Stories are always best told from the start so read Part 1 of Steve’s blog here. If you’re already up to date then continue reading below. You can also find links to each blog from the series so far at the bottom of this page.
Attending MIP – Day 3 by Steve Hanton
On my third day I was at the stand for 8:40am running 10 minutes late after doing my best not to run and turn up with my shirt sweating through. Even at this time it was sunny and warm, perfect if you hadn't planned to sit indoors and pitch all day. Like most, the sun makes me happy and the UK Indies stand gets wonderful natural light so I turned up for the meeting in my usual excitable manner.
The first few meetings of the day were breakfast meetings set up by Creatives Loop and I didn't really know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by the first meeting with Amberwood Ent. of Canada who showed a great interest in Co-Producing 'Rollie and Friends'. So far we had a lot of interest in 'Rollie' so I noted all comments down, exchanged cards and told them we would continue talks when we got back home.
The second meeting was with a lady that had really bad breath and her attitude stunk just as bad. She really liked 'Rollie' but I noted down I could not work with her, so as you can imagine that's where it ended.
The third meeting was with someone that had no idea who we were as a studio and just tried to pitch me her niche film idea, didn't let me speak and wasted her time. At the end I told her we were a small animation house and she seemed frustrated, oh well good luck to her.
Whilst at the UK Indies stand I was introduced to Alex of So Television as I was interested in asking someone in the know about the production protocols for a studio based live action show that we had got a great response from whilst pitching. He gave great advice, that we are still referring back to and this was just an informal meeting, standing up with a coke.
I had to run after the last meeting as I was in danger of being late with Galaxy Pop of Australia to talk to them about us designing a TV show for them. I was excited for this meeting and they were lovely. The meeting went well but we discovered that they wanted us to do it for free in exchange for equity. It was this meeting that really made me understand what Co-Production meant. Generally it seems two studios work together for free and then share the benefit in allocation of rights once the show goes into production. I know a lot more about it now, but back then every meeting was an education.
I had no more meetings this day which allowed for a little time to walk outside, write my notes for the team at home and get a bit of sun on my face. The weather was great for October and I enjoyed throwing bread to the birds in the harbour filled with yachts that were bigger than my house at home.
At 5:00pm was the UK Indies drinks reception. I stayed a little for this but had a meeting with a very experienced writer that we wanted to persuade to come on board for 'Rollie' or 'Little Animals'. She met with me and it went really well. She told me that she would love to work on 'Little Animals' but 'Rollie' was too much like a show she had worked on for years and wanted to flex her writing muscles on something new. The meeting went on so long that I missed the planned Singapore beach party and caught up with them as the party was ending. They invited me to a signing meal with CITV and Walker Books so I got to mix with industry people, get drunk with them and pretend I had made it to the big time. It was such a fun night in a lovely Moroccan restaurant and was all paid for by someone that wasn't me. I offered to pay but was not allowed, I will pay these people back one day.
I went back to my apartment later than usual and more drunk than usual but had the time of my life, I couldn't have engineered a more unexpected and entertaining night.
The Road to MIP (Part 1): Deciding on MIP
The Road to MIP (Part 2): Preparing for MIP
The Road to MIP (Part 3): Attending MIP – Days 1 and 2
The Road to MIP (Part 4): Attending MIP – Day 3
The Road to MIP (Part 5): Attending MIP - Days 4 and 5