Critics worry edgy content left behind

Source: Calgary Herald

It began as a hobby Michel Beaudet worked on in his basement but became an overnight Internet sensation that's forever being held up as a new media success story -- an example of do-it-yourself Cancon that's managed to find an audience on its own.

"I hit the jackpot," said the creator of Tetes a Claques in a telephone interview, explaining that he struck a chord with online audiences back in 2006, when there was virtually no Quebecois content being produced for the Internet.

But would Tetes a Claques ever have been created in the first place if Beaudet had to rely on government handouts to back his quirky web videos?

With a television series based on its characters slated to debut next year on Teletoon, Tetes a Claques is the kind of crossover project that could benefit from the Canada Media Fund, announced this week by Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore.

The new program combines the Canadian Television Fund and the Canada New Media Fund, and will dole out $310 million over the next two years from public and private sector funds. But the revamped fund comes with a catch. It will support projects produced in high definition and distributed on at least two platforms -- one of which must be television.

Critics say that condition means innovative new media projects likely won't qualify for funding, since they're simply too edgy for TV.

On the other hand, the government says the multi-platform stipulation will drive innovation back into the mainstream.

But Tetes a Claques producer Catalina Briceno of Salambo Productions says tying the funding to television is a surefire way to stifle new media creativity.

Tetes a Claques "wouldn't have made the cut," said Briceno.

Creator Beaudet did initially approach television producers with his slangy, profanity-laced animated videos featuring characters like Raul the womanizer and Natasha the busty secretary. But no one was interested.

He went back to his basement, sent the clips to 50 friends and "the rest is history," said Briceno.

But it's an all-too-rare example of a homegrown new media hit. For every Tetes a Claques, there are countless projects that struggle to find an audience.

It's a problem of visibility in a sea of limitless choices--something the government is finally beginning to address.

The Canada Media Fund announcement came just days before the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's hearings on new media were scheduled to wrap up--an indication of the government's attempts to respond to a rapidly changing media landscape.

Since the CRTC hearings began last month, a host of cultural groups including the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), the National Film Board (NFB) and the CBC have been clamouring for government to help Canadians compete in the vast online universe.

It's an uphill battle for Cancon. But ultimately, the secret to finding an audience in a brave new world of endless choices is to "make good content," argues Brett Gaylor, director of a new "open source" documentary called Rip!A Remix Manifesto, which recently opened in Montreal and will hit screens in Toronto on March 13.

If Canada wants to be a leader in new media, it should look beyond the old business models that require producers to secure television broadcast deals as a component of their projects, said Gaylor.

"All these companies are dying around us as we speak," he pointed out. "I mean, why not innovate and see if some of the emerging business models, the emerging practices, the emerging relationships with consumers might actually save them?"

© Calgary Herald