The second edition of the SERIENCAMP was also preceded by a specialist event for industry professionals and creatives - however, the one sold-out PROFESSIONAL DAY of the previous year became a two-day event - due to the great demand and abundance of topics. Even before the practice with a glittering opening of the SERIENCAMP 2016 and the PUBLIC DAYS (more here) open to the general public, theory and networking were on the agenda for this.
PROFESSIONAL DAYS
Early in the morning, PRO DAYS head Anna-Katharina Brehm and program director Gerhard Maier invited to the first of two consecutive Professional Days, which after a keynote by Francois Lhomme (Eurodata TV) was (almost) all about France: With a screening each including a case study on the surprise hit "Dix Pour Cent" (represented by producer Harold Valentin) and on "Midnight Sun" (represented by producer Olivier Bibas) as well as a keynote on co-productions held by Wiebke Esser from Berlinale Drama Days. Two pitch rounds - one for writers, one for producers (including Bavaria Fernsehproduktion, RED Production and UFA Fiction) - as well as an ample opportunity for networking afterwards rounded out the day.
Day two of the Professional Days was then devoted to "Germany, Europe and Beyond"; with a prominent case study on the hit Israeli series "Killing Grandma" (David Ofek and Lior Shefer), a presentation on the work of the Writer's Room:Lab and an international panel on training and education programs for young writers and producers. Afterwards, the focus: the perspective great European series "Beau Séjour" and "Bonusfamiljen", represented by deMENSENS Head of Drama Pieter van Huyck and his writer Sanne Nuyens and the two writers Moa and Clara Herngren respectively. A keynote by Karin Zepperling (FOX) on hit series marketing and panels on "New Formats" and the "German Quality Series" respectively - strongly staffed by Marcus Ammon (Sky), Moritz von Kruedener (Beta) and Jan Martin Scharf/Arne Nolting (authors "Club der roten Bänder") - led up to the grand finale: The "Work In Progress" segment, which was dedicated to three future hit series in the making ("Charité" by Sönke Wortmann, "4 Blocks" by Marvin Kren and "Das Institut" by Lutz Heineking). Here, too, the subsequent get-together offered the total of around 250 participants of the Professional Days the opportunity to network and deepen what they had heard.
TO BE CONTINUED...
As last year, the subsequent feedback was not only overwhelming, it also made clear the need for such an event on German soil. Which is why the third SERIENCAMP season will again see a major confrontation of the industry with trends, prospects, techniques and economic aspects of the series business. On the composition of the program is already being worked diligently...
EN DETAIL: THE PROGRAM 2016
KEYNOTE: EURODATA
Francois Lhomme of Eurodata TV set the framework for the first day of the PROFESSIONAL DAYS with his keynote on the series landscape in France and Germany. Current audience figures as well as hits, trends and export hits were contrasted and provided a common basis for discussion for the following events. An outlook on trends and series hits in other European countries rounded off the keynote.
CASE STUDY: DIX POURECENT (PLUS SCREENING)
DIX POUR CENT (Call my agent), a charming satire about the media circus from the point of view of the employees of a Parisian artists' agency, was France's surprise hit of the past year. Producer Harold Valentin was a guest and gave insights into the challenges of a serial production of a French public broadcaster from the first concept to the broadcast.
KEYNOTE: COOPRODUCTIONS
The Berlinale's "Drama Series Days" sees itself as a platform that invites filmmakers, buyers, sellers, producers, editors and financiers of high-quality drama series to exchange ideas and present new series content. Wiebke Esser reported on the results of the pitching sessions held there.
CASE STUDY: MIDNIGHT SUN (PLUS SCREENING)
In conversation with Emanuel Rotstein (Director Production A&E and HISTORY Germany), hit producer Olivier Bibas of Atlantique Productions presented the Nordic noir crime series MIDNIGHT SUN, for which French cable channel CANAL+ and Swedish public broadcaster SVT collaborated.
WRITERS' VISION PITCH
This year, for the first time, the WRITERS' VISION PITCH offered seven European creators a platform to present themselves, their portfolio and their series ideas to a selected audience.
PRODUCERS' VISION PITCH
At the PRODUCER'S VISION PITCH, selected European production companies such as RED Productions (UK), Love My TV (France) and the German companies Bavaria Fernsehproduktion, UFA Fiction and Neue Super presented their company, philosophy and vision.
CASE STUDY: KILLING GRANDMA
In its home country of Israel, the pitch-black comedy series KILLING GRANDMA cleared awards by the dozen, David Ofek and Lior Shefer told in conversation with Emanuel Rotstein (Director Production A&E and HISTORY Germany) about their work and gave insight into the series landscape of Israel.
