selection for Annecy Intl’ Film Festival. Daemon Films Sweden in co-production with Happy Flyfish, supported by Open Workshop and The West Danish Film Fund. Self Control: Music video for Infernal. Directed by Jesper Fleng. Live action mixed with CGI. www.happyflyfish.dk +45 28 14 57 27 Happy Flyfish Co/Hydralab Rødevej 3A DK-8800 Viborg

JA Film Soul and integrity Starting out as an animation studio JA Film, a company claiming to possess the world’s lowest BS-factor, has undergone a transition to become a full fledged production house, specialising in visual effects, motion graphics and conceptualisation. During the past years JA Film has separated business into two divisions: a commercial and fiction department. Work for hire remains a solid part of their business with the commercial workload funding development of artistic fiction. According to director and co-owner Anders Berthelsen the company’s soul is very much vested in content production and storytelling. They develop and write stories and scripts and aim at building curriculum and long lasting brands for an international market. In fact they’re much more focused on what is going on internationally than next door. Ja Film currently has an animated feature in development: a futuristic story for adults involving an intergalactic war, a middle leader, robots, and a company-sponsored spaceship! “We’re considering crowd funding the project, at least in part, but the challenge is creating enough hype and believing that the story has an appeal wide enough to break through the information sound barrier.”

Looking to the future Fiction is one thing, but reality is that the media industry faces pressure. Berthelsen believes JA Film has found itself a contemporary niche in focusing on animated entertainment for adults, but it is really difficult to predict what will happen in the industry and economy next. “There is kind of a Wild West pioneer spirit in the business right now, but it is also a time of transition, as when the old studio system of Hollywood collapsed, because it was out of touch with audience demands. The ‘new order’ brings a lot of promise and opportunity, so no regrets”. Examples of work The Great Mistake: animated 3D short film about a Sicilian gangster family who faces a world of international competition and globalisation. Directed by Anders Berthelsen, written by Rune Christensen and Anders Berthelsen, produced with support from New Danish Screen and The West Danish Film Fund by Ellen Riis for JA Film. Down the Road: animated short film, the story about the priest Henry, who picks up a mysterious hitchhiker in the middle of the night. Written by Rune Christensen and Palle Schmidt, directed by Rune Christensen and produced by

Anders Berthelsen and Kirstine Dollerup for JA Film with support from The West Danish Film Fund, The Animation Workshop and ANIS. Tal Pænt (Speak Nicely): Music video for Per V fronted by Danish lyricist and rapper Per Vers. Directed by Anders Berthelsen and Thomas Mikkelsen. www.jafilm.dk +45 70 260 270 JA Film Klosterport 4E DK-8000 Aarhus C

Javira Conquer the world Javira is a game company with a clearly defined strategy: To develop international game IPs for smartphones, tablets, PC, and Flash. In order to obtain the financial freedom to pursue that goal Javira delivers games for the advertising business and content for international companies working on larger games. Javira also offers consulting on design and 3D graphics with visual competencies being the strength of the company. Polyhedra, a game developed for iPhone by Javira and Binary Hammer was nominated for Best Artistic Achievement at Nordic Game Awards and a Danish Game Award in 2010. Tue Jensen, CEO, says: “What really makes me tick is the thought of developing brands, allowing not only for generating revenues but also for licensing the production or the IP to others. This means that it is essential to think cross platform already at a developing stage.” Jensen currently has 2-3 IPs in development, of which one is a pretty big mouthful, in financial as well as workload terms, and Jensen has outsourced parts of the production to China. “I’m in a position where my turnover is stable and solid enough for me to finance development of my own IPs. I’ve previously applied for funding, but

my focus is international and commercial and to some degree that clashes with the ‘local angle’ in the public funding schemes. Crowd funding is interesting, and it is something we’ll se more of in the games industry, but not as a primary financing tool”. Looking to the future 2012 will be a fun year for Javira as the company launches its first IP. One major challenge is that games become old news fast. According to Jensen you have to be very conscious about the longevity of your brand and keep it hot and in the news by thinking about 2’s and 3’, delivering new updates and publishing on other platforms. Commenting on the overall outlook for the business, Jensen says: “We’re quite innovative in Denmark, but there really is a need for a more mature business approach, and hardcore business skills, in the Danish game sector”. Examples of work Polyhedra: iPhone game developed with US indie Binary Hammer. Use gravity to your advantage in this addictive physics-based action game! Fill more than 66% of the screen with shapes to complete a level. The game ends

when you run out of shapes. Sounds easy, right? Think again! There are enemy particles and other shapes to worry about! ChuChu Rocket: content for the SEGA smartphone game. Help the ChuChus escape the evil KapuKapus in 145 puzzles spread between Normal, Hard, Special, and Mania difficulty levels. Play free-for-all or in team battle as frantic action ensues across 25 intense multiplayer levels as up to 4 players battle it out via bluetooth or wi-fi. Hele Danmark Griller: a flash webgame developed for industrial food producer Tulip for the barbecue season. Grill meatballs, sausages, spareribs, and bacon, make sure to marinate and turn the meat on the grill or it might burn! www.javira.com +45 40 16 02 60 Javira Skanderborgvej 35A DK-8000 Aarhus C

Kiloo Commercialise creativity Kiloo separates time and resources between two lines of business: Production and publishing of games for mobile and handheld platforms based on licensing of international entertainment and toy brands and an app unit, doing work for hire for industrial clients. And judging by sales figures Kiloo is not doing too bad! To date the company has sold around 40 million games worldwide and kept themselves afloat even through the tough times of recession. CEO, Jacob Moller, ascribes the company’s success to their strategy of spreading risks and building on popular franchises that have already made a name for themselves in the market, breaking the way for successful marketing and PR: “There are many people who can create great content, but not everyone can make creating great content profitable. We are very focused on the professional and financial side of Kiloo, and when we develop games, looking at business models is always the starting point”. With a track-record that includes selling more than 6 million games based on the HUGO® franchise there is little reason for humility, but Moller shows no sign of a complacent attitude:

“The game and app market will continue to grow for another 2-3 years and the competition is fierce. The timing has been right for us, but in this market you don’t hope for success. To succeed you have to work hard to stay ahead of the curve and your competition. Even though this year will be our best ever, we are market-sensitive and must continue to develop as a company”. Looking to the future One way of keeping business floating is to develop IPs on their own, and Kiloo will be launching a new fully home-grown game later this year based on a freemium91 business model. With 90% of all app-acquisitions generated by men, the game is not surprisingly aimed at this target group. Moller says: “We’re facing a tough PR-challenge here and the success of the game rests upon our ability to build a critical mass of dedicated users, as word of mouth remains the strongest marketing-tool available”. Examples of work Frisbee® Forever for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch: Fly at breathtaking speed across more than 100 crazy tracks. Twist and turn in the California Theme Park, climb the majestic moun-

Free download, monetise from selling updates, new content, 2’s and 3’s and publish on new platforms

tains in the Wild West, send the waves blazing in the pirate filled Caribbean oceans. WHAC-A-MOLE games for iPhone: The infestation of the really, really annoying moles has reached alarming heights. Rid the world of the moles by bashing them hard on the head with a variety of sophisticated Anti Mole Weaponry™. No 2 in US App-store during Christmas 09. Zoonies – Escape from Makatu for Nintendo DSiWare™: Leo runs from Makatu and the Tubas as fast as he can. Instead of controlling Leo, you control the action around him. You have to keep Leo safe and clear the path in front of him. Original IP by Kiloo. www.kiloo.com +45 86 122 234 Kiloo Studsgade 7, 2. DK-8000 Aarhus C

KonXion Make new connections The rise of social networks has also seen the rise of KonXion, aiming at being the preferred partner for companies, organisations and brands wishing to use social media commercially and connect to consumers on Facebook. KonXion creates and maintains Facebook sites for customers and offers seminars and consulting on social communication. “Social communication and knowledge about user behaviour are what we excel in. We’re specialising in Facebook now, because that’s where people are at the moment. But we’ll be moving with the crowd to other platforms”, says partner, Jørn Ræbild. KonXion offers different solutions and packages for companies at a work for hire basis. They’re looking into developing own IPs in the form of IT software systems supporting and enhancing social communication. Looking to the future According to Jørn Ræbild, the Americans are far ahead of Denmark in user behaviour; in how companies spend marketing budgets and in developing features and this development is headed our way. The US is also where KonXion faces their fiercest competition. And if you can’t

beat them, join them! KonXion is looking to create strategic alliances or license technologies developed and tested abroad. Partner Thomas Thomsen adds: “Facebook is merely a technology supporting the need for sharing and getting involved. Social communication is the core activity and that will continue to grow. In general 80% of all sales can be traced to recommendations from friends. We’ll see an increase in the mobile area, but sharing and connecting is the future”. Examples of work Shoppingcenter Friis: the shopping centre wanted to use Facebook to create communication and dialogue with their target groups in relation to opening in 2010. The solution was developed in close cooperation with Friis. The site is still being developed and new features within customer clubs etc. are added. Friis is a part of Steen & Ström and have received an internal Award for their use of digital media in marketing. TV2/Nord (TV 2 North Jutland): the regional broadcaster saw opportunity in social media. The social media strategy was developed in a tight relationship between TV2/Nord and KonX-

ion. TV2/Nord’s Facebook presence is continuously developed via KonXion’s service agreement concept. VisitNordjylland (Visit North Jutland): step by step KonXion has established cooperation with VisitNordjylland and launched their destinations and attractions on Facebook. KonXion delivers consulting regarding campaigns and operates activities for VisitNordjylland on Facebook. KonXion also delivers seminars and other types of project development for the tourist organisation. www.konxion.dk +45 96 25 50 00 KonXion Gasværksvej 26 DK-9000 Aalborg

NöRD Making the nerdy approach lucrative In 1999 NöRD was founded on the shared nerdy passion of six friends. Since then the company has developed from being a digital supplier into becoming a full service digital bureau. NöRD has the production set up to deliver anything imaginable in web and mobile solutions and the creative capacity to form a product in collaboration with the customer. “NöRD is driven by interest and curiosity”, says Martin Withus, partner and project manager: “We’ve succeeded in transferring our hobby into a business and exploring new technologies and acquiring new competencies is a keystone in what the company is all about. The slogan has been: We can do anything – if not today, then in a month!”

on spending time developing IPs and exploring opportunities with companies with complementary competencies, but Withus also foresees that NöRD will have to focus on core business and sharpen the strategic profile: “We still wish to have a wide set of digital skills within the company, but we might present a more narrow menu to the outside world as no-one can fully grasp all the possibilities of the digital market.” Examples of work Lille Ramasjang: platform for DR Ramasjang’s new online universe for preschool children. Flash animation framework with independent features and activities with the channels popular characters.

The core business is work for hire, but NöRD has recently started developing IPs in collaboration with other companies. They are currently involved in creating interactive user solutions for a film project and have also invested time in an eco-friendly service.

Parkinsonforeningen (The Parkinson Organisation): interactive, augmented reality, for the campaign: ”The world looks different with Parkinson”. This allows users to experience how a simple everyday matter, such as pouring a cup of coffee, feels for people with Parkinsons.

Looking to the future The World Wide Web is here to stay and Withus is optimistic about the future outlook, even if competition has become fiercer. They are keen

Suzuki.dk: website created to make it easy for Suzuki to handle campaigns towards press and retailers. Site built on Umbraco, ASP.net controls and integration for Amazon S3.

