WE-THE TELEVISION PRODUCTION HOUSES!!!!

 

A Garment making unit is called – A factory;

A TV Serial making unit is called – A Production House;

The name “Production House”  takes us away from the spectrum of organised businesses;

Thousands of investers are ready to invest in Websites,Online Portals,Mobile Application companies,Logistics Units,Ground Services,Equiptment Businesses,Broadcast Businesses or even Online Content Businesses;

But not many are there for TV Production Houses;

Why!!!

Because we  do not offer stable,organised,structured and scalable business models;

Why don’t we offer so!!!

Because we don’t  focus on that;

I have been interacting with Production Houses as Head of Companies,Creative Director,Writer or Consultant – And now when I myself run my own Production House – I develop a bigger insight into the operations of the Production Houses;

No doubt,To create the entity of Production House itself is great task;

Congratulations to all those friends of mine who made it;Specially my Creative Friends;

But

Its high time to analyse this entity of ours-The Production House!!!

The entity of Production House gives all of us names on Screen,Good Finances,Cars,Houses,Hollidays,Imported Specs,Colourfull Clothes,Offices,Staff,Good PR,Localised Fame;

 Giving above mentioned things;

But not giving us a real corporate existance;

A big company making dozens of serials can easily die down  in few months;

And a new company having no track record can be created in few months;

That’s the excitement of Production Houses;

That’s the fear of Production Houses;

We have seen big companies vanishing into thin air;

We have seen new companies emerging all of a sudden;

Oh,Sorry;

I should not say-a Company!!!

Because,Though we might be registered as a company,We  are not treated as companies by the corporate world;

We  are known by the names of the producers;

Sometimes people even don’t know the name of the company,People just know the person who is the producer;

Its not an ideal situation for the organised growth of this space of the Media & Entertainment Sector.

 Lets understand what the real situation is!!!

The Production Houses survive on the raw material of Concept and Ideas – There is no factory manufacturing these Concepts or Ideas,There is no organised form of the creation of ideas,Its badly cluttered,badly oriented;

So the back bone area itself is not specifically structured!!

There is no stable work systems,Work systems come and go with people in production houses – It creates lack of deliverance promises,You can trust someone today but you may go wrong with the same person tomorrow;

So the faith remains with people and faith in the entity of the business house  is not developed!!

There is no “Proof of the Concept” element here –A Production house may make a successful show but the next one might be a failure,

So there cant be any kind of minimum guarantee system!!!

There is no Tender system for getting work from broadcasters – Any business strategy is very difficult to be designed,Mostly the entire business runs on personal equations;

That’s why you will rarely find a CEO or COO in any production house!!!

What a Producer want from his or her show!!!

Does he or she want to create a company around the business of TV Serials!!

Or he or she wants to become rich and famous!!!

Mostly,The Second One!!!

Production Houses pay taxes,but not for becoming an entity to attract the investers;

We  do so,Only when It becomes a compultion;

Most of the money is diverted to personal purposes;

And why not!!!

We  know,  that In most of the cases,No invester is waiting to invest in their company,

And Its not a myth;

You just check it around;

How many investers have invested in TV Production Houses!!!

Negligible!!!!

A Production House producing a highly famous TV serial for more than 15 years is still a Partnership Firm!!!

Most of the Production Houses are partnership Firms;

Even if we are Limited Companies,We have very limited use of it;

There is no permanent employment within Production Houses;

There is no leave system,No HR policies or practices,No PF,No Insurance,No Appointment Letters,No Notice Period,No IPR Protection system,No Legal Contractual Systems....Nothing!!!!

You go on a shoot;

It does not look like an organised factory where serials are made;

It looks more like a Marriage Ceremony where so many people are managing things;

You don’t find a great library in most of the production houses;

In this scenerio;

How can we expect from the stalwarts of Media Businesses to look upon us with constructive vision!!!

They will not;

 Once I asked a  head of a TV Channel;

To enhance the business of Production Houses,You need to support the Eco System of them;

He asked me – What do they do to create a great infrastructure!!! A Great Company!!!

And I did not have answers;

He was rights;

As most of the Production Houses create offices just for the investment purposes;

We  do only the running things;

And untill those things are done;Stalwarts will not treat us like an important part of the industry.

