New technology, introduction of AI and working remotely were all discussed during Dete Meserve’s talk at RALLY.
Meserve, a film and television producer from Los Angeles, flew to Indianapolis just for her talk on Reimagining Entertainment Production during the two-day business innovation conference held Aug. 27-28 at the Indiana Convention Center.
Meserve’s 45-minute discussion touched on a range of ways the entertainment industry — particularly film and production — is changing for the better with the introduction of new technology paired with the ability to work remotely.
“College students are now being told, ‘Don’t go into film and television production. Go into entertainment management. Learn the business of entertainment,’” Meserve said. “That’s not what you want to be caring about in an industry as vibrant as the entertainment industry, but there is a deep and existential crisis that’s going on, and there are signs of improvement. But I want here today to help you understand where those opportunities are, where that innovation is.”
New programs and editing software — such as PIX, Frame.io and Shot Grid — are helpful in transforming not just the way stories are edited and produced, but overall visual experience and way stories are told in film, television and animation, Meserve said.
The implementation of these software programs makes it easier to work on a production remotely, which means producers can hire the best of the best wherever they are located instead of whoever is available in Los Angeles.
“We can actually have dialogs that are happening across time zones and across different departments within the same show, which is phenomenal for creativity,” Meserve said. “It means that we can hire people all around the globe to create and review that material when it works for them.”
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However, with every new thing, there are pros and cons. Having the ability to comment and edit live on a production can sometimes impede creativity, Meserve said. Because the programs and content are available to anyone, any time, the network and the studios could have eight to 10 different people somewhere in the pipeline putting notes on content.
Every single one of those notes needs to be evaluated, and Meserve said most of the time, they do not make it better. More notes mean more “nitpicking” to the point where originality gets erased. Essentially, the same storylines get recycled over and over in the name of safety of CBB — “Could be better,” Meserve said.
“It’s really a subjective opinion, often given by someone with little or no experience and no real stake in the series or understanding of how things get made or budgets or schedules or production pipelines, and that’s making shows cost more money,” Meserve said. “So, all the gains we’ve made by having tech are actually being sometimes lost by the fact that we have tech.
However, despite talking in depth about many more issues arising in the entertainment industry, including the moral and ethical dilemma of using AI in a creative field, Meserve is optimistic about the fruit of the industry.
“This innovation that we’re seeing will revolutionize the entertainment industry,” Meserve said. “My hope is that (it) leads to a new era of innovative narratives, fresh narratives that resonate with viewers on a much deeper level; ultimately transforming the way we experience and interact with stories.”
For more information about RALLY, visit rallyinnovation.com.
Contact Arts & Culture Reporter Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848. Follow her on X @chloe_mcgowanxx.