Bookmøde.dk (Book a meeting): website for event bookers. Users can go through the motions of making requests and meetings. Email and text-notification generated by system. Extra Google maps dynamics, zoom in and out to make a new search. Tailor-made user-friendly manager using Adobe Flex and Air for administrators. www.noerd.dk +45 86 13 68 13 NöRD Søndergade 40, Gården DK-8000 Aarhus C

Nørlum The sky is the limit Nørlum is a young animation company, launched in 2010, but already well on its way with producing several animation projects and developing its own IPs on the side. With Nørlum’s first animated short film still in production, the company has just received more than 3 million DKK in co-pro funding from DFI and West Danish Film Fund for a feature film. Nørlum has a very clearly defined artistic vision, a modern transparent profile, and strives for high visual standards in their work. The company aims to build a reputation for delivering quality at all times. But co-owner Jeannette Nørgaard also stresses that Nørlum wishes to create a positive work environment, supporting creative freedom and teamwork. “Many of us feel that it’s time we modernise work conditions. It would be great if you could grow old in the animation business”. It is a challenging balance to secure decent salaries and working hours for creative talent and keep budgets at a realistic and financeable level. But Nørgaard is not falling for the costsaving ‘outsource to Asia’ strategy:

At The Animation Workshop

“We are an international company, and we will look for financing by co-producing, but with such a big pool of talent being educated right around the corner92 we really strive to create and keep jobs here”. Looking to the future Even with a massive workload on their shoulders, Nørlum finds time for prepping for the future. Nørgaard explains that they currently explore alternate ways of funding their “Dream” project: “We don’t have any solutions yet, as we’ve just started working on this, but the key for us is to find a way of engaging an audience at a an early stage and figuring out what we should give them for free in order to create an alliance with them, making them willing to pay for content – happily! But another side of this is also getting content out to users faster and keep the energy and spirit of the project flowing”.

Examples of work Hund i himlen (Dog in the Sky): animated 25 min. short film for children, centred on dealing with loss and sorrow. Based on a children’s book by Hanne Kvist. Co-produced by Nørlum and Basmati Film with support from DFI, DR TV, The West Danish Film Fund and ANIS. Song of the Sea: animated feature by Academy Award nominee Cartoon Saloon, Ireland. Song of the Sea turns on Saoirse, a child who is the last of the selkies, women in Irish legends who transform from seals into people. Nørlum coproduces the feature and will deliver nearly half of the animation. Cartoon Saloon in co-production with Nørlum, Big Farm and more. Dream: online animated series created to explore business and distribution models of the future, currently being developed with support from First Motion and The Animation Workshop. www.noerlum.dk +45 60 22 81 57 Nørlum Kasernevej 1 DK-8800 Viborg

Oscar Film Not biggest, but among the best Oscar Film is a production company closing in on its ten year anniversary. The company started with big dreams of producing high end feature films. Reality kicked in and Oscar Film realised, they had to build a financially stable business first. Today, 95% of company turnover comes from work for hire, divided between production of commercials and corporate company films. Oscar Film is slowly building a slate of their own projects and has made the strategic decision to reinvest ¼ of profit in IP development and production. Oscar Film currently co-produces its first feature film, but armed with a fearless will-do attitude the company has invested a substantial amount of time and money in exploring cross media production, and testing new business models. Co-owner, Anders Skotlander, makes a strong point about producers taking risks:

This does not mean that Skotlander is against public funding schemes.

“The whole business is screaming in pain: more competition, more producers and less money. As long as you scream, nothing happens! You have to try and do something, find news ways. It’s kind of a spoiled attitude to expect someone to hand you a bag of money, if you’re not willing to invest and take risks yourself”.

“Rather than being fixed at doing one thing, Oscar Film aims at finding people with great ideas and offering them the best possible frame for letting their ideas blossom. We’ll assist creatively, yes, but focus on being producers first and foremost and take care of business”.

“Funding might help you professionalise your project and be more ambitious, but as we’re seeing new kinds of media products emerging, we might need some of the public funding to be dedicated at projects taking risks in developing new business and recoupment models”. Looking to the future At Oscar they believe in the importance of creating alliances with future audiences at an early stage in development/production. Openness and sharing of thoughts and ideas runs through the company in everything they do, whether is it testing ideas with other companies or sharing experiences with new business models. Skotlander says:

Examples of work I’m going to change my name: feature film about a 14-year old girl, who looks for answers to the questions posed by her blossoming sexuality. Written and directed by Maria Saakyan. Anniko Films, Armenia in co-production with Oscar Film. Korridoren.tv (The Corridor): Crossmedia webproduction with app to be launched in October: Portraits of powerful and interesting Danish politicians, executives, writers and opinion formers. International version in development. Store maskiner (Big Machines): TV series of 20x10 min. for preschool children. Directed by Kristian Jørgensen, produced by Oscar Film. www.oscarfilm.dk +45 70 277 266 Oscar Film Gasværksvej 5 DK-9000 Aalborg

Picturewise Context is king Picturewise is a holding company containing three different, and connected, lines of business: Picturewise Commercial, focusing on commercial communication in the form of commercials and corporate B2B communication; Picturewise Film, specialising in short fiction and feature films, and Picturewise Post, offering postproduction for all kinds of audiovisual products, primarily films and commercials. Thus far Picturewise Film has established itself as an attractive co-pro partner, co-producing nationally and internationally. CEO Henrik Laier reveals that the company currently has four feature films in development plus a slate of short films. But funding your first home-grown IP is not easy in a curriculum based public funding system: “New Danish Screen would be the obvious place to start for a producer trying to break into the film industry, but the scheme doesn’t support films trying to find a market, but films of a more artistic merit”. This has not exactly discouraged Laier. “We’ll just have to come up with a story that knocks their socks off and team up with partners with a solid film-curriculum. Context is king!”

Overall Picturewise seems to be adapting a contextual approach to business. They consistently keep in touch with a creative layer of young filmmakers in Denmark and Sweden and offer mentoring to them, but they are also very adept at using commercial knowledge in looking for new opportunities in funding films. The sexiness of the film business lends itself beautifully to branding, and looking for private funding from this angle is a logical step for Laier. Looking to the future Very few filmmakers in Denmark actually make box office profit, but Laier sees opportunity in producing films at a lower than average budget, without selling out on creative ambition. He also sees opportunity in crowd funding, not as a means to raising funds, but rather to engage with an audience at an early stage and create a dedicated group of followers: “There is a very nervous attitude amongst broadcasters and distributors at the moment. What does the audience want? Crowd funding can be used as a tool to validate your idea and convince investors”.

Examples of work Det grå guld (The Grey Gold): feature film about retirees Holger and Anette, who decide to take matters into their own hands, and out of the bank, when facing a financial crisis and losing their home. Directed by Shaky González, produced by Zeitgeist Film, SF Film and Picturewise Film. Seven years of winter: short fiction set four years after the MCA in Chernobyl. Andrej is an obedient boy with a pure soul who is sent into the zone to collect anything of value to be sold on the black market. Directed by Marcus Schwenzel, produced by Marcus Schwenzel Filmproduktion, Cross Film Berlin and Picturewise Film. Djurs Sommerland – Skatteøen (Djurs Adventure Park – Treasure Island): Commercial, introducing the largest water coaster in Europe. Picturewise.dk +45 86 19 98 48 Picturewise Filmbyen 23, 4. DK-8000 Aarhus C

Progressive Media Creating great games for everyone Progressive Media was formed in 2002 and the award-winning company has been moving fast forward ever since. Progressive Media has made the multi-platform approach a corner stone in their business: bringing branded and original games for portable devices to the international market. The tech savvy company has created Rocketfuel, a development platform, which makes it possible to develop a product in a single, stable environment and later decide which hardware to deploy to. Søren Veigaard, producer, shares how Progressive has taken a multi-platform approach to making business too. “We’re a project-based company and experience up’s and down’s as everyone else. To make us less dependent on orders and to find other sources for generating turnover and profit, we’re launching Osao, a new sister company, which will focus on marketing and publishing of Progressive’s IPs, but also support development of, and offer a distribution platform for, other game companies”. Progressive is not the only one offering a multiplatform approach, but Veigaard knows of no other company being able to deliver high quality content for so many platforms at the same time. He considers this Progressive’s strongest USP.

The real challenge of course is obtaining visibility in a market crowded with content. The battle to create a hype using viral marketing is on!

tive action and puzzle challenges and 7 original songs from The Maniacs of Noise. Mobile Game of the Year 2008 by Pocket Gamer.

Looking to the future Progressive feels the heat of growing competition, and user behaviour is not making it easier to monetise your ideas:

Mystery Mania - mobile game for iPhone, BREW, Blackberry and J2ME: Solve the mysteries of the mansion! You are a mad scientist’s charming robot creation, outsmarting maneating plants and building ingenious contraptions as you explore bizarre rooms full of unsolved riddles. Mobile Game of the Year 2010 by Pocket Gamer.

“It is expensive to develop and produce games. In the current market users expect to get hours of high quality entertainment for the prize of less than one Euro, which is quite unrealistic, but then – that’s how it is. Ad funding is growing at the moment and it’s one of many interesting business models for us”. Get ahead or get lost seems to be the parole and Progressive stays open to expanding their business. Lately, they have teamed up with book publisher People’sPress Jr. in bringing a digital book to the iPhone and iPad market. Examples of work SolaRola – mobile game for BREW and J2ME: SolaRola features the brotherly team of Wiz and Waz who are two, er... blobs and the last hope of saving the galaxy from the evil plans of Ping the Merciless. SolaRola features 25 levels of addic-

The Sims™ 3 World Adventures – mobile game for J2ME, BREW, Windows Mobile and Blackberry: Explore destinations in Egypt, China, France, and America. Enjoy an international twist on Sims-style gameplay with 55 new goals and 4 new mini-games. www.progressivemedia.dk +45 299 14 299 Progressive Media Slotsgade 27, 2. DK-9000 Aalborg

Photo by David Bering

Radiator Film Reaching the market through meaning With nearly 380.000 admissions “All For One” is one of the most successful Danish feature releases this year. The smash-hit comedy was co-produced by Radiator Film who works towards the declared goal of becoming one of the most significant film IP producers in Denmark and a preferred national and international partner. With a number of docs, short films and features already released and a massive line-up of new projects in various stages of production, Radiator Film is well on the way in fulfilling this ambition. Co-owner Stefan Frost explains, how they have made an audience-centred approach to contentdevelopment the heart of their business: “There is a huge audience experiencing that stories produced do not relate to their lives. People living in the so-called ‘outskirts of Denmark’, for example, also have a need for cultural satisfaction and stories they can identify with, but life outside the big cities is hardly ever portrayed. There is an unexploited potential here”. The starting point is identifying who you’re talking to. Niche markets can be a good business, if you understand how to develop stories with (globally) contemporary significance that don’t cost a gazillion to produce. This includes a heightened awareness towards financing and distributing in ways meeting globalisation, modern user behaviour and the increasing individual demands to content and accessibility.

Looking to the future Radiator Film works on cracking new business model codes for feature films. They have taken an active political role in liberalising and creating a more business-enhancing funding system; one more beneficial for economically ‘healthier’ productions. Simultaneously, they work with new business models for financing international docs. Some types of content can be formatted in numerous ways that lend themselves to raising finance via IndieGoGo or Kickstarter. Frost says: “What really matters is that people become content-ambassadors. There is potentially a lot of power in using the possibilities in new media if you understand that the future hasn’t yet arrived, it needs to be formed. You have to keep the audience in mind and be realistic and ambitious in your transmedia productions: create meaningful content.” Examples of work Max Pinlig (Max Embarrassing) I + II: Take a set of homemade braces, a prisoner, an eccentric neighbour, a young awkward romance and a mother who always says the wrong things at the wrong time and you have got Max’ life in a nutshell. Award-winning Danish comedy directed by Lotte Svendsen and produced by Asta Film, Radiator Film and Max Film with support from West Danish Film Fund, DFI and DR.