PRESENTATION: WRITER'S ROOM LAB
Participants in the Bavarian Film Center's first Writers' Room Lab talk about their experiences.
PANEL: TRAIN THE TALENT
Numerous education and training programs for writers and producers have enjoyed growing popularity for several years - especially in Germany. But for whom are these programs best suited at what point in their careers? What specifically is taught there and how are the participants prepared for everyday working life? Is there even a market that caters to them? Journalist Julia Weigl (Süddeutsche Zeitung) spoke with author Juliana Lima Dehne (Alumni ifs, Racconti), French author Laurent Mercier (Alumni Serial Eyes) and Danish author Thor Wissing Lange (Alumni Den Danske Filmskole) about their experiences.
CASE STUDY: BONUSFAMILJEN
That from Scandinavia much more than just Nordic Noir crime shows the production company FLX: After the boy band comedy BOY MACHINE (soon on Tele 5) follows the next series hit - BONUSFAMILJEN. Announced in Sweden on channel SVT for spring 2017, a second season is already in the works. Tac Romey (Professor Serial Writing HFF Munich) spoke with creators Moa Herngren and Clara Herngren about working on the patchwork family dramedy, which has already been celebrated in advance.
INTERVIEW; MAKING A HIT SERIES - COLLABORATION
Pieter Van Huyck (Head of Drama, deMENSEN - Belgium) and author Sanne Nuyens spoke with Torsten Zarges (DWDL) about working together on the extraordinary crime series BEAU SÉJOUR, which will be broadcast next year on Arte, to provide a picture of the "creative focus" at the Belgian production company DeMensen. With CHAUSEE D'AMOUR, TYTGAT CHOCOLAT and BRUSSELS, DeMensen has each very own writer/director vision-driven series in its portfolio: What does the collaboration look like in detail?
KEYNOTE: MAKING A HIT SERIES - MARKETING
In the newly created MAKING A HIT SERIES section, we focused on particularly noteworthy aspects of current and upcoming hit series. Karin Zipperling of Fox Networks Group Germany gave a keynote address on the success factors of audience analysis and target group marketing for THE WALKING DEAD.
PANEL: NEW FORMATS FOR NEW GENERATIONS
Antony Wilcox (Hello Carter) pushed the boundaries of how serial storytelling can work in the age of social media with his series SHIELD 5, told in 28 episodes of 15 seconds each and published via Instagram; Bayerischer Rundfunk is breaking innovative new ground with its Snapchat series iam.serafina; funk from ARD and ZDF is completely breaking away from traditional linear television as a platform. Meredith Burkholder (Webfest Berlin) talks with Antony Wilcox, Annina Zwettler (program coordination and new media, arte) and Thomas Müller (iam.serafina, BR Puls), among others, about the future of serial storytelling.
PANEL: WHAT IS THE GERMAN QUALITY SERIES?
The golden age of the series is firmly linked in the minds of audiences and critics with the term "high-end drama." But filling the buzzword "high-quality" series with content is proving difficult: While GERMANY 83 is celebrated as a success by critics abroad, domestic audiences are less euphoric. Germany's most successful series imports are still not to be found in the quality series segment, but primarily in the U.S. sitcoms. Between quota and claim, between prestige and large fan base, between cult and classics, we set out in the panel discussion, prominently staffed with Marcus Ammon (Sky Germany), Moritz von Kruedener (Beta), Jan-Martin Scharf and Arne Nolting (both authors CLUB DER ROTEN BÄNDER), on the search for the factors that make a series the much sought-after "high-end drama" - moderated by Thomas Lückerath (DWDL).
WORK IN PROGRESS
CHARITÉ
The broadcast of the historical hospital series CHARITÉ, created by Sönke Wortmann and Dorothee Schön, has been announced for 2017.Executive producer Henriette Lippold (UFA Fiction), Dorothee Schön (author), Alicia von Rittberg (leading actress) and editor Johanna Kraus (MDR) presented a first trailer of the prestigious project by UFA FICTION and ARD Degeto.
4 BLOCKS
The broadcast of TNT Serie's third in-house production 4 BLOCKS has been announced for spring 2017. On stage, Hannes Heyelmann (Senior Vice President and Managing Director Central and Eastern Europe and International Original Programming Strategy at Turner), Anke Greifeneder (Senior Executive Producer Turner Central and Eastern Europe) and producer Quirin Berg (Executive Producer Wiedemann & Berg Television) gave insight into the production of the series.
DAS INSTITUT
The employees of a German language and culture institute in the distant (as fictional) Republic of Kisbekistan stumble in this pitch-black satire from fat to fat. Before DAS INSTITUT airs on public television in spring 2017, Conrad Cornelius (Bayerischer Rundfunk), Geraldine Voss (producer) and Lutz Heineking (director) gave us a taste of the series.