FOCUS: TV COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION: Unrealistic budgets hurting creativity: production houses

<p>Creativity and innovation in Hong Kong television commercials are </p><p>suffering because of unrealistic budget expectations, say production </p><p>houses. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>They complain that advertising agencies - in an effort to seduce clients </p><p>- promise TVCs which can be made for less money than is actually </p><p>possible. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>This leaves directors without enough cash to do the best possible job, </p><p>and clients without the best possible options available to them. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Moviola executive producer Campbell McLean said estimations by some </p><p>agencies were "shocking". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Continually conceding to ridiculously low budgets means no-one is </p><p>telling the clients they can achieve better results. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"There are times when the budget indication is ridiculous. And it </p><p>becomes apparent they are not based on any sound knowledge of what it </p><p>costs to produce a commercial." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr McLean felt agencies let their clients down, by not being prepared to </p><p>go back and ask them for more money or to reconsider their approach. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The cost of a 30-second TVC can vary from HKdollars 500,000 (USdollars </p><p>64,000) to HKdollars 5 million; many factors contribute to the cost, </p><p>including location, equipment rental, processing, transportation and </p><p>overtime. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Centro chief creative officer Stanley Wong complained that quality was </p><p>not the primary concern of agencies: "money and time" decides who makes </p><p>a TVC, he said, not how good the production house is or what is the best </p><p>angle. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Bijou Films director Eric Au agreed that agencies do not budget enough </p><p>for what they expect. But he added that if the concept is good enough, </p><p>the production house might consider it worth doing anyway. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Agencies, however, believe production houses are themselves nursing </p><p>unrealistic expectations. Grey executive creative director Sam Chung </p><p>said one of the main problems with cost was that production houses had </p><p>failed to reassess their prices in the aftermath of the economic </p><p>crisis. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Certain people are charging much more than they're worth ... some </p><p>production houses are making too much money, especially in Hong Kong, </p><p>because the pool is quite small," he said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Chung said production costs in the SAR - compared with many other </p><p>Asia-Pacific countries - were "really, really high", and that production </p><p>houses make a habit of overcharging, because they expect to have to </p><p>negotiate. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Triangle Pacific executive creative director Rodney Tam agreed with Mr </p><p>Chung that production houses had failed to readjust prices in the </p><p>aftermath of the late '90s crash. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He cited the fate of clients in the property market as an example of how </p><p>things have changed. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Tam said some properties were worth half what they were a few years </p><p>ago, and as a result agencies have been forced to compromise their own </p><p>prices to continue working with clients - something production houses </p><p>have not done. "Just because they charged two million dollars for a </p><p>production job two years ago, it doesn't mean they can charge that </p><p>today," he said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But Leo Burnett Greater China chairman Eddie Booth said, if anything, it </p><p>was clients whose expectations were too high. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"In terms of the production companies - and the directors available in </p><p>Hong Kong - there's enough variety. The top-notch directors will cost </p><p>substantially more than the bottom rung production houses." Mr Booth </p><p>said the "worst trap to fall into" was to create a really expensive and </p><p>dynamic board. "And then get a really inadequate production house to do </p><p>it - and make a bad job." </p><p><BR><BR> </p>