Junglens advokat (Law of the Jungle): International documentary film by award-winning director Michael Christoffersen about globalisation that shakes into the most remote corners of the world leaving no-one untouched. This includes Fachin and his Amazon tribe. A new empowered generation of indigenous people harness the force of law, rules and media and put it into action. And this time the big company and its mighty allies are forced to pay attention as the former prey bites back - hard. Produced by Radiator Film in co-production with ABC Film, For Real Productions, Fenris Film and Gebrüder Beetz Filmproduktion with support from West Danish Film Fund, DFI, DR, YLE, AVEK, NFI and more. Sådan Er Søskende (Siblings – For Better or Worse): Whether you love or hate them they never go out of fashion. Four short documentaries about siblings telling stories of love, hate, loss, longing and infinite sanctuary. Directed by Danish directors Mikala Krogh, Laila Hodell, Max Kestner and and Aage Rais-Nordentoft, produced by Radiator Film with support from DFI, West Danish Film Fund and DR TV. www.radiatorfilm.com +45 2128 0030 Radiator Film Filmbyen 23 DK-8000 Aarhus C

Soundmill Making it sound better Soundmill is a professional sound studio specialised in audio mix and post production. The company spends 99% of working hours producing sound for television and cinema, i.e. mix and music for commercials. Soundmill has also delivered music for TV documentaries for both DR TV and TV 2. Soundmill composes music for all sorts of commercial exploitation upon request. Among other jingles, Soundmill created the sound ident for Lego’s megahit, the Bionicle series, meaning that Soundmill’s work has entered millions of homes worldwide. Soundmill owner Søren Bendz also spends ‘spare time’ building and recording a library of own compositions, which can be licensed by interested parties. In that sense Soundmill is also an IP producer, though Bendz humbly remarks: “IP is such a big word, but we are musicians and creating music is a huge part of what we do professionally”. However, Soundmill is first and foremost a postpro studio, and one with ambitions: “My ultimate goal is to produce sound mix for feature films. Since the majority of film production takes place in Copenhagen, I’ve established a close relationship with Mainstream, which is the

number one cinema mixer studio in Denmark. I can access their facilities when mixing for production from Aarhus and more widely Western Denmark.” Looking to the future Soundmill has established a name with some rather big international companies, but there is no rest for a weary, or innovative, soul. In order to keep things moving Bendz has teamed up with a partner to delve into a new line of business of creating sound idents, also known as sound branding, for companies. “We’re not the only ones doing this, but I’ve established a good track record with sound ident already and my partner is good at kicking in doors and doing the hard sales, so I’m exited about this and look forward to exploring the opportunities”. Examples of work LEGO worldwide: music, sound design and mix. Sound Ident for the LEGO “Bionicles” commercials, and for LEGO Racers, LEGO Dinosaurs, and LEGO Police etc. Max Pinlig 2: Dialogue mix for Danish feature film, directed by Lotte Svendsen and produced by Radiator Film and Asta Film.

Mollycam: Sound design and dialogue-mix for the feature by Aage Rais-Nordentoft, produced by Four Hands Film. Saxo Bank: sfx and final mix in cooperation with GHOST for a series of international Saxo Bank commercials. www.soundmill.dk + 45 87 33 83 78 Soundmill Bjørnholmsallé 4-6 DK-8260 Viby

Business models and value chains in the digital age

The audiovisual sector is undergoing radical change. The change is partly driven by overall innovation in society and particularly by technological advance. Digitisation provides new opportunities related to production and distribution of audiovisual content in the widest sense. The changes have already manifested themselves in the ‘traditional’ part of the sector; in production and distribution of film, TV and computer games93. But digitisation has also brought about entirely new lines of business, i.e. production of apps for smartphones, social media marketing or the use of 3D and interactive technologies in the film-, experience- or medico-industry. The change is definitely user-driven too. For those old enough to tell the tale of black-andwhite television and landline telephones, the speed with which consumers have picked up social networking and smartphones is ‘app-solutely’ stunning94. This has not only changed the perception of communication, but also created a new market for both innovative entrepreneurs

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and ‘old school’ media producers. Without easy access to users and consumers and their willingness to engage and share information the whole notion of crowd funding would be unthinkable. From an optimistic point of view the future looks bright, digital, and social! Pleasing the crowd But the crowd does not always behave in an exemplary way. The key issue from a business sector point of view is not a lack of opportunity related to production and distribution in the new media climate95, but how to develop sustainable business models meeting the user driven demand for entertainment everywhere at any time requested96. Or, to put it in ordinary language: how can you finance content production and monetise of that content, if users expect content to be partly free, to pay very little for hours of entertainment or, even worse, have adopted a Jack Sparrow approach to ethics?

Pair this with the challenge brought about by increasing competition for eyeballs, recession, a funding system which is to some degree still analogue in essence, and industry and product fragmentation ,and the picture becomes even less rosy. The Shangri-La of digitisation does not only entail promise and prospect, but forces the necessity of change and development upon the sector with the weight of a gazillion terabytes. “Historically, E&M’s [Entertainment and Media] profitability was supported by the high costs of content creation and content distribution, which represented high barriers to entry. The migration to digital production and distribution has lowered these barriers. Combined with the increasing pace of migration, these commercial pressures mean companies have no time to waste in identifying, pursuing and occupying their optimal position in the digital value chain.”97

While buying a physical product is not yet ‘so yesterday’, digital and online distribution is certainly on the rise. PricewaterhouseCoopers, p. 2. See for example ”Digital Consumer Behavior Study” by digital marketing giant, Razorfish and Avenue A. Screen Digest 2011. Check out “Digital Revolution, Engaging Audiences”. PricewaterhouseCoopers (2010), p. 5.

Finding solutions Sounding doomsday bells is boring and when looking at the answers to the challenge, the producers we have talked to have come up with, or are willing to explore, it also feels somewhat unnecessary. It seems the creative industries remain creative, not only in producing new kinds of content, but also in finding ways of financing, recouping and making production profitable. In gathering material for this report we talked to 17 companies from the sector based in the North and Central Denmark regions representing different lines of business and product: apps, TV, computer games, film, digital and social media marketing, advertising, post production, sound, and animation. The companies were truly generous in sharing their thoughts and experiences, and it is clear that new business models is a topic well reflected upon, though, not for all yet acted upon. In the following we aim to describe some of the tendencies or themes emerging across sec-

tor from the interviews, related to attitude and mindset as well as practice. We do not claim that these are representative for the regional businesses as such, still, they might well be. The themes are: ‘Work for hire and IPs’, ‘The DIY-approach’, ‘Proximity to end-user’, ‘Crowd funding’ and ‘Transparency’. We will also share examples of practice, and planned practice, related to new business models.

Creating turnover and profit: WFH and IP production

Needless to say, work for hire (WFH) is the business model par se for those companies, whose business is built upon being service- or product providers, such as KonXion and NöRD. That being said WFH is also a pretty dominant model for those companies either producing, or planning to produce, home-grown IPs. There are several reasons for this. One is that some companies, for example Oscar Film, Dollerup Hills,

Happy Flyfish, and GameCraft, wish to build a solid business and also build competencies, both business- and production-wise, before venturing into the more risky, but also potentially more profitable, terrain of IP production. Spreading risks For others such as Picturewise, Progressive Media and Deluca it is a clear strategy to spread risks across different, mutually dependent or informing, lines of business. As companies reach a certain size and employ more people, keeping a steady workflow becomes a predominant issue. Widely speaking, media production is and remains a very conjuncture sensitive business. Some companies initially set out to be service or content-providers and found they had a creative spill over that might as well be invested into developing their own products. This is the case for JA Film, Huge Lawn, and Soundmill among others.

Business models and value chains in the digital age Finding solutions For many companies, including the above mentioned, WFH is means to an end, as in a way of financing IP development and/or production. For Javira this is a very deliberate strategy, along with staying a sole proprietorship. Last but not least, there is obviously a limit to how many companies can make even a decent living on being media IP producers exclusively in a country the size of Denmark (even if you have an international focus). And as previously mentioned, there may be limitations but also possible advantages related to a geographical placement in Western Denmark. The exceptions Basmati Film’s business is primarily related to IP production, though not all are own IPs (and Basmati does create turnover on consulting and teaching too). Nørlum may have set out to produce graphic communication, advertising and fiction, but having been so successful in raising finance will aim the majority of time and resources in the foreseeable future on producing and

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PricewaterhouseCoopers, p. 2. Worldperfect.dk and gogreenaarhus.dk

co-producing the latter. Kiloo acquires licenses for brands, produces games based on these and in addition their own IPs, meaning that both their lines of business include high risk. Finally, there is Radiator Film who is determined to become one of the most important Danish content producers and, judging from the ambitious production slate, works hard on obtaining that goal. IP production “Over the next five years, global spending on E&M is projected to rise from $ 1.3 trillion in 2009 to $ 1.7 trillion in 2014. […] Overall consumer/enduser spending will rise from $688 billion in 2009 to $842 billion in 2014, a 4.1 % compound annual increase.”98 There is not only much passion and creative fulfilment in producing IPs, but certainly also a potential for digging into consumer pockets and create a profitable business with IPs, which is exactly what all 17 companies are already doing, or planning to do. KonXion might not be de-

veloping ‘works of art or entertainment’, but IT software systems enhancing social communication. However, copyright, trademark or patent - it is still an IP! And NöRD has jumped onboard the eco-wagon with ‘sustainable advertising agency’ WorldPerfect99, and if they choose to stay there and invest, there is no telling where that might take them. ‘Go Green Aarhus’ is a map/site guiding consumers to eco-friendly choices with retailers, cafés etc. in Aarhus. The service is developing and will make it possible for consumers to choose to shop, eat and travel ‘green’ in more cities. More features will follow. In general there is a high awareness around the possible longevity of IPs hitting the mark with end-users, with quality, convenience and pricing being the key components in doing that, especially in digital spaces. Of course wanting to create brands and actually doing so is not the same, but without aspiration nothing happens. The IPs or brands may take on many different forms or formats, and not all are ‘born

The DIY-approach digital’. But they need not all be. The “Global Entertainment and Media Outlook” predicts that even though digital migration is on the rise, non-digital Entertainment & Media formats will still account for two-thirds of spending in 2014100. In stead of seeing digital as a competitor to more traditional analogue services and products, it could be seen as complementing. In other words, do not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Even if it came as no surprise that the companies are thinking along the brand-lines (after all, that is one of the reasons we spoke to them), it is slightly striking how willing many of them are to bear the risk of making major investment, in time and money, in development and production themselves.

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The risk-taking approach is most evident with the game producers, and one might reason that necessity is the mother of invention. With very little public funding available for game development and none at all for production, it probably requires a ‘do or die’ way of thinking to be a game producer in Denmark. The companies more or less unanimously describe the Danish game industry as an indie industry, with loads of creative potential but lacking in business skills. These issues, amongst others, were documented by the Producer’s Association in 2009101 and led to the set up of Computerspilzonen102, which aims to support and organise the industry103. With our without crutches According to Kiloo, Progressive Media, GameCraft, and Javira, the lack of venture capital remains a fundamental challenge for game companies, even those that have a proven track-record to build on. This, however, does not mean that these companies jump to laying claim on more public support (though some question

PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2010, p. 2 Manto for Producentforeningen (2009) Computerspilzonen.dk See Production and development support for the audiovisual sector

why a sector making two-thirds of turnover on export should not receive support in some form). Rather there is a ‘if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen’ attitude. Two producers from two different parts of the AV-sector independent of each other used the same metaphor: they prefer ‘walking without crutches’ and believe that bearing the risk creates healthier and more sustainable businesses for those that survive. This point of view is mirrored by others’. In this sense risk-taking almost becomes identityshaping. The attitude is reflected in the business models used by those game companies developing their own IPs. The ‘traditional’ value chain of computer game production is thoroughly described in the First Motion report “Research report related to WP3, WP4, and WP5”. Basically, there are five links on the value chain: game developers, publishers, distributors, retailers, and end-users. By turning their focus to developing games for mobile devices that can be digitally

Business models and value chains in the digital age The DIY-approach purchased, the companies make way for taking on publishing and distribution themselves and retailers become somewhat superfluous. By making a direct link between game developer and end-user the risk bar is raised. There is no sharing of costs related to marketing, PR, legal, versioning, etc., but of course also no sharing of royalties or revenues. B2C models for games According to Jacob Moller from Kiloo there are three different commercial models in mobile gaming104 in the current market: direct sale at price point $ 0.99 or $ 4.99 or the Freemium model, which basically entails granting users free access and recouping and earning profit from in-app or in-gaming purchases105. This is a risky model, as end-users are not required to make a purchase. Still Moller finds it easier (read: less difficult) to market a game this way ,than when you sell at a fixed price point. Kiloo will launch their next home-grown IP, which is their biggest venture to date, based on the free-

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mium model in November. The implications are clear: unless the game succeeds pretty much instantly, you abort, move on and wave goodbye to your investment! The Freemium model puts a lot of faith in word of mouth, but that is actually in tune with the ways consumers are, increasingly, behaving. The combination of digitisation, mobility, and social networking sees a re-socialisation of consumption, as users share and discuss content106. This behaviour is the very foundation of KonXion’s business model. Another business model on the rise is add-funding, where users get a game for free and game- or app-producers get a revenue share from advertisers, using the game or app to secure in-app product and brand exposure, a mixed B2C and B2B model. Progressive Media’s new publishing arm, Osao107, is still fairly new and thus also exploring business models, but according to Søren Veigaard add-funding is one of the models they are considering. Same thing goes for app-producer Huge Lawn Software.

