1. Presently, what trends can you observe in film/entertainment industry?
The entertainment industry, with a few exceptions, seems to be spending less money than previously, and more outlets are showing up. Storytelling is still valued, but companies are less willing to pay premium prices than before. The void seems to be in the middle-budget range. There is still money for very large productions and for very low-budget productions.
2. What are the differences between the film/entertainment industry in the West and in South-East Asia?
The biggest difference between the entertainment industry in the West and Southeast Asia, in my opinion, is the training and the money. Formats made in Southeast Asia, as a general rule, have a small fraction of the money to work with, as does the same format being shot in the West (quite often ten percent or less).
Less time and money is being spent on training people in the creative arena, and a fraction of the money spent on film and television projects is available for Southeast Asian countries, as opposed to the West.
3. What are the challenges and solutions of collaborations between the West and East?
The challenges in collaborations are mostly related to expectations on each side. This is why good local production services companies are so important. There must be a transparency from both sides, and the production services company must understand and be able to deliver to the needs and expectations of both sides.
4. What are the strengths of South-East Asia’s media industry?
The strengths in many countries in Southeast Asia’s media industry are its people, its equipment, and its locations. There are topnotch crews throughout Southeast Asia that are comparable to topnotch crew anywhere in the west. There is state-of-the-art equipment available, and of course, locations that you cannot find anywhere else.
5. How may South-East Asia improve in order to match international standards?
In order to improve to match international standards, Southeast Asian companies and especially television channels need to spend the money to get the best talent, best crews, and best writers. Creatives have to be trained similarly to the way creatives are trained in the west.
6. Currently, work is being outsourced to South-East Asia, and the region is known for providing cheap labor. How may strong IPs come out of South-East Asia, and what prospects would South-East Asian IP have in the future?
Cheap labor doesn’t necessarily mean good labor. While Southeast Asian labor is generally less expensive than the west, there are different levels of that labor.
The top technicians that also have multi-language abilities are generally paid more, and are worth more, because they are used to international standards.
In order for strong IP’s to come out of Southeast Asia, more money has to be invested in IP’s. Training needs to be improved. That said, if someone is strong in IP, they will currently gravitate toward the West, where they will be more valued, and will be paid more for their IP.
7. How should South-East Asian filmmakers craft their stories to reach out to an international audience?
Any story, no matter where it originates, needs to be relatable, or it needs to bring the audience on a universal journey that everyone can understand. If it is a story that just relates to the local audience, it quite likely won’t go much further than that.
In honor of the South-East Asian Film Financing Forum (SAFF), Cartoons Underground has compiled a series of interviews with prominent individuals who will attend this event.
Cartoons Underground would like to give all the credit for these interviews to the South-East Asian Audio-Visual Association (SAAVA), the primary co-ordinator of the SAFF.
