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Opinion | Features
Q&A with Adshel's Rob Atkinson
Online trading is the next big thing says Rob Atkinson in a piece that first appeared in Encore. Who is the most powerful person in Australian media and why?
Harold Mitchell because of his influence and the footprint he has left. He’s built a huge brand in Mitchells, offloaded it into Aegis, Aegis has obviously done extremely well to be then sold on to Dentsu. So if you think about it, he is very much a father figure of the industry.
Making it overseas
Is the best way of being successful in Australia not be here at all? In a feature that first appeared in Encore, Lee Zachariah speaks to Aussies making it big abroad.I always wanted to work in New York,” says Julian Cole. “I thought it was the number one place to work in advertising; a lot of the best campaigns were coming out of there. So I moved over and was lucky enough to have a couple of interviews in the first couple of weeks.”
Cole’s story is indicative of the somewhat contentious idea that the best way to be successful in Australia is to not be in Australia any more.
Got a book in you?
From journos to ad execs and PRs, these days everyone seems to have a book in them. But what does it take to get published and will you actually make any money? In a feature that first appeared in Encore, Brooke Hemphill finds out.Attention wannabe authors. Forget big fat advance cheques and living off royalties. The reality of having a book published today is another story altogether. There are only two reasons you should even consider sitting down at your computer to bash out a manuscript – passion or profile.
Savage counsel
In an article that first appeared in Encore, Chris Savage tackles your career and agency dilemmas in his weekly advice column.Hi Chris,
My clients seem to be demanding more and more from us. At the same time, it seems many of the younger people in our industry simply don’t have the client servicing skills my generation grew up with. How do we instill in our executives some of the good old-fashioned behaviours that would keep a client happy and loyal?
Fake it til' you make it... as an ad agency receptionist
From dressing the part to playing the gatekeeper, Leo Burnett Sydney’s Susie Henry tells us how to make it as the face of adland in a piece that first appeared in Encore.What does a receptionist in an ad agency actually do?
Well, there’s the frantic every-day, all-day stuff of deliveries, courier bookings, doing expenses for directors – always challenging – plus arranging all the travel. But one of my main jobs is counselling the account service people. I also keep up with all sports information to discuss with our sports-loving clients – because who wants to be bored while they’re waiting? And I know how they like their coffee. You need to know everyone – from accounting to HR. I’m also the go-to for all catering and sending flowers.
Whose views skew the news? Media chiefs ready to vote out Labor, while reporters lean left
Most journalists lean left-of-centre, says Folker Hanusch of the University of the Sunshine Coast, in a post first published on The Conversation.Most Australian journalists describe themselves as left-wing, yet amongst those who wield the real power in the country’s newsrooms, the Coalition holds a winning lead.
But while the media’s political leanings will no doubt be debated in the lead-up to September’s federal election, our study has also found other largely unscrutinised biases remain – particularly whose views disproportionately shape the news.
It's time for a new New Wave in the film world
Government funding bodies are lazy and decadent, says industry veteran Michael Thornhill but in a piece that first appeared in Encore, Ed Gibbs begs to differ.I vividly remember the time I first saw Animal Kingdom, David Michod’s breathtaking labour-of-love feature debut. The press screening was half empty, despite the film winning the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance just months earlier, in 2010. Yet its superb performances, stylistic flourishes and overall polish left me speechless. Could this really be a feature debut, an Australian one at that, I wondered, almost out loud? It seemed too good to be true.
Going cold turkey on an agency addiction
Life is sweet for freelance writer Max Kitchen, but in a feature that first appeared in Encore, he admits his struggle against returning to the agency fold.I’ve never taken heroin. But I suspect if I had, the temptation to try it again would not be too dissimilar to the lure of returning to agency life.
Can sport save Ten?
First there was the Grand Prix. Next came the reported $500m bid for cricket rights, then Ten secured the 2014 winter Olympics. So, can sport save the ailing network? In a feature that first appeared in Encore, Nic Christensen investigates.The television sports rights bidding process is a bit like a game of poker.
Check, fold or bet. Those were the options for the Ten Network last week when it had to finalise its bid for the cricket rights.
Andy Lark: good for the marketing of marketing
I can still remember the first story I wrote about Andy Lark, when it emerged that he was to be the new chief marketing officer of CommBank.
It was immediately clear that Australia was about to meet an interesting marketer, one who blogged and tweeted and thanks to his time at Dell in the US was digitally savvy. Even two years ago, that was a big deal. The fact that he also had a stint in public relations gave him an absolutely intriguing background before he even arrived.
