ECREA16-Abstract

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Friday, November 11

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PN 214

Trends in Independent Production Practice: Matters of Power, Autonomy and Commerce

A. Zoellner

University of Leeds, School of Media and Communication, Leeds, United Kingdom

This paper explores the consequences of recent transformations as well as structural consistencies in the television industry for programme-makers. It

investigates the production culture in the independent production sector, meaning companies who sell programmes to or are commissioned to produce

content by networks and other television platforms, including recent additions like online streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. Inde‑

pendents’ positioning within the evolving industry has economic and creative implications. Commercial pressures that are evident across the industry are

heightened by the power deficit of many independent production companies compared to television commissioning editors and the inequalities of an in‑

creasingly concentrated sector where multinational‘super-indies’compete with and, more and more, acquire smaller independents. Combined with chronic

undercapitalisation of smaller companies, relatively low profit margins especially for certain genres, and high levels of competition for limited distribution

opportunities, these conditions affect the self-understanding and production practice of independents.They tend to act mostly as service providers for tele‑

vision networks/distributors rather than as creative collaborators or innovators. Drawing on ethnographic and interview research in production companies

for factual content in the UK and Germany, the paper discusses consequences of these contextual particularities for everyday production practice. Focusing

on the impact of creative and economic constraints, I address responses in independent production in particular, firstly, attempts at greater rationalisa‑

tion, standardisation and control in the production practice, and secondly, creative compromise in the creation of the text. My investigation focuses on

the production of factual and documentary content and highlights both the relevance of genre for production cultures as well as general tendencies across

the television industry as a whole. It describes strategies that are consistent with the aforementioned responses, for example, the labour casualization that

is evident across the industry, an emphasis on technology rather than skill or labour, the prioritisation of formatted, high volume programming and high

levels of scripting, as well as a reliance on celebrity culture and narrative personalisation. Such strategies impact on the experience of work in independent

television, often creating challenging conditions for programme-makers, and they have consequences for the texts these workers create. Focusing on this

experience the paper draws attention to how industry-wide tendencies materialise in the everyday and what they mean for producers – and consequently

– audiences.

PN 215

Keeping up the Good Spirit: Continuity Practices in Contemporary Television Production Culture

K. Broe Sørensen

University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark

During the past 25 years, more than 50 % of all television content in Denmark has been provided by the independent production industry, made up by

approximately 120 production companies in 2014 (Broe Sørensen 2014). Therefore, the production cultural practices within these production companies

have an important explicatory force in understanding television as cultural production and its challenges in a changing television landscape. This paper

argues that the norms and values of the production culture have consequences for television production as cultural production – in both constructive and

non-constructive ways. It will present analytical findings from empirical fieldwork carried out in the independent industry from 2013–2015. Drawing on

both production analytical and organizational theoretical frameworks (Caldwell 2008; Mayer et al. 2009; Schultz 2002; Lundin & Söderholm 1995), this

paper discusses the existing values and norms in the Danish Independent sector. The paper examines ways in which the production cultural practices

respond to current challenges and changes in TV production. The production culture in the Danish independent sector is characterized by a strong sense

of cultural membership, genre hierarchies as norms for production and behaviour, professional ethics based in a Public Service ideology and the cultivation

of the creative individual as a motivation for cultural change. These production cultural qualities have some positive consequences for television as cultural

production including the maintenance of an interdependent relationship with the four main broadcasters in Denmark, which has not changed significantly

in 25 years. Production practices, therefore, remain relatively traditional in Danish television even though consumption is rapidly changing. These contra‑

dictory developments, including precarious production conditions, influence the industry in various ways. This paper will focus on the apparent socio-cul‑

tural maintenance of positive self-representation as a cultural defence system towards insecurity and critique. Also, the industry maintains a strong sense

of community by practicing a relatively harmonious, homogeneous production culture. The existence of a small and closely-knit community is argued as

a constructive response to current and future challenges. The production cultural qualities may also influence cultural production in more non-constructive

ways. The sense of community creates a small, exclusive, social space, which appears closed around itself. Thus, the production culture encourages low

innovation and diversity rates where creative innovation emerges as a response to market trends and costumer demands. Yet, even though the results

indicate contradictory values within the production culture itself, the production culture still remains harmonious and well-functioning. Broe Sørensen, K.

2014. At nærme sig en produktionskultur - et produktionskulturelt og organisationsteoretisk perspektiv på den eksterne tv-produktionsbranche i Danmark.

Aarhus Universitet. Caldwell, J.T. 2008. Production Culture. Industrial Reflexivity and Critical Practice in Film and Television, London: Duke University Press.

Lundin, R.A. & Söderholm, A. 1995. A theory of the temporary organization. Scandinavian Journal of management. Mayer, V., Banks, M.J. & Caldwell, J.T.

2009. Production Studies, Routledge. Schultz, M., 2002. Kultur i organisationer, København: Handelshøjskolens Forlag.