I had such a long interview with Riccardo Pellizzeri from 11:10am til almost 1pm. My questions were quite simple but Riccardo had lots of things to say about his thoughts. I had great time interviewing him and I really appreciate his help for this research project.

Questions
1. Market forces - How has the production business changed in a high budget environment over the past ten years?
2. Is it more difficult to finance a project today than it was ten years ago?
3. What strategies do you employ to deal with these issues?
4. New technology - How does new technologies affect the way you run your productions and your production business?
5. What would be the advantages and disadvantages of working in high budget
production as compared to low budget production?
6. Would you agree that working in low budget production is better than working in high budget production? Why?

KIM: How has the production business changed in a high budget environment over the past ten years?

RICCARDO: There are a lot of changes last ten years in Australia. One of the big changes is that the drama has become harder to sell overseas. Maybe 15 years ago it was easier to get some money at script stage or before production that the overseas company would invest and you can use that to make the shows. The problem is that when we looking to create an Australian drama we are not actually looking to create international projects especially for series television. Because if you looking at mini series or telemovies, that could be a slightly different thing. The things that really changes, it’s much harder to sell these projects. Its much harder to get financing from overseas production companies. So we have pressures on us to make dramas that relevant to Australian audience. So we have pressures on us to create dramas that reflective of the society that we live in. For example the most successful show in last ten years internationally is been “Maclaud’s daughter”. It’s because this series offers something to a lot of international markets they don’t have. Girls in horse back out of the country which can not be made in any other countries but Australia. It also has romance, adventure and great visual to the audience.
Its getting harder and harder because networks paying out of drama, international market is shrinking because they don’t want to pay upfront for Australian drama and meanwhile the pressures are the same but you want to tell the local stories. Lack of money that is coming from the networks and the difficulties with maintaining money flow coming from overseas to make the local products.

KIM: Is it more difficult to finance a project today than it was ten years ago?

RICCARDO: Yes, it’s getting harder because the audiences expectations are grown. They want slick a show, they want something that looks great, and they want great production values. If we think of the histories of Australian television shows, “country practice” was a massive Australian shows in 80s. But if we try to create “country practice” now in 2006, the audience wouldn’t except it because they are so used to a different form production value that show like that which was made two hours a week with certain production values which wouldn’t be able to launch. There is no one answer but the simple answer is that if you can’t sell your products, its getting harder and harder to make locally. The problem is you can’t sell your products and its getting harder to sell Australian products.

KIM: What strategies do you employ to deal with these issues?

RICCARDO: You never develop everything too far without getting someone on the board. As we are making Australian dramas, so we have to have broadcaster. One of the strategies you have to have is that you never develop anything too far and spend too much money without getting any confirmation. You should hook someone as earliest as possible like what we do as treatment. Therefore, you wouldn’t spend too much money up front without knowing the value of the story to other people. I think what happens is that too many people who don’t know enough about this business, they do too much, too quickly and too early. Other strategy is to maintaining relationships with people especially when you go to overseas market because it’s a business about relationships. I met this guy in UK and made a film….I formed a relationship which was a very simple strategy but it end up made a drama.

KIM: How does new technologies affect the way you run your productions and your production business?

RICCARDO: We have gone from linear editing to none-linear editing. None-linear editing has made editing more exciting prospect because it gives you more freedom and flexibility but new technology is more expensive so you pay more for the machinery. It just becomes more of demand that the producers want more complexity to look better so they spend more time. Something that used to cost 1000$ in 1981 but still cost 1000$ in 2006 but the thing is you want to do more in editing so you actually spend more money in those process. The new technology has given more freedom and flexibility but the cost actually increased. So you spend more in post-production nowadays because of the demand you would have than you do in 1981.
With all sort of new technologies such as HD is equable of super16 in camera in film. What you got there is that you can’t use the same set, woredrop, make-up and hair which you used to use for normal camera but with the HD camera which sees more definitions as eye sees more. So new technology as having better cameras is traffic because you are actually getting a better pictures force you to spend more money in post-production. So ultimately, new technology pressure you to spend more money to make things more better, complex and interesting but nowadays everyone have the abilities to have the camera and make a drama as everybody can tell a story.
Some of the stories can be unknown or be successful but weather they have written the story on the computer or on the pierce of paper with pencil, it makes no difference. It’s about the process that gets you toward making that thing success and that success has to be returning your costs. If you don’t return your costs then you are losing money but you will never going to make anything again.

KIM: Would the new technology effect high budget productions since new technologies are everywhere for everyone…?

RICCARDO: Even with new technologies, I don’t think low budget production such as CH31 effects the high budget production nowadays as I can’t think of one low budget TV show that has been success but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen tomorrow. Anybody can write, shoot and edit a film with their budget, is there market for it? Would they sell it? Maybe one day.
What new technology is doing is always creating new possibilities but it demand more as we are small market until we realise that we are small market and we can’t generate outcome for programs which need to be generate, then its going to be harder and harder for us.

KIM: What would be the advantages and disadvantages of working in high budget production as compared to low budget production?

RICCARDO: It is simple, high budget production is a great risk and low budget production is a low risk. The disadvantages would be the bigger the budget, the bigger the risk and return.

- More money you lose, the greater chance you will have to leave from this industry.
- More money gives you to give you opportunities to have more mistakes.
-No one survives in this business if you keep losing money. The more money you lose the greater chance you will be gone from this business. The higher the production costs, the greater the risk to lose your job.
- More money gives you the opportunities to make more mistakes but more mistakes you make, more money, the greater the risk. So even thought more money give you the opportunities to make more mistakes but you are probably making bigger costlier mistakes.

It’s a collaborative medium in TV/film productions and it is important to know the medium that required you to deal with people all the time to have argue, to have reasons, to have to fight for and back down etc. You have to stay open to everything its happening around, how would you know that my story can make you cry.

KIM: Given a choice, would you rather work on low or high budget production? Why?

RICCARDO: I would do both. Yes, it is about money…. but we all try to escape from the reality that it is not all about money, low or high budget…What I want to do is to make a show which can touch the audience’s heart. You don’t know what next things going to come to your door. Ultimately, it is not about money to me. It is about storytelling. Its call show business. What u want to do is to make a show. If someone comes with a great idea, I would consider. It doesn’t matter if it is high or low budget production as long as I can tell the story. It’s about creative expression to me. It’s about having the sense of joy and pressure in creating something.

-End of Interview with Riccardo-

I had such a great time interviewing Riccardo. He gave me some great compliments that my questions were intelligent as it was his great chance to let his thoughts out about the industry he is in. He also gave me coupld of advise that as long as you have the will and motivation, you shouldn’t care weather it is t low or high budget because it is more important to focus on making something worthwhile to you. One of his great statement, “If you got three notes and you want to make a symphony, they better be three bloody good notes”. This is what his acting techer used to tell him that you can make a beautiful drama with one person in a room but it better be something no one else ever seen before, different, fresh and confronting.

Media is a business with lots of imaginations to tell the stories. The story can be made in a million different ways therefore it is not all about money. I agree with Ric that we can’t escape that reality that we can not get things made without money to certain level but at the same time there are other ways to express ourselves.