14/04/2015 - MIPTV director Laurine Garaude talks to Cineuropa about the highlights and trends at the four-day event

Yesterday, MIPTV kicked off in Cannes, bringing together thousands of content producers, buyers, and broadcast and online experts from all over the world in order to enable them to discover exciting content and fresh talents for their distribution channels. We spoke to the event’s director, Laurine Garaude, to find out more about what is on offer this year.

Cineuropa: What are the key topics at this year’s MIPTV?
Laurine Garaude: A very big theme is that of stories from all around the world. We are now in a borderless culture, which opens up new opportunities. There are slogans here like ‘breaking down borders’ and MIPTV’s own tag line, ‘free creative content’, which really is true. There are opportunities for content to travel around the world, and that is increasingly the case. Part of this is due to the digital environment that is breaking down borders. It is a very interesting, exciting time for content producers today. That is a major theme that is going to come through very strongly during the event. Another important topic is related to our conference programme, “The Millennial Shift”, which is about the huge impact of the new generations because of their different tastes and new consumer habits, and how that has an impact on business models as well as creative content. That is immensely important to all professionals from all around the world and across all genres. 

Are local stories with a global appeal a key issue at MIPTV?
There are several discussions about localisation. For instance, we have a very big focus this time on Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. The Nordic countries have been very successful for many years with their Nordic noir or crime series. The Killing, for instance, has been adapted in many countries, and so has The Bridge. We were just hearing about a programme called Real Humans, which is about human-like robots in the near future. The series is screening its second season on SVT, and it has now been adapted for Channel Four for 2015, to be called Humans by Vision. There are many programmes that work well in a country and have the potential to work very well elsewhere. Professionals are really looking at these opportunities much more than they would have done five years ago. 

Are new forms and formats of content also required for all the new and upcoming distribution channels?
In terms of online video, much of it is in short form. For instance, one of the new formats we are talking about are 22-minute episodes, but online, we are showing a piece that they are bringing down to six minutes as parts one, two and three of an episode that actually lasts 22 minutes. The Digital Fronts screenings are created specifically for online video. A lot of it is in short form, but not all of it. For instance, Collective Digital Studio is launching a new digital series called Maximum Ride. People are also creating short forms for online content, and if it works very well, they can develop it into a longer series either online – on Netflix or its equivalent, for instance – or through traditional channels. There are many approaches.

Are more programmes already being produced in 4K resolution?
We have a whole programme on 4K at MIPTV. There is more and more content being created for 4K. On 13 April, we presented the world premiere of the first episode of Texas Rising, which is a western series that will be released on the History Channel. The director, Roland Joffé, filmed this series in 6K and CinemaScope. He chose this technology for this content because this is a western with all these vast landscapes. Compared to 2013, 4K production has increased a great deal. The costs of shooting are coming down as well.

What kind of impact do all these online opportunities have on business at a market?
We are seeing that there is much that can be done online, but there are certain things that cannot be done on the web so successfully. You need to meet people to see how you work together. This is often a question of trust and compatibility. When you want to work with people from all around the world, you need to meet them to see if you can do business together and also to maintain the business in terms of relationships. This is a business about passion – passion for creating content. It is also about friendships, which can only develop face to face.