 

Broadcasting is serious business;

Production Houses are the back bone of their businesses;

But even in broadcasting industry,

Production Houses are nothing but small entities run by colourfull people termed as Producers;

Creative or Non Creative people who can manage the Production Units;

But we don’t belong to FICCI,FICCI FRAMES,Stock Markets,Panel Discussions,Parliamentry Committee Discussions;

Production Houses are not even the part of TAM or BARC circuits;

We  are not invited for Marketting,Branding or Rating discussions;

We  are not linked to Advertising Associations for any purpose;

 

All these mentioned entities are run by management professionals;

They don’t find any connect with this fraternity;

 

Production Houses are Producers’ Dukaan,

And not a corporate entity;

This is the perception!!!

 Can we break the perception!!!!

Yes;

Few ones are trying to do that;

But for doing that;

We need to disconnect our individuality from the enity called Production House;

We need to pay taxes;

We need to invest in the company;

We need to create an HR,Legal,Finance and all other systems;

We need to move beyond Cars – Towards Company Secretaries;

We need to offer permanent employment;

We need to sustain the employees even in the absence of the TV serial;

We need to provide Insurance;

We need to systemise the output not depending upon the individuals;

We need to create various faces for the company;

We need to dismantle our individual brands for creating the brand of the Production House;

We need to become a Content Creation Entity,Not a Production House;

We need to become Content Aggregators;

We need to get into online plateforms;

We need to create a not so dependent on few clients kind of business models;

We need to be a part of all business organisations;

We need to read Economic Times,Instead of reading Trade Guides only;

 

Can we do that!!!

Yes;

Because this is the only future for production houses;

Else;

Today you are here;

Tomorrow you wont be here;

Production Houses are judged by the performances of their todays;

And that’s not wrong also;

We  get paid for that;

We  don’t have any stake in the larger business;

A day might come,When Production Houses might get into a profit and loss sharing business models with various plateforms owners;

And that might be the day of starting the real business;

A possible future;

Owning IPR of thousands of ideas;

Owning various Online Content Plateforms;

Aggrigating content for plateforms;

Making things in partnership with broadcasters;

Intigrating various verticals of the content business;

Making content beyond Audio-Video formats;

 

There can be thousands of ways of doing that;

But;

If it remains a matter of one concept only,There is no future for Production House Business;

If it becomes a matter of one person only,There is no future for Production House Business;

If it becomes a matter of expanding vision,There is great future for Production House Business;

 I am sure that we have visionaries;

I am sure, we have Production Houses that understands all this;

I am sure that Production Houses will come out of the circle of Helpless and Dependent Business;We will move into the circles of Systemised and Broadbased businesses;

Technology is ready to support the vision;

We must have a vision;

When we have a vision;

We should go to Channel Heads,Programming Heads,Their CEOs;

And should request them;

Help us grow;

Support Us;

We need your assistance;

Assist us please;

They will support once they are convinced with the vision;

I am sure about it;

You too should be sure about it;

Hundred Percent!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE HINTHI TELEVISION!!!!  (HINdi + maraTHI)

 

We are back with our latest Blog Post after quite sometime;
 

Sorry for this gap;
 

Apologies to all our friends in HINTHI Television Industry!!!
 

HINTHI!!!!
 

Because  we now belong to Hindi and Marathi both,We make shows for both;
 

So :) HINTHI!!!!

 

Yes Friends;We experienced the world of Marathi  Entertainment Television for the last few months
 

Making a daily soap for this space,And expecting to make another one in coming days,gives us a totally different insight into the Marathi Television  Industry;

Is it very different from Hindi industry!!!!

Should we write a Blog just to underline the difference!!!

No!!!

We should write, just to understand what are the possible bridges between the two industries;

How they can compensate each other;How they can grow together;

Because they both operate from the same ground!!!

Ground Mumbai;

Recently we shifted the location of our Marathi serial to SJ Studios in Andheri East,From the far end of Madh Iland in Malad;

Now in the same studio;

On the same floor;

We shoot our Marathi Daily Soap SAKHI for Colors Marathi;

Next to us,The highly popular YE HAI MOHABBATEY of Star Plus is shot;

Now It’s a mixed atmosphere all around;

I sat and thought;

Can there be bridges!!!!

