The second day of the 23rd Rendezvous Istanbul International Film Festival brought together a selection of feature films and short films from Turkey and the UK presented to moviegoers from all over Turkey. Now available online, “New Generation Television Series” and “Monetisation and Product Placement” panels were held.
The 23rd Rendezvous Istanbul International Film Festival organized by the Turkish Foundation of Cinema and Audiovisual Culture (TÜRSAK) with the contributions of the Directorate General of Cinema of the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism will be bringing together all moviegoers online until December 23rd. The second day of the festival comprised of two panels: New Generation Television Series and Monetisation and Product Placement. Professionals from Turkish and British television industries shared their views on the production and consumption of TV series that were transformed with the pandemic during the panels.
The ABC of Television and Series was Discussed in the “Next Generation Television Series” Panel
On the second day of the festival, under the moderation of TÜRSAK Foundation Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, General Secretary of the Television and Cinema Producers Association, Producer and Lawyer Burhan Gün, with the participation of Business Development and Global Strategy Manager of PACT Dawn McCarthy-Simpson, Founder & CEO of Inter Medya Can Okan, Content Development Manager of Mirriad Louis Wakefield and President and COO of Inter Medya Ahmet Ziyalar, the panel New Generation Television Series was first held.
In this panel, the speakers talked about the new generation television series and had the opportunity to discuss the new watching habits adopted by viewers of series. Can Okan and Ahmet Ziyalar answered the question of moderator Burhan Gün about the rise of Turkish TV series and their sales abroad in the last five years by giving examples through Inter Medya. They also shared important information on the sales of Turkish TV series abroad, how the process works, and the details that attract viewers to Turkish TV series. Emphasizing that the story is of great importance in the sales of TV series abroad, Okan gave information about the strategies they implement to market the series abroad. Dawn McCarthy-Simpson and Louis Wakefield, who were interested in the marketing strategies of Turkish TV series abroad, also learned about the qualities that highlight the series from Okan and Ziyalar. In the panel, where questions, answers and information were exchanged, Can Okan also had the opportunity to introduce to the respective guests Inter Medya’s two series produced for digital platforms: Saygı and Yarım Kalan Aşklar.
During the panel where the current state of television productions in Turkey and the UK was discussed, questions such as “What are the new trends?”, “How did digital platforms change storytelling?”, “Does advanced technology really create opportunities for creative people to try new things?” and “Are interactive technologies changing the style of storytelling?” were also inquired.
Experts Laid the World of Television and TV Series on the Table
Under the moderation of Black C-Media’s Regional Director of Turkey Cengiz Coşkun, with the participation of Business Development and Global Strategy Manager of PACT Dawn McCarthy-Simpson, the Chairman of the TÜRSAK Foundation and Producer Elif Dağdeviren and Content Development Manager of Mirriad Louis Wakefield, the second panel of the second day of the festival was the Monetisation and Product Placement panel.
In this panel, the speakers discussed topics such as funds, sponsorships and other financial resources, product placement in the production of film and television series. In the panel where laws and regulations related to monetization and product placement were also discussed, some suggestions were made on the subject.
Speaking on behalf of the TÜRSAK Foundation at the panel, Elif Dağdeviren stated that one of the purposes of holding this panel at the festival is their faith in film production companies. Stating that the world is changing rapidly and consequently it has moved away from traditional methods, she said, “I founded netbul.com a long time ago. Nobody was talking about the internet at that time. Even then, I was sure that the internet was going to be a communication tool in the future, and as a matter of fact, it did”. Dağdeviren also mentioned that traditional television will still be a great medium for marketing and advertisement sales will continue, and on the other hand, she underlined that computers, smartphones and tablets are very important in communicating with the world, making and advertisement.
Speaking about product placement in films and TV series, Louis Wakefield provided information on his production and film financing background. Emphasizing the necessity of identifying redeemable inventories in film and television and working with rights holders to create new additional revenue streams, Wakefield emphasized that monetisation and product placement has a decisive impact on today’s TV series and film productions.
Another speaker of the panel was Cengiz Coşkun who has been working on 3D product placement for many years in Turkey. “As of 2018, the product placement market in Turkey has reached 4 million dollars” he stated. Coşkun, giving an example from the figures of 2019, drew attention to the fact that this amount reached 21 billion dollars in the world as of 2019, and that 17 billion dollars of the sum is only in the USA. Emphasizing that Turkey is one of the leading countries in the world in content production, Coşkun said, “We are in an undeniable position in terms of series exports”. Coşkun added that the types of advertising are also changing today and that every bit of information is of great importance for them in the product placement process. He said that the television’s understanding of broadcast in Turkey has led do the confinement of brands, and that this situation has also caused an inability to grow at the desired level in product placement.
Due to pandemic, all events will be held online on Zoom and TÜRSAK Foundation YouTube channel, and the social media accounts of the TÜRSAK Foundation can be followed for information on the events.