iPhone platform You purchase premium content that enhances the game experience. See Ditlevsen, C. L., Rasmussen, N. B., Thomsen, J. S. & Traxl, M. H. (2009) and Avenue A and Razorfish (2008). And take 3 minutes to watch this – just for the fun of it: http://www.ted.com/talks/gel_gotta_share.html

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Osao.com Korridoren.tv

Other DIY-initiatives Oscar Film experiments with new business models too –and with new media content. ‘The Corridor’108 is a cross media project, combining video and web, and with an app planned for launch in the fall. ‘The Corridor’ launched early 2011 and features interviews with Danish top executives, entrepreneurs, famous actors and academics on topics such as career, family, management and the road to success, among others. Oscar Film fully financed production and operation of the service for the first year at a total cost of around 1 million DKK, of which half is a work-investment, and the other half out of pocket costs for external work and services. A passageway to new biz The business model for ‘The Corridor’ is a different version of the Freemium model. All users can access some content, but access to premium content requires subscription. With content in Danish and the featured celebs all being Danes ‘The Corridor’ is initially aimed at a national

market, and according to Anders Skotlander it is uphill recouping the investment as the Danes are not yet accustomed to paying for online content. Marketing and generating traffic is a major issue. Oscar Film has made a B2B deal with Danish newspaper JP and delivers content for JP’s web-TV channel every two weeks. JP has proven to be a valuable marketing tool. 80% of site-traffic at ‘The Corridor’ is generated by JP and Facebook109. The conversion rate is approximately 1%110, meaning that for every 100 visitors at the site, 1 purchases a subscription. There are currently 200 subscribers, and Oscar Film is still far from reaching a break even point, let alone profit, but they project they will reach 5.000 users and break even within two years. They currently team up with international partners and a business book based on interview content is also in the line-up111. And ‘The Corridor’ is not the only new media/new business model experiment Oscar Film has launched.

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For Skotlander there is no avoiding the DIYapproach. It is really an investment in the future of the company, and the learning experience is valuable in every sense to them. And this willingness to use time, effort and money in exploring the new model wonderland is an attitude, we found mirrored by many other people and companies. Turning thought into action Ellen Riis from Basmati wishes to explore different ways of financing film projects. She is also going about in a very pragmatic way. She has done her research and listened to enough talk about business models. Now it is time for action and Riis has handpicked a new business model wiz intern from university to assist her in testing and trying different ways of micro funding. One of the many things Basmati is currently working on is a cross/trans-media project called ‘Edderhop’ (Spider jump). The spider literally jumps from platform to platform. When Riis

The Corridor is on Facebook, of course, + Twitter and Linkedin Average for web-content and on-line game platforms is 1-2% See http://mediawatch.dk/artikel/ny-id%C3%A9-serioese-tv-interviews-paaabonnementsbasis in Danish. Subscription required.

started thinking about doing tie-ins with Randers Regnskov (Randers Tropical Zoo), the content started developing along side the possible financing sources, being shaped by these, which then led to thinking about sponsorships, product placement –and even more platforms for rolling out the universe. The point is that thinking along the line of new business models and new financing sources will change the way content, and stories, are made (and possibly also challenge scriptwriters). This type of content will challenge traditional linear storytelling, and possibly also the financing of linear storytelling. However, not much points to the classical linear tale becoming extinct. New media – new models - new mindset The above mentioned projects and companies are examples of some of the risk-taking and experimenting ways of working with new business models. Of course, risk in itself is nothing new. Anyone working with content-development knows that a lot of time and money goes into

Business models and value chains in the digital age The DIY-approach developing projects that, for one reason or another, are never produced, just as any contentproducer knows that even high quality projects may still end with red numbers on the bottomline. But overall, producers across sector are ready and willing to put their money where their mouth is. Radiator Film is currently in production with 7 international documentaries. Four of these are not yet fully financed, which means that Radiator is cash-flowing the production and paying production teams on the expectation (a realistic one, hopefully) that they will be able to piece financing together. Whether that qualifies as a new business model or as an experiment in risk management is not entirely clear, but step by step financing is likely to be something we will see more of in future years. All in all, there are enough examples to conclude that there is a DIY mindset emerging across sector. DIY is about taking risks financially, but

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PricewaterhouseCoopers, p. 4.

also about turning theory into practice and experience, which in the end will benefit not only one’s own company, but also those of other’s – if those experiences are shared! That being said, there are different value chains and business models underlying different lines of business in the AV-sector, and thus also different approaches to new business models.

Proximity to end-user

consumer and a larger dependence on the behaviour of him or her. This is certainly the case for some types of computer games and new media content, as described above, but also for more traditional media products, such as films (animated and live action), TV programmes and documentaries. That may be a strikingly banal observation, but it has implications not only for the way productions are financed and made profitable, but also for the way in which content is developed.

One of the most evident tendencies in the new media landscape, and in the interviews with the 17 companies, is a higher proximity to end-user/

Money for eyeballs The movement towards a greater user and viewer dependence has long been evident in TV production. Once broadcasters become dependent on delivering GRPs and TRPs for TV advertisers, it leads to commercialisation of content and a heightened awareness of pleasing the crowd. Due to fast delivery of ratings, which are scrutinised by broadcasters, media-bureaus and producers alike, there is instant feedback on whether a program has hit the mark in the

“In a media world of expanding choice and increasing speed, the quality, convenience and pricing of the consumption experience will be the key determinants of the consumer’s engagement with a content service. Experience shows that – given the right price point – consumers will pay for easyto-use, high quality, relevant services, even if there are free, less reliable alternatives available.”112

market. And yes, there are various other factors than ‘liking’ influencing ratings: Timeslots and strands, marketing, competition, over all channel branding, and the weather to name a few. But ultimately the success of a TV programme or series – of all different genres – is measured in numbers of viewers and whether that number is strong enough to deliver the projected exposure of TV commercials and eyeballs for retailers, banks, or whatever. The generic commercialisation of TV programmes has led to a more commercial profile for public broadcasters too. This is not necessarily a negative progress. We are not making value-statements here. There is no obligatory negative correlation between quality content, or widely speaking high production value and commercial success. The outcome is that TV producers had better know their segments and the commercial demands on content when developing or they

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Particularly those producing for handheld devices.

will have a hard time convincing broadcasters to commission, which also means that producers need to invest more and more in development and pre-testing before even approaching broadcasters with a proposition. Deluca Film definitely experiences the challenge of this tendency. But viewer-ratings are not a bulletproof system. They merely reflect the past, what was successful and, when combined with other data, under which circumstances. But as a crystal ball for what might interest viewers or users looking forward, ratings are not a flawless tool. Taking the audience by hand The point is that as proximity in space and time between producer and end-user increases, so does the emphasis on including and incorporating her at a content-developing stage - across sector, including not only game-producers113, app-producers, digital content producers and social communication marketers, but also filmand animation-producers. For some production lines this means working with shorter production

spans; not just to release and recoup faster, but also to keep close to and in tune with a floating and fast-moving market. There are different steps involved in the closer to user movement: first of all there’s the question of knowing who you’re talking to; how to create meaningful content for that target and how to include marketing-tools and mindset in developing content - as in enhancing saleability. This is heart and soul of Javira’s brand-development strategy. It is the recipe Happy Flyfish and copro partner Kool are cooking by in producing “Sunshine Cathy” for an international pre-school market, and it is the foundation of the business model Happy Flyfish pursues when digging into the international serial animation TV market for children. It is also a way of working for Radiator Film, who develops USPs and tagline for any project in a mutually informing process of developing content. In this way “The Law of the Jungle”

Business models and value chains in the digital age Proximity to end-user was turned from being another environmental story about international companies committing crimes against the native Indian population of Amazonas, into becoming a jungle-actioncrime-story documentary, making sales agents stand in line to sign the film on. Finally, this approach is the backbone of product placement, tie-ins and sponsored content, a key word to the next step. End-user integration A second step or phase is interacting with the end-user at an early stage, using communication as a two-way tool in creating fan-bases or ambassadors while also integrating thus acquired knowledge about the users in the conceptualisation of a project. This can include breaking down content into segments that can be released step by step, thus receiving continuous feedback that can be integrated in the project. JA Film used their First Motion support and training to explore this approach in the develop-

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ment and shaping of an animated feature for the international market. The plan includes building a web community to communicate with the audience/end-users and link with them, but also to find creative and artistic contributors via hyping the project114. Since JA Film cleverly plots the plot around a futuristic company-sponsored spaceship, the story will lend itself to exploring product placement and sponsoring, not to mention add funding. Nørlum’s First Motion selected project “DREAM” is all about involving and engaging audiences via social media, application and e-comics in a double exchange of exploring new business models and seeing what effect those might have on traditional storytelling. Shortening production span is a goal in itself – or rather – getting content to users faster and thus also getting another and more instant pay-off than the one a producer can obtain when spending two years with financing and development and another two years producing an animated feature. “DREAM”

Also known as crowd sourcing Of course many computer games are still very production and financing-weighty too!

is also about experimenting with selfsustaining production and new distribution methods. Alteration of value chains The ultimate proximity to end-user approach probably includes all the above and involves cutting the value chain shorter, bypassing publishers or distributors and thereby changing the possible ‘unnatural selection’ of the system. In this sense the proximity to end-user might alter and shape not just the value chains of computer games and digital content, but also of films and other financing and production-weighty content115. This is already happening. Radiator Film is looking at alternative distribution for one of their feature films, basically by creating a direct line to retailers. For theatrical release producer Stefan Frost says Radiator will offer a distributor a gross revenue split and go looking for P&A-investment from investors in stead. The aim of this manoeuvre is to circumvent the Danish financing and recoupment system. In the traditional Danish film value chain a distributor

will contribute to financing the film with a MG and P&A commitment, but at the prize of standing first in line and recouping all investment plus a distribution fee before any other investor sees any money. In relation to commercial films where the producer makes a huge investment, it is, quote “an unhealthy system that sees the content producer standing last in line to recoup that investment or even get paid for the working hours put into producing the film”. Frost advocates for a vertical revenue split rather than the horizontal repayment model prevalent in the Danish Film industry – perhaps not for less commercial films, but it is worth giving some thought. This is of course a very complicated matter not only involving the film producers inventing new business models, but also trying to influence the system par se, which is a laden political issue. There is a point, however, to bringing it up here.

Calculating backwards In dealing with commercial content and production, the film and game-business might not be that different or far from each other in terms of mindset as well as practice, though admittedly they operate under very different conditions, with different value chains and very different access to funding. But when a film producer scales down production costs to fit a release with a break even at 125.000 admissions in stead of 300.000 in an attempt at creating a better business for everyone involved, it comes pretty close to ‘calculating backwards’. This phrase and principle was introduced by Søren Veigaard from Progressive Media, who used it to describe their approach to producing IPs. It starts with an idea for a game. Next step is identifying on which platforms it would make sense to release the particular game. Take the potential amount of end-users/consumers on each platform and calculate how many are within realistic reach, how much revenue that

will gross, and end up with a defined maximum sum for development and production costs. Common sense perhaps, but a very pragmatic business approach. The proximity to user movement involves media content producers across sector committing to validating and qualifying creativity commercially. And though that might not sit well with some (small) part of the cultural elite, it is a perfectly sound proposition to building a business on the basis of creative power and potential.