Storming the media barricades - advice for young journalists
This week Mumbrella’s Nic Christensen, who began his career four years ago, gave the keynote address to would-be journalists at the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance’s Student Day. This is an edited version of his speech.Good afternoon, I can remember distinctly the last time I was in this room.
It was 2009 and I was sitting where you are. I’d come to this event, a friend and myself — from memory we sat up the back — and I can remember at the time wondering if I’d ever get a job as a journalist.
It was only four years ago and then as now getting a job was ultra competitive but I’m not sure there was quite as much media ‘doom and gloom’ as there is now…
Paywalls will help fund campaigning journalism
In this guest post, News Limited’s group editorial director Campbell Reid responds to the views of ninemsn’s Hal Crawford that the company’s push into metered paywalls is about data rather than dollars.Hal Crawford is both right and wrong in his article which argued that our digital subscription plans are all about the data.
Fake it 'til you make it... as a features editor
Cosmo’s Kate Leaver tells us how to bluff it in her job in a feature that first appeared in Encore.What do you do, as a features editor?
Really, play with words and ideas all day. At any one time, we’re working across three issues of the mag – getting one on its way to the printers, pooling all the words together for another, and planning the issue after that. It’s busy but it’s a pretty magnificent process.
Savage counsel - JFDI
Hi Chris,I run a medium-sized agency that is doing pretty well. As the leader, I am finding my workload just seems to go up and up. I am struggling to stay motivated and particularly to tackle the bigger and tougher challenges I have to face every day. How do I keep up the energy when there just seems so much to do? How do you do it?
Productive, successful executives are those able to consistently tackle difficult and big challenges. It’s a constant struggle for me so I know how you feel. How do the successful leaders do it?
Q&A with Brett Clegg
Brett Clegg, group director – business media, Fairfax Media, in a Q&A that first appeared in Encore, on the journo who refuses to work with him – his wife.Who is the most powerful person in Australian media and why?
Hard to go past Rupert Murdoch. He controls the single largest and most diverse portfolio and is intent on leveraging its scale (and, of course, influence). He’s an innovator and his will to win is obvious to all.
Blinder flops at box office
A second Australia sport-themed film has had a disappointing box office opening.
Despite a PR push from producer Sam Kekovich, Blinder took less than $50,000 on its opening weekend, despite opening on 99 screens. It averaged just $498 of takings per screen.
The AFL drama stars Rose McIver, Anna Hutchison, Jack Thompson and Angus Sampson and is distributed by Indies. Directed by Richard Gray, the film was the first to be distributed by Backlot Studios, who charge producers a flat fee.
This is the second Australian film in as many weeks to perform badly at the box office, with Brendan Cowell’s cricket flick Save Your Legs opening to less-than-ideal numbers.
Disney’s Oz: The Great and Powerful topped the box office, taking almost $5 million in its opening weekend, with fellow opener 21 and Over in second place with $821,576.
Oz, which stars James Franco, opened to 268 screens, making an average of $17,812 per screen.
Cameron Boon
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Comments
13 Mar 13
10:06 am
Sports movies do not work in Australia. An AFL sports movie has even less hope of working in Australia.
13 Mar 13
10:54 am
I regularly watch Australian digital TV channels – never saw a spot for this. I visit Australian news, culture and film-related news sites – never saw a banner ad. I walk/drive through the Sydney CBD every day – never saw any outdoor ads. But I saw them for all the other major releases.
So there’s that. Another Australian film project with enough money to get produced, but without an appropriate spend for marketing.
There’s also the fact that it’s another Australian film that wants to dive into the unappealing (to the mainstream) subject of illegal sexual behaviour. I have no doubt that many people would’ve have been keen to see a story about a club trying to come together and win the comp – until the whole ‘sex with a 15 year old melodrama’ plotline reared its head in the trailer.
If you’re going to make a film that deals with that kind of subject matter, explores the taboo, or shows the social and personal impact, or makes a statement, or even just horrifies people and makes them appreciate their own lives a bit more through some seriously emotional catharsis – do a ‘Snowtown’.
If you want to make a film about a footy team – don’t kneecap the project by thinking people want a bit of statutory rape drama with their football.
13 Mar 13
11:05 am
I believe that this is an indicator of something much more problematic than just a rejection of films with a sport theme.
