@Mobile Content World: Content Is About Context

(c) MocoNews

It's really important to see the practice as well as talking around the theory but that's something we don't see enough of at conferences - the actual content. Dubplate Drama is a series of four-minute mobile dramas for 16-19 year olds produced on a budget of GBP200,000 for three clients: Sony PSP, 3 and Talk to Frank, a government drugs advisory service.



Executive producer Sam Conniff freely admitted that the team had no background in producing for mobile, but said that made them much more flexible in their approach. "The entrenched script and budget, script and budget, script and budget lines of traditional broadcasters just don't work. You have to throw away the rules - it's a new medium and needs new methods."
He said their working approach was to think of "addictive" content - short bursts, quick easy hits, easy to get and leaves the user wanting more. The drama follows a young female DJ trying to make it in London and each episode ends up with a moral cliffhanger. Users vote for one of two choices.
3's offering had full-length episodes for users with certain handsets, cut-down episodes, a mini sub-series using background characters from the show, behind the scenes footage, diaries of two cast members and related music and video downloads. In all, 73 pieces of content.
Conniff said there had been a good level of downloads across the country but the episodes, along with the branding of Talk to Frank, were also being spread by Bluetooth. 3 recouped 10 percent of its investment through around 1,000 downloads per week (bear in mind the tiny cost of this production at GBP200,000). Most content was free for users with add-ons between 25p-50p. On the PSP, the series saw 5,000 downloads per week. Online votes for the series were around 70,000 each week. On mobile, votes dropped from around 1,000 each week at the start of the series to 300-400 by the end.
Dubplate Drama's second series is being worked on now: open auditions are being held this weekend on location and through video mobile. Conniff said the team have been approached by Universal and Channel 4 about new productions, and were the first ever mobile TV show to be nominated for a Broadcasting Press Guild award. He sees that as validation of their made-for-mobile approach. "Cut down 30-second clips of the X-Factor are never going to make the best of this medium. Content is about context."