Business models and value chains in the digital age Crowd funding Above we stated that using ratings, or admissions and sales figures for that matter, to predict how audiences and end-users will react to new content is a faulty method at its best. Crowd funding, however, is not. There is hardly anyone alive in the business who has not heard about crowd funding. In fact, the only thing growing faster than the crowd funding buzz seems to be the amount of crowd funding sites116. As this topic has been thoroughly introduced at numerous seminars and lectures by adept experts – and is a regular topic in media related magazines, blogs and sites117 we will briefly mention a selection of crowd funding sites and leave it at that. Crowd funding services Kickstarter.com and Indiegogo.com are both American sites, and amongst the first movers – and the biggest - in offering crowd funding services to fund-seeking projects. Ditto American Startupaddict.com launched late April this year, aims its services at entrepreneurs and accord-

116 117

ing to the site it is a “haven for entrepreneurial SuperHeros thwarting the forces of mediocrity”. Closer to home we find the Swedish invested.in, which deserves to be mentioned, not for being a successful funding site, but for their humorous taglines such as: “Because pawning your stamp collection is not a sustainable business model”. Even closer to home Booomerang.dk is a newly started Danish site, featuring all sorts of creative ideas. It is still early for Booomerang and time will tell, whether the site can assist in turning ideas into funded projects and succeed in becoming a profitable business for Michael Eis, founder of the site. There are also sites specialising in particular content, such as sellaband. com and pledgemusic.com. Profounder.com offers planning tools for entrepreneurs looking to raise investment from their communities. And a must-visit site is crowdsourcing.org, which offers a wealth of information on anything related to crowd funding and sourcing, including directories of crowd funding sites and cloud

For an overview, see crowdsourcing.org – updated on a regular basis. Googling crowd funding will result in more than 1000 videos covering this topic from different (and varying in quality) angles.

labour ditto! Finally, anyone interested in funding a non-profit project as in charity project could check out the futurefundraisingnow.com blog. Testing new territory Returning again to the media companies, only few of those we spoke to have tested and tried crowd funding. Happy Flyfish launched a project on Kickstarter, and found that connecting with potential fans already at a developing stage was an exciting experience. Interestingly enough the project was a short film, artistic fiction, niche in other words. While short fiction may face some challenges in finding an audience outside of the film festival circuit, crowd funding offers an opportunity for exactly that, not least if it crosses boarders, so to speak. A story, a cause, or an app may be niche from a local or national perspective, but by expanding that perspective there is a possibility for reaching out internationally and transform niche into a segment – and an audience. For projects

and stories that either have a build-in cause or a build-in audience (commercial and niche), crowd funding offers new opportunity. This is certainly the case for the “Go Green” project mentioned earlier, though WorldPerfect and NöRD have not explored crowd funding, but they look for private investors and sponsors instead; it is also the case for Dollerup Hills’ Kirkegaard-feature, though again, this project has not sought finance through the crowds. And it is the case for Basmati, currently producing a film with Museum Jorn in Silkeborg: “If we can create a base for connecting with all the people in the world interested in Jorn’s artistic views, and thus prove interest in the film, then we can possibly use that to raise finance from larger funds”, says Ellen Riis. Crowd scepticism This seems to reflect a more generic point of view or belief amongst the companies. First of all there is little faith in crowd funding actually

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contributing substantially with financing directly. More people mention that the Danes are not yet accustomed to paying for content upfront. The answer to that challenge could be widening the target, but of course not all projects and ideas have an international potential, nor should they have. Following that another possible problem with crowd funding is that it is very unpredictable. Uffe Overgaard Koch from Huge Lawn Software points out he does not consider crowd funding a stable business model, but a hit based one that in the end has little to do with the quality of a project. That being said, Huge Lawn has actually developed an app used for emergency aid in Africa, and as this type of project both lends itself to branding the company, and to crowd funding, Koch is not 100% dismissive of trying it out – at some point. A piece of the financing puzzle A second generic point of view is that there is

This was one of the conclusions in Damvad (2008) and it remains an issue.

much belief in using crowd funding as a marketing platform and for proving fan loyalty. Returning once again to the crystal ball for what will work and hit the mark with end-users, Picturewise and GameCraft have faith in using crowd funding for validating the sustainability of an idea, which can then pave the way for securing other finance for that idea. Under the right circumstances crowd funding is a fairly easy, qualitative, way of doing pre-tests. Others mention that using crowd funding this way could open the door to the much sought after, but rarely found, venture capital. We have already mentioned that the lack of venture capital remains a challenge for the gaming industry, not least because of their lack of access to public funding. But several people across the sector mention the need for more venture capital, especially for new media projects – and the development of new business models118. Widely speaking, companies believe that working the crowd can contribute significantly to piecing

Business models and value chains in the digital age Transparency and cooperation

Crowd funding finance together from other sources, including broadcasters, public funds, and private funds or, for that matter, private investors. Formatting concepts Last, but not least, not all projects are suitable for crowd funding, or they need to be formatted in a way that makes them suitable. One of the crowd funding success stories often referred to is Franny Armstrong’s “The Age of Stupid”119, a documentary that was actually fully financed by crowd funding, but in a continuing process of introducing new parts of the film for funding.120 Some of the companies, JA Film for example, are thinking along this line. However, if one is to raise € 2 million or more for a film or a game, it may call for a ‘sell the house, get a divorce, pawn the kids and put the dog down’ commitment. Willingness to share And commitment is everything121. Launching a project on a crowd funding site is fairly easy,

119 120 121 122 123

but the trick is bringing the crowd there. And that will not happen without enlisting all sorts of social communities, both on- and off-line, and developing clear strategies for communication, marketing and considering pay-off for finance or content contributors. Crowd funding is not a time-saving endeavour, nor a cheap one. This is the case for any attempt at developing and testing new business models. Getting it right requires competencies that are not necessarily present in all companies, though they are very present in the sector and society as such. In order to access the skills and knowledge required, companies can outsource, crowd source, open their doors to interns from universities or other educational institutions, or form strategic partnerships with other companies. As end-users increasingly share and exchange, the companies’ willingness and readiness to do the same is challenged122.

“Irrespective of the choice of business models, one consisting element is the increasing need to partner with other organizations. The proliferation of platforms and rising consumer expectations mean companies can no longer be everything.”123 To cut to the chase, we found varying degrees of ‘openness’ amongst the companies. This is not to say that companies exist in a closed environment. The AV and media sector is a peoples’ business and all professionals are meticulous and skilled networkers in the common sense of that phrase. But that is not the same as making knowledge and experience sharing a strategic focus. Those companies that have adapted a transparent approach to business, in and across the sector, benefit hugely from that. The potential and need for cross media cooperation is evident, both in relation to singular IPs being developed for and distributed on different platforms, thus creating a variety of revenue streams, but also in relation to companies cooperating across media – and sector – each

http://www.spannerfilms.net/films/ageofstupid ”The Making of The Age of Stupid” is available for free streaming at spannerfilms.net Check out Seth Godin’s inspiring talk about how the internet has revived the tribe as a social unit: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/seth_godin_on_the_tribes_we_lead.html Ditlevsen, C. L., Rasmussen, N. B., Thomsen, J. S. & Traxl, M. H. (2009), p. 24. PricewaterhouseCoopers (2010), p. 5.

contributing with unique competencies, knowledge and skills. There is a possible financial and creative reward in teaming up. Calling on expertise There are, however, also advantages to sticking to your guns. App-producer Uffe Overgaard Koch says, it pains his eyes to look at android phones and apps. By keeping his eye on the ball, or in this case the apple, Koch keeps his expertise adept and his business focused. This does not make Huge Lawn Software oblivious to the android market potential, or the potential of seeking partners and markets in new sectors. Huge Lawn has a strategic partnership with an android-specialised company and the two companies bring business to each other. While developing ‘The Corridor’ Oscar Film enlisted the help and expertise from a number of individuals and companies from across sector. While this involved sharing an idea that was still not fully formed, it also involved assuring that that every technical and conceptual aspect of

124 125

that idea was tested against the better knowledge of other professionals. In this way sharing might not only benefit an idea and enhance a concept, but also open doors to new ways of making business and to using new business models. The different lines of production in the AV sector have a lot to gain, and learn, from each other creatively and in relation to business models and in developing new business ventures. A TV producer might have difficulties in seeing opportunity for raising finance and finding the right business model for recouping a cross-media concept. But teaming up with others can ensure revenue growth – again – by creating more revenue streams, and sharing of costs and/or risks. Increasing competition Another quite obvious reason for collaborating is that digitisation and cost-lowering techniques has opened media-production to a variety of happy amateurs and up-and-comers. Almost

In the music business for example, and more widely “Creative Commons”. See http://www.creativecommons.dk/?p=477 See Gubbins (2011) and Ditlevsen et al. (2009).

all companies point to this fact. It has been said that anyone with a camera or motherboard can become a producer. However, not anyone can create a business based on the production. But that will not stop the new kids on the block from trying and a least for a while take business away and compete with services from professional companies. And some of them will succeed. Protecting IPs in the digital space, or finding new ways of monetising IP content in the future, is a big issue. We have long seen the ‘open source’ tendency evolve in the sharing of knowledge, software and services, but also in sharing rights for IPs or offering free access to IP content.124 This has obvious consequences for IP producers and tackling the challenge from a legal and protective perspective seems doomed for failure.125 Though ‘together we’re stronger’ might connotate an almost unbearable idealistic approach to dressing up for the future, there are very

Business models and value chains in the digital age Transparency and cooperation pragmatic and business-wise advantages, and necessities, to joining forces. “[…] the networking abilities that are so central to succeed in an anarconomy world are unevenly distributed. The people who find it easy to establish and maintain their networks will experience anarconomy as exciting and challenging, while the people who find it harder to network might easily drown.”126

Final remarks

The themes touched upon in the above are all interwoven and point to the fact that the process of reinventing value chains and creating new sustainable business models is ongoing. By and large, however, it is ongoing within separate lines of business. There are good reasons for this. As all different areas in the AV sector are affected and changing as a result of digitisation and altered consumer patterns, it does require adept expertise to develop and/or expand business. That being said there are two sides to business models. Financing production and recouping the same. The tendency moves towards micro-funding via creating several revenue streams. In other words, one needs to get a product out there in order to fund it. That is a financing paradox. And it is one that once again points to the lack of venture capital and to the limitations of an analogue funding system. Cross media may be as big a buzz word as crowd funding. Still cross platform release holds the promise of creating different and mutually

126

Ibid., p. 31.

informing returns of investment. At the moment it seems there is still an unexploited potential for drawing on cross sector expertise and skill; of the doings and ways-of-working in other lines of business; not just in inventing business models, but also in inventing and developing content. And even if not every idea or IP can or should be a cross platform venture, cross platform knowledge exchange could nevertheless be an important asset. Many companies are still reluctant when it comes to sharing or co-developing ideas, not to mention pitching an idea that is still not fully formed. But as content creation and funding in new ways increasingly go hand in hand, there may be good sense in leaving this reluctant or even ‘protective’ attitude behind and seek and exchange platform specific know-how and inventiveness to a much higher degree.

Recommendations for development of the audiovisual industry in the North Denmark and Central Denmark regions Recommendations to sector policy makers The audiovisual sector faces a multitude of challenges. Some are shared across sector nationally and internationally. Some are specific to particular lines of business within the sector. And some are specific to companies based in the North and Central Denmark region. The following recommendations relate to some of the national cross sector issues emerging in the age of digitisation taking specific Danish conditions into consideration; and they relate to issues facing the AV sector based in North and Central Denmark. The recommendations are inspired and informed by the opinions of the industry in general, and the company interviews performed for this report in particular.

127

See Redvall & Gubbins 2010

Throughout this report the theme of uneven distribution of public support for media-products has been brought up several times. Public support is unevenly distributed amongst different media products with film by far being the largest beneficiary. That is a fact. Making this point is not the same as advocating that other media products should receive support at the expense of the film sector. The lack of support for other media products, including but not limited to computer games, is a challenge for those companies developing and producing those media products. From an audience, end-user or citizen point of view it could be seen as a problem too. Tax-payers request and consume a variety of media cultural products and services, not just films. They also expect and demand access to these products on every imaginable platform. As all media production and products increasingly migrate to digital, we will see the emergence of new formats and new ways of telling stories, creating

content and/or entertaining end-users. The existing Danish support schemes only support the experimentation with new media content and new business models meeting digital consumer demands to a rather limited degree127. If the audiovisual sector is to explore its potential for growth and evolve in tune with a development that is increasingly audience and end-user led, then that is a problem, on a national as well as regional level. It is an issue raised repeatedly by many of the companies interviewed for this report. The regional perspective Public support is also unevenly distributed geographically. It is an undisputable fact that the majority of film, TV, and computer game production takes place in and around Copenhagen. Hence it follows logically that the majority of all support is granted to companies operating there. The Capital Area exercises a magnetic effect on media production and derivative in-

dustries, including decision makers. The radical solution for companies operating out of Jutland or Funen is to move: ”If the mountain won’t come to Mohammad, Mohammad must go to the mountain.” Whether this is a desirable situation is a different matter! There are attempts, and political will, to change the centralisation of the media industry. The Film Agreement 2010-2014, for example, grants DKK 28 million to regional film production. It seems, however, that the support is aimed primarily at supporting production of films, rather than film production, outside of Copenhagen: “The aim of the support is to secure that Danish Film tell stories from every part of the country, and it is directed at films travelling in relation to shooting and post producing outside of the Capital area. It is price-raising to produce outside of the Capital area and the support for regional film production is meant to compensate for the additional expenditure.”128

128 129

Dfi.dk (our translation) Central Denmark region and North Denmark region.