Theatre has been systematically abused in Australia for decades. The notion that the film world is primarily a way of making big bucks, has gradually grown to epic proportions.
The inner sanctum is heavily guarded, the funding system is basically corrupt and the notion seems to be one of spoon feeding the public whatever sensationalism will act as an effective opiate, just long enough to cash in at the box office.
We must begin to make, or rather get back to making, films of theatrical merit, with a devotion to cinematic art and theatrical excellence.
The rest will follow, as surely as the sunrise.
13 Mar 13
11:11 am
the media is full of these sorts of footy scandal stories, people don’t need to pay $19 to go to the local cinema and watch a fictional one, they can turn on the TV and get hours of this stuff each week through the football shows, news services, panel shows, live coverage, not to mention the radio, newspaper etc.
13 Mar 13
1:13 pm
Sorry Richard Moss, but I disagree that we should be making cinematic and theatrical films. Look at the top grossing films both here and around the world. People aren’t after theatrics, they’re after action, blockbuster, CGI heavy films. They are the sort of films making the money. If anything, it’s the cinematic films that Australia does produce that turned audiences away. Lets stop with the drama and the bogan comedies and start producing genre films. An action film, an adventure film, fantasy, a shoot em up. Something that will appeal to the masses!
13 Mar 13
2:18 pm
1. I didn’t see a single advertisement for this anywhere, so the first time I hear of this film it’s to hear it has failed. Says something about poor marketing behind the movie.
2/ That said, I’d not have bothered with it anyway – don’t care to watch a “sporting movie”. Maybe the producers were trying to match the US where sports movies can do very well, but that’s MUCH bigger market. I can’t see why anybody would have expected an AFL movie to do well on the big screen.
3. This would have made more sense if it was a made-for-TV movie screened on a free-to-air channel, maybe ABC or 7 or 9, or even Foxtel..?
13 Mar 13
6:41 pm
@ Bem
There is no need to apologise Bem, I think you have mistaken the pure terms cinematic and theatrical for the common misconception that theatrical, dramatic and cinematic, refers only to artifice and overplaying.
All films conceived to entertain, yes even Die Hard and Rambo before it, are theatrical films, in so much that they have actors playing non existent characters in non real situations. The reason that performances can seem stilted and unrealistic is often due to the absence of theatrical integrity.
Even action scenes must be rehearsed and perfected , before they can work on the screen. The cinematic art is essential in any film, if the various moods and overall look of the film are to work effectively.
My comments in the original, have nothing to do with high drama or arty farty cinematic effects.
I note that your reference is to “top Grossing films” and “films making money”
My point is that these are not the only films being made and that big money is not (or should not be) the primary reason for making them.
14 Mar 13
10:51 am
@Elliot Clifford show me one example of a footy club (amateur or professional) that hasn’t had a player involved in some kind of ‘underage’ or ‘unwanted’ sexual act. I don’t know of any.
I’m not having a go at footy clubs – I play for one and love it. Perhaps you’re out of touch with reality? Or is it weird to think that someone working in the Sydney CBD doesn’t “get” what happens at Aussie Rules football clubs.
Either way I’m sure I won’t ever sit through this movie.
14 Mar 13
1:50 pm
anyone who has a passion for aussie rules and has been involved in any role within a club would love the movie,except perhaps for a scorned romantic. great work on the negative effects of drugs and alcohol not only physically,but how they can destroy friendships through causing uncharacteristic behaviours
An australian story well told
18 Mar 13
3:08 pm
@VAFA, audience appeal in cinema terms does not equate to a need to see depictions of reality. This was not a documentary.
That you insinuate that cinematic stories are bound to the realities of their setting shows a complete lack of understanding the craft of storytelling on the screen – or in any medium.
Look at your personal list of favourite films, look at what you’ve watched this year at the cinema – did you really use the ‘Is it real enough?’ test as the first criteria to judge your appreciation of it?
If you really think that every screen story needs to be shackled with the realities (perceived or otherwise) of the world it is depicting – I suggest you go and write a letter to Sesame Street to let them know their depiction of street life in New York is unrealistic. Or maybe the producers of Sister Act because they completely glossed over the sex scandals of the church.
And post under your real name – demonstrate you’re happy to be accountable for what you say online. Because right now it looks like someone from the Victorian Amateur Football Association has jumped on Mumbrella and proclaimed that all the clubs under their banner are involved in sex scandals. And I bet they don’t want that.