How much Web drama for £1.3 million?
Written by Futurescape
Posted Wednesday, 1 October, 2008 at 11:36 AM
That was the question we posed last week to British Web producers, following Jane Tranter’s announcement that the BBC had earmarked £1.3m for online drama.
The initial reactions were sceptical. From Tim Wright at XPT, creator of the BAFTA award-winning Online Caroline:
"So how many original online dramas can you make for £1.3m? one? thirteen? twenty-six? ;-) "
And in the comments, Garret Keogh, Director of Content, digital department of RDF Media:
"I was thinking the same as Tim. You don't get a lot of drama for £1.3 million. Even in the digital space."
Futurescape invited some other producers to share their opinions of what’s feasible:
- Ben Grass, co-founder, Pure Grass Films
- Enrico Tessarin, founder of Fourth Passenger
- Lisa Lintott, co-founder, Shimmer Productions
- Jack Brough, producer of Toyboize, Talkback Thames
Ben Grass: 1,300 – 260 mins total
I think that budgets for online drama can range quite widely depending on requirements of the narrative and desired production values. At the low end, it's certainly technically possible to produce for £1,000 per minute (although that is obviously quite restrictive in terms of what can be achieved). At the high end you can easily spend £5,000 per minute (or more) to get a product that resembles TV or independent movie level quality.
Ben Grass, co-founder, Pure Grass Films, which produced the online horror movie Beyond the Rave for Hammer Films.
Enrico Tessarin: Five or six series, each 65 x 3 mins [up to 1,170 mins total]
I would say that 1.3 million can comfortably fund at least five and possibly six series of 65 x 3 mins episodes each, so it is actually a fair amount of money. If producers are willing to compromise a little bit, it may even finance more. However the budgets for online dramas are so low to start from that often there is not much room to compromise any further.
Also some of the TV companies we spoke to, unlike Hammer (whom we are working with), are not even willing to finance development and/or pilots, making it even harder for small producers like us to get their project off the ground.
At the moment most of the shows, especially the ones on Bebo, rely mainly on advertising revenue for their funding, so in a falling advertising market, the budgets available for new digital drama seem to be following the same trend. Having said that, £1.3m is a very good start and I wish more broadcasters earmarked similar figures for digital drama.
Enrico Tessarin, founder of Fourth Passenger, line production company for the Bebo teen drama Sofia’s Diary, now developing the psychological thriller Block X with Hammer Films.
Lisa Lintott: Three to five series
It depends on who is making the drama. If it's Endemol, then probably only one, but if it's smaller companies like ours, then considerably less.
We have costed the two dramas that we intend for RWD and Gaydar at £400K - £600K for 25 x 5 - 7 minute episodes with simple levels of interaction, but I am sure that other dramas have been costed at less. It also depends who’s writing, making and starring in it.
The important thing is that the BBC have finally committed a budget to online drama that will grow.
It at least means that we are starting to see a much clearer way of financing online drama, which is a maze of frustration and hope...
So in answer to the question I would say three to five series.
Lisa Lintott, co-founder, Shimmer Productions, a recently launched independent production company that is developing two online-only dramas.
Jack Brough: £1.3m ought to go a very, very long way in online programming
With cheap, high-quality equipment readily available, the ability to move quickly and economically has never been greater. Much like low-budget film makers, producers of online content have to embrace the perceived limitations and make virtues of them.
Working with a skeleton crew is not only cheaper but also faster, meaning material won't feel stale, whilst intimacy and camaraderie can be generated quicker too. Ultimately, it's all about the content. If it's good enough, people will want to watch it and also to share it; especially if they create experiences that genuinely involve the viewers.
And if the content isn't good enough, well, there's only so many times you can polish a turd.
Jack Brough, producer of Toyboize, the Web comedy about a reunited Eighties child band, made with talkbackThames.
Endemol production budgets
In our research for the forthcoming report Web Show Markets Now: UK, Endemol said that the budgets for their two most recent dramas were £800,000 for Signs of Life (8 x 30 mins, with interactive gameplay incorporated into the video) and £150,000 for Cell (20 x 2 mins, made for mobile).
What will the BBC commission?
Thanks to the producers for their thoughts. So it’s now in the hands of the new BBC controller of drama commissioning, Ben Stephenson. Are there going to be fewer, bigger budget online shows or more titles with lower budgets? And how experimental and innovative will any of the productions aim to be?
Of course, as one anon contributor observed, for flagship BBC TV drama, £1.3m buys you just one actor.
UPDATE: UK Centre For Online Drama - PACT
Nick Underhill, head of interactive at the British TV, film and interactive producers' trade association PACT, blogs that the UK is "fast emerging as a centre for the production of online interactive dramas" and links to this post for detailed answers on the budget breakdowns from the leading online drama producers.
"The BBC has recently announced news of its intention to come back to the party with a £1.3 million investment in a new online drama. This has sparked some very interesting debate around just how much drama £1.3 million would buy you. (Read some of detailed answers here from the leading online drama producers… www.futurescape.co.uk). The answers range from one show to a number with at least five and possibly six series of 65 x 3 mins episodes each, really depending who is producing and what kind of production values and platforms you are looking to produce for."
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