 FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Frank Provenzano
September
3, 2015
517-335-1821
provenzanof@michigan.org
New
name bolsters effort to build state’s creative industries
LANSING, Mich. – With a broader mission and an innovative approach to
promoting film and digital media production throughout the state, the Michigan
Film Office will now be known as the Michigan Film & Digital
Media Office.
“The new name reflects substantive changes to our vision, and is one of many
steps in branding Michigan as a preeminent place for filmmakers, digital media
artists and producers along with building a home for the range of talent in the
state’s creative industries,” said Jenell Leonard, commissioner of the Michigan
Film & Digital Media Office.
A distinctive feature of the newly aligned office is the restructuring of
the 14-member advisory council, which includes members representing various
geographical areas of the state and diverse professions, including creative,
advertising/marketing, production, education and legal.
The Goal: Elevating Michigan’s profile, attracting investment,
increasing jobs
Five focus areas of the board include talent development/networking,
promotional/marketing, measures and metrics, digital media and finance. The
renewed focus for the office, said Leonard, aims to attract businesses that
create content across all media channels, including mobile, CGI, animation,
digital, gaming and social media.
Among the initiatives that demonstrate the broader mission is the Michigan
Film & Digital Media Office’s sponsorship of the Digital Summit Detroit, Sept.
22-23. The summit showcases the diverse range of professionals working in
digital media, marshalling projects from design to the marketplace. College
students from across the state will attend the summit as guests of the Michigan
Film & Digital Media Office.
“The digital media summit is a great opportunity for students to learn
first-hand about the emerging opportunities as they connect with some of the
most prominent digital media businesses participating in the summit,” said
Leonard.
The new office name represents a new chapter in the history of the Michigan Film Office, established
in 1979 to assist in location scouting and creating a director of the state’s
film community. Beginning in 2008, tax credits were used to lure production
companies to the state, and then in 2012, a cash-rebate incentive program was
instituted. The incentive program was eliminated in July.
The new direction is in response to the challenge to connect private investors
with film and digital media entrepreneurs, said Bill Ludwig, advisory council
chair and former chairman-CEO of Campbell-Ewald, Detroit.
“Michigan business built our production business, not Hollywood,” he said.
“We’re finding startups in digital and social media content creation (or
curation) are looking to private investors for support. We need to find ways
for those connections to happen more frequently.”
Before incentives, Michigan ranked third among states in film production. In
the last seven years, however, many long-established post-production businesses
have closed, including Grace and Wilde, Universal Images, Postique, Image
Express and Producer’s Color, said Ludwig.
“Our approach is to focus on supporting and building the creative industries
and production community in Michigan,” he said. “For the most part, these
industries are sustained through commercial and industrial production work.”
Strategic response to digital opportunities
In the aftermath of the recent elimination of the film and digital media
incentive program, the expanded office name comes after the early spring
release of a strategic plan that outlines a new direction. In the upcoming
months, the advisory board members will suggest cost-effective approaches to
establishing cornerstones of the strategic plan, which include:
- Coordinated statewide advocacy and advertising
promotion of world-class film talent, network of production professionals
and film festivals focusing on the advantage of working and producing
creative projects in Michigan.
- Public-private partnerships that facilitate financing
of production equipment and services, and building coalitions to foster
entrepreneurial environment for the creation of digital-based products.
- Educational alliances with universities, community
colleges and arts schools as a means to elevate awareness of training and
employment opportunities in the creative industries.
- Regional support among cultural institutions, arts
groups and philanthropic community to support endeavors of the state’s
creative industries.
Many jobs in the creative industries are unconventional and reflect
contemporary conveniences of the “work anywhere” phenomenon made possible in
the digital age, said Leonard. These aren’t necessarily 9-to-5 jobs, or jobs
that can be quantified as easily as adding hourly jobs to increased work at a
manufacturing plant, she said.
Many jobs in the creative industries are often referred to as employment in
the “1099 economy,” a reference to the freelance nature of the work.
“Freelance work shouldn’t be mistaken for part-time employment,” said
Leonard. “Many creative professionals cobble together short-term jobs into
full-time careers as artists, designers, actors, and skill-trade professionals
working on film/production sets. We need to acknowledge 21st-century
workplace realities and foster industry growth.”
Critical to the next phase in developing Michigan’s creative industries is
building a stronger bond among stakeholders and private-sector
partners/investors, especially in bringing together entrepreneurs, innovators
as a way to diversify and strengthen the Michigan economy.
“Nearly everyone interacts with digital media every day, and those aspiring
to work in digital media need to be recognized, cultivated and inspired,” said
Hopwood DePree, advisory council member, founder of TicTock Studios and
co-founder of the Waterfront Film Festival.
“It’s an exciting new chapter,” he said. “The name change represents a
broader approach and a recommitment in creating jobs in the digital media and
entertainment industry.”
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