There are pros and cons to maintaining strong clusters in the capital area. But from a cultural diversity point of view; from a North and Central Denmark regional development point of view; from an employment and work force point of view, and from a talent nurturing point of view, a further centralisation of the media industry in and around Copenhagen cannot be a sensible or desirable strategy. The interregional129 collaboration and initiation of the ‘cross media initiative’, Shareplay, is an important contribution to strengthening the regional audiovisual sector. At this time the process of establishing a fund offering direct support for new media and cross media development is still ongoing. The question of public support for the media sector is a complicated matter. Though there seems to be a wide interregional consensus regarding the growth potential of the North and Central Denmark AV sector, one cannot be blind

to the fact that the regions and the different municipalities in the regions also pursue and serve different and partial interests. Other issues involve the question of distortion of competition, which needs to be addressed and tackled by any initiative aimed at supporting the audiovisual sector. Even though the Shareplay fund is expected to become a reality, the possible access to some regional funding for new and cross media initiatives, experimentation with new business models in the AV sector or for the development and production of IPs that are not films, does not make up for the lack of national funding for these types of projects. It also does not make up for the fact that The West Danish Film Fund remains financially rather week, which further limits the fund’s possibility to stretch its support program to encompass more diverse forms of production.

Recommendations for development of the audiovisual industry in the North Denmark and Central Denmark regions Recommendations to sector policy makers In order to support the audiovisual sector in the North and Central Denmark regions policymakers could: a) seek to influence national policy makers with the aim of creating national support systems aimed at IP production in the wide sense and experiments with new business models b) lobby for or continue to raise the debate of whether more national funds should be distributed for, or even earmarked at, regional production thus supporting the continued existence and growth of a media industry based outside of Copenhagen c) encourage and lobby for regional representation of public bodies, i.e. DFI, to partly make up for the ‘proximity to decision makers’ issue

130 131

d) continue to work towards creating stable, financially substantial support systems allowing for long term planning of, development and production of IPs in the broad sense of that term e) consider whether the AV sector in the North and Central Denmark region is better served by establishing one large inter-regional fund, supporting media development and production based as much on evaluation of commercial liability as artistic ambition f)

convert ‘paper to money’, that is work to ensure that more of the available resources are channelled directly to companies and less to administering initiatives with a very local or narrow aim

g) support and encourage the risk-taking DIYapproach, i.e. by earmarking funds to grant support equivalent to companies’ own or joint investment for cross media produc-

Kind of a market scheme solution for all media production, based on commercial liability of the idea 2008, p. 5.

tion130 h) relieve companies of the administrative paper-burden related to using existing business and employment supporting programmes such as ‘Videnpilot” (Innovation pilot), ‘Løntilskud’ etc. i)

enhance transparency related to public procurement

Recommendations to the audiovisual industry

The audiovisual sector in the North Denmark and Central Denmark regions mainly consists of SMVs. The Damvad report131 concludes that access to and the lack of venture capital is one of the major barriers to innovation and growth, particularly in the cross media field. This was confirmed by the companies interviewed for this report.

The regional Væksthuse (Business Link Centres)132 offer professional consultancy and support related to i.e. management and strategy, innovation, marketing and funding. Some of the interviewed companies have sought the assistance of the Business Link Centres, either for generic business development; in relation to expanding business to new areas or related to more concrete projects. It seems, however, that not all companies are aware of the possibilities offered by the Business Link Centres. In a survey conducted by First Motion earlier this year more than 76% confirmed a need for more knowledge about funding and support schemes. This knowledge is offered by The Business Link Centres. There is no magical solution to the lack of venture capital, but The Business Link Centres offer assistance in where and how to go looking for funding.

Sharing of cross sector knowledge and experience In relation to existing and new business models the companies and different business lines in the audiovisual industry could benefit from studying those models used by others133. The companies interviewed for this report demonstrated a dedication to explore new territory, in terms of developing content and business models. However, many companies have not ventured beyond their own line of business, when looking for solutions related to raising finance and creating revenue streams134. The knowledge is present and at hand in the North and Central Denmark audiovisual industry. In order to access it companies could:

their own line of business c) co-develop and -produce both single-platform and cross-platform project/products in order to spread risks and generate more revenue streams d) involve themselves actively in the media and cross-media networks and influence the course and action of these e) enhance transparency and willingness to share experiences and solutions

a) form strategic and/or informal partnerships with companies representing complementary knowledge and know how b) be open and active in expanding their own networks beyond ‘the usual suspects’ within

132 133 134

See startvaekst.dk In a company-survey conducted by First Motion earlier this year, nearly 70% of respondents confirmed a need for more knowledge about ‘the new digital media world’ and nearly 60% indicated a need for knowledge about marketing. According to the same survey 78% of all companies have developed new products during the past two years; however, 71% of respondents stated that the development took place in-house – and not in collaboration with any other company or institution.

Recommendations for development of the audiovisual industry in the North Denmark and Central Denmark regions Recommendations to the audiovisual industry The media networks and clusters in the North and Central Denmark regions are more or less all founded on a business and industry enhancing strategy. In order to support the cross sector and/or company sharing of knowledge and experience networks could: a) balance activities between theory and practice: i.e. ‘the eye-opening expert lecture’ and activities that support ‘sharing of practice’ and networking; as in companies actually making each others acquaintance b) focus on matchmaking, facilitate casebased experience sharing, cross sector development workshops or cross sector pitching events c) gather knowledge about business-specific competencies: ‘who does what’ in the regional businesses and distribute that knowledge to companies

135 136

d) work together to optimise resources and offers and minimise costs Knowledge exchange with educational institutions Exploring new business models often require advanced ‘digital’, social communication and marketing skills. These skills are not necessarily present in all companies. Many of the educational programmes in the regions are focused on new media, widely speaking, and the educational institutions dedicate time and resources at collaborating with the business community. In order to benefit from the research, knowledge and skills generated by educational institutions, companies could:

by offering cases for the project-organised study form135 c) explore existing offers for formal collaboration by universities and other educational institutions, i.e. ‘Shortcut to New Knowledge’ at AU136

a) open their doors to interns and apprentices from the various educational institutions and/or offer student jobs b) enlist the assistance of students in solving concrete problems or experimenting, i.e.

I.e. The Careers Centre at Aalborg University and Outreach at Aarhus University: karriere.aau.dk and outreach.au.dk A programme designed to enhance innovation competencies in SMEs by offering a formal cooperation with researchers: genvejtilnyviden.au.dk

Literature and links

Avenue A & Razorfish (2007): “Digital Consumer Behavior Study”. http://www.razorfish.com/reports/DigConsStudy.pdf Avenue A & Razorfish (2008): Digital outlook report. http://www.razorfish.com/reports/digitaloutlook08.pdf Castells, M. (2000): The rise of the Network Society (2. Ed.). Cornwall: T.J. International Limited. Cilinska, A., Steinbergs, K. & Volkova, T. (2010): Business Models and Value Chains in Audiovisual Media. Research within the Framework of the Baltic Sea Region Programme FIRST MOTION 2007-2013. Riga: National Film Centre of Latvia. http://www.firstmotion.eu/art/MediaCenter/FirstMotion/BalticSectorStudy.pdf Damvad (2008): Analyse af erhvervet film og nye medier i Region Midtjylland og Region Nordjylland. Damvad (2008): Film og Nye Medier – Teknologi og kreativitet skaber ny vækst. Tværregional strategi for udvikling af lokale fyrtårne i Nordjylland og Midtjylland. http://www.rm.dk/files/Politik/Dagsordener/RR200208/ Bilag%20punkt%2025.pdf

Ditlevsen, C. L., Rasmussen, N. B., Thomsen, J. S. & Traxl, M. H. (2009): Anarconomy. Mogensen, K. (Transl.) Report #3/2009. Copenhagen: Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies. http://www.cifs.dk/doc/medlemsrapporter/MR0309UK.pdf DR TV (2010): DRs Public Service-redegørelse 2010. http://www.dr.dk/NR/rdonlyres/D0F84992-F0E6-4107-A2B2-72B6F35B42D4/2793768/dr_psr2012.pdf%20,%20p.%2055 First Motion Financed: “Research report related to WP3, WP4, and WP5” (2011). Joint work between Filmby Aarhus, the Alexandra Institute, & Innovation Centre HTA, Poland. Gubbins, M. (2011). Digital Revolution – engaging audiences (3. ed.). A CINE-REGIO report in collaboration with Filmby Aarhus. http://www.cine-regio.org/press_media/digital_revolution_/ Jakobsen, M. H., Kruse, S., Søndergaard, H. & Vang, J. (2010): Danske indholdsproducenter. Film, Tv og Computerspil i tal 2009. København: Copenhagen Entertainment. http://copenhagenentertainment.dk/fileadmin/user_upload/Pdf/Fuld_Rapport_web.pdf Jakobsen, H., Porse Nielsen, M. & Manto (2011): Danske indholdsproducenters samfundmæssige effekt. Film, Tv og Computerspil. København: Copenhagen Entertainment, Producentforeningen & Manto. http://copen-

hagenentertainment.dk/fileadmin/user_upload/Pdf/Samfundseffekt. pdf Kingston, M. (2011): Monetising content in a connected world. Research report by Screen Digest. http://www.screendigest.com/reports/2011419a/2011_05_monetising_content_in_a_connected_world/view.html Manto for Producentforeningen (2009): Strategisk analyse af den danske computerspilsbranche. København: Manto. http://computerspilzonen.dk/rapport/strategisk-analyse-af-den-danske-computerspilbranche Multimedieforeningen (2010): Facts om computerspil. København: MUF. http://computerspilzonen.dk/sites/computerspilzonen.dk/files/rapportfiler/Computerspilfacts_MUF_2010.pdf Ponnert, S. & Thörnkvist, M. (Eds.) (2011): SPELIFIERING - om hur vi kan använda spelmekanik i saker som inte är ett spel. Malmö, Sweden: Mediaevolution. http://www.mediaevolution.se/2011/03/vi-slapperarets-forsta-publikation Porter, M. E. (2008): Clusters, Innovation, and Competitiveness: New Findings and Implications for Policy. Presentation at the EU conference on Innovation and Clusters, Stockholm, Sweden, 2008. http://www.isc.hbs.edu/pdf/20080122_EuropeanClusterPolicy.pdf

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (2010): Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2010-2014. Industry overview – summary. http://pwc.com/outlook Redvall, E. N. & Gubbins, M. (2010): Scandinavian Think Tank on Films, Markets, Audiences and Film Policy. Report from the Think Tank in Copenhagen 7-8th December 2010. http://filmthinktank.org/fileadmin/thinktank_downloads/scandiTTrevise_2011.pdf Thörnkvist, M. (Ed.) (2010): Direkt till Internet - om att publicera och sälja medieprodukter utan omvägar. Malmö, Sweden: Mediaevolution. http://blog.mediaevolution.se/2010/12/16/direkt-till-internet-enguide-till-att-salja-media-utan-omvagar/ Thörnkvist, M. (Ed.) (2010): Finansiera Mera - om hur du använder crowd funding för att engagera människor. Malmö, Sweden: Mediaevolution. http://blog.mediaevolution.se/2010/10/28/finansiera-mera-en-guidetill-crowd-funding/ TV2|DANMARK A/S (2010): TV2 Public Service Redegørelse 2010. http://omtv2.tv2.dk/fileadmin/user_upload/pdf/public_service/PSredegoerelse2010.pdf Wellman, B. (Ed.) (1999): Networks in the Global Village. New York: Westview Press.

