White paper on creativity - ebla center

Chapter 77.7 ConclusionsThe Italian film industry is goingthrough a phase of transition in whichnew public and private strategies mustbe implemented to support the positivesigns of a revival seen in recent years.New consumer preferences and habitsand new outlets for film productsrequire a fresh strategic vision of theentire chain of the conception,production and distribution of films.Firstly, to support the success of Italianfilms, right from the storyboards,producers should aim at “proximity”(geographical and cultural), enablingaudiences to be familiar and identifywith what is being narrated. In somecases this could mean drawing on arepertory of archetypal narratives andborrowing from other media (literarybestsellers, television series, etc.) if notfrom the history of cinema itself.Secondly, distribution must exploit newpromotional strategies to launch filmsin line with contemporarycommunications tools. There must be agreater use of the Internet(construction of sites for specific films,viral advertising through the digitaldialogue between potential audiencesusing email, etc.) and the creation ofevents, which boost the “openingweekend” effect.Thirdly, for Italian films the homevideo market has not been the kind ofEldorado enjoyed and still enjoyed bythe US blockbusters. In this segmentmore aggressive marketing techniquesare required to help augment thespectacular nature of Italian films(especially in rentals), while new coversand promotional interfaces can beproposed to reflect more closely tastesin the publishing market.Lastly, television networks can pursue aseries of actions to support Italiancinema. Generalist television cannotand must not assume the burden of thecomplex problems of the film industryof today and of the future. Butsomething could be done by thosenetworks which are not hostage toaudience data in order to scheduleprogrammes which adequately andconstantly promote Italian cinema andits culture.WHITE PAPER ON CREATIVITY 187