• by Erik Sass , May 3, 2011

"If I were a network executive, I wouldn't take a vacation anymore -- because just going away for a week, you can come back to a completely changed situation," mused Conrad Ricketts, executive producer of "Extreme Makeover Home Edition," during a panel discussion at the Digital Hollywood conference.

Ricketts and his fellow panelists all painted a picture of the television industry in chaos, with effects that are both destructive and constructive. But they also agreed that there are a few areas of continuity -- chiefly, the importance of compelling story-telling.

The CTAM panelists were open to the potential of new technologies, especially tablet computers. "The game changer has been the pad -- the iPad or whatever pad it is," Ricketts said, pointing to innovative applications like HBO Go, which allows on-demand viewing on the iPad or other tablet computers.

But not everyone agreed. Anthony E. Zuiker, the creator of "CSI," opined that merely "repurposing content for devices it wasn't intended for really won't work. Making content for the device is the future of consumption."

There are a number of technical pitfalls for repurposed content. Ahmad Ouri, global CMO for Technicolor, noted: "You can't calibrate these devices [for color] in any way," meaning that artfully produced TV shows and movies may fall flat from a visual perspective when translated to tablets. He echoed Zuiker's sentiment that "there needs to be content created that is appropriate for these kinds of devices."

Ouri also warned that "putting high-value content on these devices risks commoditizing the content," adding that tablets may be better-suited to supplementing the TV viewing experience as "second screens": "We're focusing a lot on search and discovery for content, making sure the content is tagged with the right metadata so the consumer can find it later."

For the time being, he said Technicolor sees "high-value content continuing to run on the main screen, augmented with the second-screen experience."

Whatever devices are used to deliver content, building audiences will ultimately require the same set of skills that attracted viewers in the past, panelists agreed -- especially the ancient art of story-telling. Julie Simon, senior vice president, advanced services for Fox Networks Group, said: "It's the full-length content that gets the most usage across platforms," adding: "There's still an enormous value to keeping people in the linear world."

New technologies can play a role here, becoming not just adjuncts but extensions of the narrative worlds created on TV, which loop back into the linear experience. Zuiker, who has authored two digital novels for e-readers and tablet computers, wove one character from his novels into a popular episode of "CSI" in a way that advanced the plots of both entities.

By the same token, panelists recognized that simply using technology for technology's sake will not advance media artistically or commercially. The most piquant perspective came from Ted Kenney, head of production for 3ality Digital, who recalled telling producers "that 3D isn't going to make your movie better. It's all about the story. If you have a shitty story, well, it's just going to be a shitty 3D story."