Literature and links

Links - in order of appearance PP. 4-9 • Animation workshop: http://www.animwork.dk/en • Study in Denmark: http://www.studyindenmark.dk • Aalborg University: http://www.aau.dk • Aarhus University: http://au.dk • The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus and Aalborg: http://www.musikkons.dk/ • IT-Vest: http://www.it-vest.dk/en/ • DADIU: http://www.dadiu.dk • Danish School of Media and Journalism: http://www.dmjx.dk/international/ • University College of Northern Denmark: http://www.ucnorth.dk/ • VIA University College: http://www.viauc.com/Pages/default.aspx • Business Academy Aarhus: http://www.eaaa.dk/subsites/international/directly+to • Academy of Professional Higher Education Midjutland: http://www.eamv.dk • Mercantec: http://www.mercantec.dk • Media College Aalborg: http://www.mediacollege.dk • Grenaa Technical School: http://www.gts.dk/ • Herningsholm Vocational Education: http://www.herningsholm.dk • European Film College: http://www.europeanfilmcollege.com

PP. 11-16 • Shareplay: http://www.shareplay.dk/ and http://shareplay.ning.com • Alexandra Institute: http://www.alexandra.dk/uk • Bretteville: http://bretteville.dk/ • Filmby Aarhus: http://www.filmbyaarhus.dk/ • Dreammedia: http://www.dreammedia.dk/forside.aspx and https://www.facebook.com/dreammedia.dk • Municipality of Viborg: http://viborg.dk/portalforside • Dreamgames: http://www.dreamgames.dk • Municipality of Aarhus: http://www.aarhus.dk/da/omkommunen/english.aspx • Update: http://www.update.dk/ • Seismonaut: http://seismonaut.dk/ • Headstart New Media Network: http://headstartnetwork.ning.com/ • Imagine33: http://www.imagine33.com/ • University of Copenhagen: http://www.ku.dk/english/ • Danish Institute for Science, Technology and Innovation: http://en.fi.dk/ • Municipality of Aalborg: http://www.aalborgkommune.dk/english-version/Sider/english.aspx • Filmfyn: http://filmfyn.dk/english • ICT Norcom: http://www.brainsbusiness.dk/dk/ictnorcom_-_business_forum/

• • • • • • • •

Dreamhouse: http://www.dreamhouse.dk Cine-Regio: http://www.cine-regio.org/ Tietgen Business College: http://tietgenportalen.tietgen.dk/en/portal/Pages/Tietgencollege.aspx Roskilde University: http://www.ruc.dk/en/ North Sea Screen Partners: http://northseascreen.eu/ First Motion: http://www.firstmotion.eu IT-Forum Midjutland: http://www.itforum.dk/english.asp iKRAFT: http://www.ikraft.dk/en/node/136

PP. 18-21 • Danish Broadcasting Corporation: http://www.dr.dk • TV 2|DENMARK: http://tv2.dk/ • TV3: http://tv3.dk/ • Danish Ministry of Culture, news and press: http://kum.dk/nyhederog-presse/pressemeddelelser/2011/juni/public-service-til-det-regionale-danmark/ • TV2/NORD: http://tv2nord.dk • TV2 Østjylland: http://tv2oj.dk • TV/MIDT-VEST: http://tvmidtvest.dk • MTG, Brands and Operations: http://www.mtg.se/en/Brands--Operations/Brands/ • SBS TV: http://www.sbstv.dk/kanaler_og_programmer

• •

Non-commercial TV channels in Denmark: http://www.bibliotekogmedier.dk/medieomraadet/tv/ikke-kommercielt-tv-i-mux-1/tilladelser/ tilladelser-og-sendetid/ Ofcom UK: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/

PP. 24-30 • Danish Film Institute: http://www.dfi.dk • Cartoon Master, Finance, 2010: http://www.cartoon-media.eu/MASTERS/fin_index.php • West Danish Film Fund: http://www.filmpuljen.dk/ • Danish Film Agreement 2010-2014: http://kum.dk/Documents/Kulturpolitik/Kunstarterne/Film/Filmaftale%202011-2014.pdf • DFI support schemes: dfi.dk/Service/English.aspx or dfi.dk/Service/English/Funding.aspx. • Nordic Game Program: http://www.nordicgameprogram.org/ • Nordic Film and TV Foundation, members: http://www.nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/index.php?sid=6&ptid=3 • Nordic Film and TV Foundation: http://www.nordiskfilmogtvfond.com • Nordic High 5: see above • Regional business link centres: http://www.startvaekst.dk/ and http://www.ebst.dk/vaekstfora • Nordisk Film Fonden: http://www.nordiskfilm.dk/om-nordisk-film/nordisk-film-fonden/

Literature and links

Links - in order of appearance • • • • •

NORDEN, Nordic Culture Fund: http://nordiskkulturfond.org/?sc_lang=en The Computer Game Zone: http://www.computerspilzonen.dk/ Council of Europe review of film support policies: http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/film/default_en.asp Danish Film Institute: Facts & Figures 2011: http://www.dfi.dk/FaktaOmFilm/Tal-og-statistik.aspx Politiken newspaper article: http://politiken.dk/kultur/tvogradio/ ECE1087284/spilbranchen-savner-serioese-stoettekroner/

PP. 70-81 • WorldPerfect ‘sustainable advertising agency’: http://www.worldperfect.dk/ • Go Green Aarhus: http://www.gogreenaarhus.dk/ • GEL conference 2011: http://www.ted.com/talks/gel_gotta_share.html • Osao: http://www.osao.com • The Corridor: http://www.korridoren.tv • Mediawatch article about The Corridor: http://mediawatch.dk/artikel/ ny-id%C3%A9-serioese-tv-interviews-paa-abonnementsbasis • Crowd funding overview: http://www.crowdsourcing.org/ • Kickstarter: http://www.kickstarter.com/ • Indiegogo: http://www.indiegogo.com/ • Startupaddict: http://www.startupaddict.com/

• • • • • • • •

Invested.in: http://invested.in/ Booomerang: http://www.booomerang.dk/ Sell a Band: https://www.sellaband.com/ Pledge Music: http://www.pledgemusic.com/ Future Fundraising Now: http://www.futurefundraisingnow.com/ Age of Stupid: http://www.spannerfilms.net/films/ageofstupid Seth Godin on The Tribes we Lead: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/ eng/seth_godin_on_the_tribes_we_lead.html Creative Commons on “The Power of Open”: http://www.creativecommons.dk/?p=477

P. 84-88 • DFI Regional Film support: http://www.dfi.dk/branche_og_stoette/ stoette/produktion-og-udvikling/regional-filmstoette.aspx • AAU Careers Centre: http://www.karriere.aau.dk/for-virksomheder/ studerende-virksomhed/stud.projekt/ • AU Outreach : http://outreach.au.dk/vi-tilbyder/one-stop-service/studentersamarbejde/ • AU Shortcut to innovation: http://genvejtilnyviden.au.dk/mesttilvirksomheder/

Appendix 1: Overview of the Danish Vocational and Higher Education System

Danish higher education institutions use the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) for measuring study activities. 60 ECTS correspond to one year of full-time study. Danish qualifications levels

Ordinary higher education degrees

Adult/Continuing higher education degrees

Qualifications Framework for the European Higher Education Area – Bologna Framework

Academy Profession level

Academy Profession degree (90150 ECTS)

Academy Profession degree (60 ECTS)

Short cycle

Bachelor’s level

Professional Bachelor’s degree (180-240 ECTS)* Bachelor’s degree (within fine arts) (180 ECTS) Bachelor’s degree (180 ECTS)

Diploma degree (60 ECTS)

First cycle

Master’s level

Master’s degree (within fine arts) (120-180 ECTS) Master’s degree (120 ECTS)**

Master degree (60-90 ECTS)

Second cycle

PhD level

PhD degree (180 ECTS)

* Can be obtained through a full regular bachelor’s programme (180-240 ECTS) or a top up bachelor’s programme (90 ECTS) following an Academy Profession degree. A few Professional Bachelor programmes are 270 ECTS. ** A few Master’s programmes are up to 180 ECTS.

Third cycle

Admission and progression General access to higher education in Denmark requires a secondary school leaving examination or comparable qualifications. Admission to some particular programmes requires entrance examination or submission of a portfolio of artistic work. Completion of a short cycle degree qualifies students for admission to a first cycle degree. Degree holders with a short cycle Academy Profession degree can obtain a Professional Bachelor’s degree within the same field of study with a top up programme (90 ECTS). Completion of a first cycle degree qualifies students for admission to the second cycle. Ordinary Higher Education degrees The Academy Profession degree is awarded after 90-150 ECTS and includes a period of work placement of at least 15 ECTS. The programmes are development based and combine theoretical studies with a practical approach.

Programmes are, among others, offered within Marketing Management, Computer Science and Chemical and Biotechnical Science. The Danish title is field of study followed by the abbreviation AK and the English title is AP Graduate in [field of study].

research-based and are offered in all scientific fields. The Danish title is Bachelor (BA) i [field of study] or Bachelor (BSc) i [field of study] and the English title is Bachelor of Arts (BA) in [field of study] or Bachelor of Science (BSc) in [field of study].

The Professional Bachelor’s degree is awarded after 180-240 ECTS and includes a period of work placement of at least 30 ECTS. The programmes are professional higher education programmes at bachelor level. They are development-based and combine theoretical studies with an applied approach. Examples of professional bachelor degree holders are nurses, primary and lower secondary school teachers and certain types of engineers. The Danish title is Professionsbachelor i [field of study] and the English title is Bachelor of [field of study].

The Bachelor’s degree (within fine arts) is awarded after 180 ECTS. The programmes are based on research and artistic research. Programmes are offered within the arts. The Danish title is Bachelor (BA) i [field of study] or Bachelor i musik (BMus) [field of study] and the English title is Bachelor of Arts (BA) in [field of study] or Bachelor of Music (BMus) [field of study].

The Bachelor’s degree from a university is awarded after completion of a 3-year programme (180 ECTS). The programmes are

The Master’s degree is awarded after 120 ECTS. The programmes are research-based and are offered in all scientific fields. The Danish title is abbreviated to cand.[Latin abbreviation of academic area] i [field of study]. The English title is Master of Arts (MA) in [field of study] or Master of Science (MSc) in [field of study].

Appendix 1: Overview of the Danish Vocational and Higher Education System

The Master’s degree (within fine arts) is awarded after 120-180 ECTS. The programmes are based on research and artistic research. The Danish title is abbreviated to cand.[Latin abbreviation of academic area] [field of study]. The English title is Master of Arts (MA) in [field of study] or Master of Music (MMus) [field of study]. Music Academies offer a specialist degree of 2 to 4 years following the master’s degree. The PhD degree is awarded after 180 ECTS. PhD programmes are offered by the universities and some institutions under the Ministry of Culture. Detailed descriptions of degrees and degree levels can be found in the Qualifications Framework for Danish Higher Education at www.iu.dk. Please consult the relevant Diploma Supplement for information about the learning outcome of the specific degrees. Adult and continuing higher education The programmes normally consist of 2 years of

137 138

www.iu.dk edited for this report www.iu.dk

part-time study, equivalent to 1 year of full-time study (60 ECTS credits). Certain master programmes require 1½ years of full-time study (90 ECTS credits). Admission requirements are a relevant educational qualification and at least 2 years of relevant work experience. Adult education qualifications are available at levels corresponding to those of the ordinary higher education system. ██ The Diploma degree (diplomuddannelse) is awarded after studies at first cycle level and gives access to master programmes. ██ The Master degree (masteruddannelse) is awarded after studies at second cycle level.137 Vocational education and training Vocational education and training (VET) includes a vast range of programmes. The duration varies from 1½ to 5½ years, the most typical being 3½ to 4 years. VET programmes are sandwich type programmes in which theoretical and practical

education at a vocational college (approximately 1/3 of the time) alternates with practical training in an approved company or organisation (approximately 2/3 of the time). The dual training principle ensures that the trainees acquire theoretical, practical, general and personal skills, which are in demand on the labour market. Admission to vocational education and training requires completion of compulsory education, lower secondary level. All programmes qualify trainees for labour market entry as skilled workers. In addition, some programmes can qualify trainees for admission to certain types of higher education programmes.138

