| Home > Media > Legendary Australian film and TV producer, Hal McElroy, is quickly seizing the digital media world's opportunities |
| Legendary Australian film and TV producer, Hal McElroy, is quickly seizing the digital media world's opportunities | | Date Created: Jun 28, 2005, 05:21 PM |
 Story and character are the great strengths of well-known Australian TV and film producer, Hal McElroy. He is responsible for classic Australian films such as "Picnic at Hanging Rock" and TV series such as "Blue Heelers". But at the X|Media Lab in Singapore, McElroy mentored creatives and CEOs intent on bringing great video-based stories to digital platforms such as game and mobile content.
McElroy believes we should stop referring to these areas as "new" media because it is "THE" media now, and there is an imperative to think globally. Digital technology, he says, has blasted us into a new galaxy of possibilities, and unless the industry plays smart we'll be left "dead in the water".
In this interview McElroy talks about the new skills and thinking that TV and film people must now master and describes his thoughts about new areas such as cross platform digital merchandising and product placement. McElroy says it is shocking how complacent the industry is in Australia and talks about the kind of Government assistance and tactics he thinks would make a difference. The industry must agree on common goals and acknowledge common enemies, he says. And the industry must think and move faster, constantly re-evaluating and scrutinising what it is doing, and what others are doing.
McElroy is not afraid to kill a project that is not working. He says that is the right thing to do when a project doesn't stack up. But at the same time, a TV series is like a "stainless steel football" that is kicked around for years by hundreds of different stakeholders trying to make it their own - but if it is truly strong, it will survive and end up even better for that process.
In this wide ranging interview, McElroy maps his long experience in the film and TV world to the new opportunities opening up for digital entrepreneurs. He talks about the business models for mobile content, toys, cartoons, comic books and the profusion of new digital media types that can be activated in the service of a good story idea and strong characters. He also looks at the theories of Robert McKee, the creator of the noted Los Angelean "Story" philosophy, in the context of digital industry changes.
Quicktime for Mac users here
Flash Video for Windows PC users here
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