Yes,There can be;

 

Bridges can  easily be made by Explorers;

So why to wait,Lets explore;

Point Number 1

Big ideas in Marathi get shrunk because of the limits of the budget;

If the Hindi players can work out an out of the box finance model that can sustain Marathi shows with Hindi shows – It will bring in new business,It will add value to Marathi Television.

Hindi Producers turning towards Marathi is not only good business,It will add value in both the systems too.

Next;

Marathi talent!!!

Mindblowing;

Specially the actors;

And No,They speak good Hindi,

They do theatre,They do films,They do shows,They are exposed to right kind of asthetics and creativity;

They can bring in freshness in Hindi Television;

What they need…is just an atmosphere of receptivity;

I interacted with a big number of Marathi artists,There is a reluctance,A hesitation;

Of not knowing the Hindi industry well;

Lets start looking in that direction,I can assure all my Hindi TV friends,You all will get great artists from Marathi Television.

Its an unexplored territory;

Exploration of this territory will add a lot to explorers.

 Yes;

There are problems too;

The Directorial Training and Upbringing  Systems have not grown well;

Budgetory Limitations have not allowed the Directors to grow,to deliver great;

Directors who touch Hindi Television and come back,They bring back the Directorial fineness of Hindi Television with them;

But they all have one thing that can become a teaching tool for Hindi industry;

They shoot 25 to 35 Minutes of the footage everyday,And Its not a small target;

Yes,There are limitations;

But whenever I sat and compared why Its so fast here,And Its not so fast in Hindi;

It was not an answer allways that Hindi taking needs time;

Yes It takes time;

But there is another reason too;

In Hindi,We have accepted this way of working,We have believed that we shoot this way only;

We need to learn the art of shot footage from Marathi Directors;

If these Directors can be exposed to Hindi industry,Can be groomed;

Our Economics will get much better!!!

And in Television,Economics matter!!!

 In Hindi industry,There allways remains a discussion about Channel-Production House communication and working relation;

In Marathi,Indeed there is a relationship between the two;

What we realised that there is very good sense of understanding in Marathi channels that their Producers work in tight budgets,So there is no forcefull atmosphere,Things are more on the mutual level and that creates a larger sphere of cordial work atmosphere;

But there are problems too,That should be worked out better;

Communication,Interactions,Feed Backs,Involvements are too informal,

They are informal because work atmosphere is informal;

Its allmost like friends working with friends kind of atmosphere all around;

This is extremly good,But when there is a problem,Its difficult to handle as personally involved people are going wrong professionally..Taking Decisions are difficult!!!

 

Overall;The channels work like a partner,And that’s a good difference there;

 

Now after the arrival of BARC ratings;

Things are expected to change in Marathi Television;

See around!!!

Marathi films have reached to a new level of excellence;

This might happen in Marathi Television too in the coming one year;

All Marathi Channels are analysing the possible future paths of Marathi Television;

Will they follow the Hindi Channels routes!!!

Will they go for a Differentiator Content Route!!!

Will they pump in more money to take it to a newer height!!!

Its unclear so far;

But one thing is clear that they are going to do something;

They are analysing;

Is Maharashtra changing!!!

If changing,Changing in which direction!!!!

Is it still a localised content processing!!!

Or the  national and global content viewing  for the localised viewership!!!

They all are thinking;

We,The people of Hindi Television;We must know;

The people of Marathi Television exist around us only;

Its time to find bridges;

The bridges can make  Content,Execution and Budgets much better for both the industries;

We as Samidha and Khalid are not going to stop only with this one or with our next  Marathi show;

We continue to make Hindi too but;

We shall remain here in Marathi,It’s a nice place to be here;

All our friends in Hindi,Join Marathi too;

All our friends in Marathi,Please come to Hindi,We are there to wellcome you;

This coming together of the two people;

Might create a new breed;

The HINTHI Television!!!

Take HIN from Hindi;Take THI from Marathi;

Lets make;

The HINTHI Television;

I go for it;

Will you!!!!!!