100

Appendix 2: Overview of education programmes in the North and Central Denmark Regions Field of Study

Degree

ECTS

Education

BACHELOR LEVEL PROGRAMMES, AALBORG UNIVERSITY Computer Science

B.Sc

180

AAU

Humanistic Informatics, Information Science

180

AAU

Humanistic Informatics, Communication

180

AAU

Humanistic Informatics, Interactive Digital Media

180

AAU

Informatics

B.Sc

180

AAU

Information Technology

B.Sc

180

AAU

Software engineering

B.Sc

180

AAU

Medialogy

B.Sc

180

AAU

Music

180

AAU

Popular music and sound production

180

AAU

Art and Technology

180

AAU

Product and design psychology

B.Sc

180

AAU

101

Field of Study

Degree

ECTS

Education

BACHELOR LEVEL PROGRAMMES, AARHUS UNIVERSITY Information Studies

180

International Communication and Multimedia (Herning)

180

Media Studies

180

Digital Design

180

Dramaturgy

180

Musicology

180

Information Technology Engineer

B.Sc

180

Computer Science

B.Sc

180

IT-software development

B.Sc

180

BACHELOR LEVEL PROGRAMME, ROYAL SCHOOL OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE Information Science and Culture Communication

180

IVA

BACHELOR LEVEL PROGRAMMES, THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC, AALBORG AND AARHUS Rhythmic music

BMus

180

Royal Academy of Music

Classical music

BMus

180

Royal Academy of Music

Electronic Composition

BMus

180

Royal Academy of Music

102

Appendix 2: Overview of education programmes in the North and Central Denmark Regions Field of Study

Degree

ECTS

Education

MASTER LEVEL PROGRAMMES, AALBORG UNIVERSITY Computer Science

M.Sc

120

AAU

Informatics

M.Sc

120

AAU

Cand. IT Information Architecture

M.Sc

120

AAU

Cand. IT Interactive Digital Media

M.Sc

120

AAU

Cand. IT Experience Design

M.Sc

120

AAU

Cand. IT Software Construction

M.Sc

120

AAU

Cand. IT Game Programmer

M.Sc

120

AAU

Information Science

120

AAU

Communication

120

AAU

Medialogy

M.Sc

120

AAU

Music

120

AAU

Product- and design psychology

M.Sc

120

AAU

Innovative Communication Technologies and Entrepreneurship

M.Sc

120

AAU

103

Field of Study

Degree

ECTS

Education

MASTER LEVEL PROGRAMMES, AARHUS UNIVERSITY Computer Science

M.Sc

120

Dramaturgy

120

IT-Product Development

M.Sc

120

Journalism (Cand.Public) in cooperation with DJH

120

Cand. IT Audiodesign

M.Sc

120

Cand. IT Digital design

M.Sc

120

Cand. IT Information Science

M.Sc

120

Media Studies

120

Musicology

120

Experience Economy

120

Information Studies

120

104

Appendix 2: Overview of education programmes in the North and Central Denmark Regions Field of Study

Degree

ECTS

Education

MASTER LEVEL PROGRAMME, ROYAL SCHOOL OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE Information Science and Culture Communication

120

IVA

MASTER LEVEL PROGRAMMES, THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC, AALBORG AND AARHUS Rhythmic music

MMus

120

Royal Academy of Music

Classical music

MMus

120

Royal Academy of Music

Electronic Composition

MMus

120

Royal Academy of Music

Field of Study

Degree

ECTS

Education

ELECTIVE STUDIES/SUBJECT, AALBORG UNIVERSITY AND AARHUS UNIVERSITY Game Programmer

Elective, MA

AAU

Digital Design

Elective, BA

Dramaturgy

Elective, BA/MA

Film and TV

Elective, BA

Journalistic Communication

Elective, BA

Musicology

Elective, BA/KA

Humanistic Informatics, Information Science

Elective, BA

AAU

Humanistic Informatics, Interactive Digital Media

Elective, BA

AAU

Humanistic Informatics, Communication

Elective, BA

AAU

Media studies

Elective, BA/KA

AAU

Computer games, DADIU

Elective, M.Sc

AAU, AU, TAW, DDF, DTU m.fl.

ADULT AND CONTINUING HIGHER EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITIES AND THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC 139

Master of IT, Software Construction

Master, flexible

AU, AAU

Master of IT, Interactiondesign and Multimedia

Master, flexible

AU, AAU

Diploma of IT, Softwareconstruction Diploma for computer science students

AU, AAU

Diploma in Music Management

Diploma

Royal Academy of Music

Master of Electronic Music

Master

Royal Academy of Music

Master in Information and Communication Technologies

Master

139

Programmes vary from year to year and the list here is not necessarily complete.

105

106

Appendix 2: Overview of education programmes in the North and Central Denmark Regions Field of Study

Degree

ECTS

Education

PROFESSIONAL BACHELOR AND ACADEMY PROFESSION PROGRAMMES Bachelor of Journalism

Professional bachelor

240

Danish School of Media and Journalism

Bachelor of Photojournalism

Professional bachelor

240

Danish School of Media and Journalism

Bachelor of Communication

Professional bachelor

210

Danish School of Media and Journalism

Bachelor of photographic communication

Professional bachelor

180

Danish School of Media and Journalism

Bachelor of Graphic Design

Professional bachelor

180

Danish School of Media and Journalism

Bachelor of Interactive Design

Professional bachelor

180

Danish School of Media and Journalism

Bachelor of Creative Communication

Professional bachelor

180

Danish School of Media and Journalism

Bachelor of Mediaproduction Management

Professional bachelor

180

Danish School of Media and Journalism

Bachelor of TV and Media Management

Professional bachelor

240

Danish School of Media and Journalism

Bachelor of Character Animation

Professional bachelor

210

The Animation Workshop (Via University College)

Bachelor of Computer Graphics Art

Professional bachelor

210

The Animation Workshop (Via University College)

Bachelor of Multimedia design and webdevelopment

Professional bachelor

210

University College of Northern Denmark

107 Field of Study

Degree

ECTS

Education

Bachelor of Multimedia design and e-concept development

Professional bachelor

210

University College of Northern Denmark

Bachelor og Multimedia design and softwaredevelopment

Professional bachelor

210

University College of Northern Denmark

Bachelor of Graphic Design Tech- Professional bachelor nology and webdevelopment

210

University College of Northern Denmark

Bachelor of Graphic Design Tech- Professional bachelor nology and e-concept development

210

University College of Northern Denmark

Bachelor of Graphic Design Tech- Professional bachelor nology and softwaredevelopment

210

University College of Northern Denmark

AP Graduate in Computer Science

Academy Profession

150

University College of Northern Denmark

AP graduate in Computer Science (EAAA)

Academy Profession

150

Business Academy Aarhus

AP graduate in Multimedia design Academy Profession

120

Business Academy Aarhus

Bachelor of E-concept development (EAAA)

Academy Profession

Business Academy Aarhus

Bachelor of webdevelopment

Academy Profession

Business Academy Aarhus

AP Graduate in Computer Science (EAMV)

Academy Profession

150

Academy of Professional Higher Education, Midjutland

AP graduate in Multimedia Design (EAMV)

Academy Profession

120

Academy of Professional Higher Education, Midjutland

ADULT AND CONTINUING EDUCATION AT THE ANIMATION WORKSHOP AND DANISH SCHOOL OF MEDIA AND JOURNALISM 3D Character Animation

15 week course

The Animation Workshop (Via University College)

3D Artist

15 week course

The Animation Workshop (Via University College)

Diploma in Journalism

Diploma

Danish School of Media and Journalism

108

Appendix 2: Overview of education programmes in the North and Central Denmark Regions Field of Study

Degree

ECTS

Education

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING Film and Television Assistant

VET

4 1/2 years

Mercantec

Photographer

VET

4 years

Mercantec

Web-integrator (Viborg)

VET

1 ¾ years

Mercantec

Digital Media, Multimedia Animator (Aalborg)

VET

3 ½ years

Media College Aalborg

Digital Media, Multimedia Integrator (Aalborg)

VET

3 ½ years

Media College Aalborg

Graphic Technician

VET

3 ½ years

Media College Aalborg

Media Graphic Designer (Aalborg)

VET

4 years

Media College Aalborg

Web-integrator (Aalborg)

VET

1 ¾ years

Media College Aalborg

Web-integrator (Grenaa)

VET

1 ¾ years

Grenaa Technical School

Digital Media, Multimedia Animator (Grenaa)

VET

3 ½ years

Grenaa Technical School

109

Field of Study

Degree

ECTS

Education

Digital Media, Multimedia Integrator (Grenaa)

VET

3 ½ years

Grenaa Technical School

Media Graphic Designer (Herning)

VET

4 years

Herningsholm Vocational Education

Web-integrator (Herning)

VET

1 ¾ years

Herningsholm Vocational Education

Media Graphic Designer (Aarhus)

VET

4 years

Business Academy Aarhus

Web-integrator (Aarhus)

VET

1 ¾ years

Business Academy Aarhus

Filmproduction

Peoples College

8 ½ months

European Film College

110

Appendix 3: Overview of television channels in Denmark

Channel

Profile

Public Service obligation

Financing

NATIONAL TELEVISION CHANNELS DR1

Public service, all genres: news, docs, current affairs, TV fiction, entertainment, films, lifestyle, children’s’, culture, etc.

yes

License fee

DR2

Public service: news, current affairs, docs, satire, culture, thematic.

yes

License fee

DR UPDATE (TV and web)

News, current affairs

yes

License fee

DR K

Dr Culture. Art, history, music, design, architecture + fiction from all over the world, i.e. Bollywood films.

yes

License fee

DR Ramasjang

Children’s channel for the 3-10 year olds. All genres within children’s television.

Yes

License fee

DR HD

Fiction, docs, sports and film in high def.

yes

License fee

TV 2

Public service, all genres: news, current affairs, yes entertainment, lifestyle, children’s, film, docs, fiction, etc. More commercial profile than DR

Advertising/subscription

111

Channel

Profile

Public Service obligation

Financing

TV 2 Zulu

Comedy, sitcom, programming “with an edge” in other genres. Primary target 15-30

Advertising/subscription

TV 2 Charlie

Fiction, crime fiction, talk shows, music (singa-long). Targets 50+

Advertising/subscription

TV 2 Film

Film channel, all genres

Advertising/subscription

TV 2 Sport (joint venture with MTG)

Sport

Advertising/subscription

TV 2 News

News and current affairs

Advertising/subscription

TV 2 Sputnik

Web channel offering both Danish and international programmes in all genres

Advertising/Subscription/ Pay per view

TV3

Entertainment, film, series, family, factual: broad commercial profile

Advertising/subscription

TV3+

Entertainment and sports, series

Advertising/subscription

TV3 PULS

Sport, film, fiction, lifestyle. Slightly more “narrow” and male skewed profile than +

Advertising/subscription

Kanal 4

Talk shows, film, factual. Female target

Advertising/Subscription/

Kanal 5

Entertainment, action, sport, and crime

Advertising/subscription

6’eren

Action, comedy, sci-fi, sport. Male target

Advertising/subscription

The Voice TV

Music and music related programmes. Youth target

Advertising/subscription

112

Appendix 3: Overview of television channels in Denmark

Channel

Profile

Public Service obligation

Financing

REGIONAL TELEVISION CHANNELS TV 2/NORD

Regional news, magazine programming, lifestyle, current affair, all with a regional perspective.

yes

License fee/advertising

TV 2/MIDT-VEST

As above

yes

License fee/advertising

TV 2/ØSTJYLLAND

As above

yes

License fee/advertising

TV SYD

As above

yes

License fee/advertising

TV 2/FYN

As above

yes

License fee/advertising

TV 2/BORNHOLM

As above

yes

License fee/advertising

TV 2/Lorry

As above

yes

License fee/advertising

TV 2/ØST

As above

yes

License fee/advertising

dr.dk; tv2.dk; mtg.se/en/Brands--Operations/Brands/; sbstv.dk; tv2nord. dk; tvmidtvest.dk; tv2oj.dk; tvsyd.dk; tv2fyn.dk; tv2bornholm.dk; tvlorry. dk; tv2ost.dk