Firstly, cultural projects need to ensure their message stands out over the technology, so that the technology does overshadow the artistic endeavour. And, secondly, the project needs to be economically viable for it to go ahead.
These are two of the conclusions arrived at by the founder of Newskid, Eva Domínguez, the CEO of WhatsCine, Fernando Villamanta, and Carles Berga himself, in a roundtable debate of Esade Alumni called Impact and opportunities for digital technology in the cultural industry.
Technology at the service of the idea
The first step in ensuring the success of a cultural production is for the content to be the most important thing. "Technology by itself is nothing. If you do not tell a story, you get what happens with special effects in films: they get a lot of attention and are entertaining, but they do not transmit anything," insists Carles Berga. The stage designer, who has worked mostly in theatre, thinks that in the cultural industry "there are a lot of people who abuse technology and who think that it is spectacle enough, but all they achieve is turning a specific tool into a showpiece."
For Eva Domínguez, integrating technology and the message is key: "Technology can't just be a gadget and nothing else; it has to be part of the narrative." Thus her project, NewsKid, puts tools such as augmented and virtual reality at the service of the media.
Speakers' panel in the meeting at Esade. PJ Armengou
The platform creates its own language with this technology and uses it to explain news in a more complete and interesting way. "We want to continue feeding the innate curiosity of children," she points out. "Children need to have the big international news stories explained to them and not only soft news."
Villamanta's project, WhatsCine, also uses new technology to provide a social service. The application is to help people with hearing or visual disabilities to enjoy the cinema like any other viewer. "We try to bring culture to everyone in an inclusive way," says Villamanta.
The application, which works by connecting the users' smartphones with the servers in the cinema, is the only one in the world that includes three main adaptations: audio-description, subtitles and sign language.
Getting funding
Although a cultural project might successfully combine the message and the technology, it can run into the obstacle of economic viability. "Without a financial return," says Villamanta, "these projects are not possible."
In the case of WhatsCine, even though the crisis in the sector has made things difficult, the company has managed to create links with the main cinema chains (Cinesa, Yelmo...). It has done the same with television channels like Movistar , to whom they offer the 5S service for films and series on demand.
Domínguez has also struggled with various business models to make Newskid possible. The project works on such diverse platforms as mobile apps, on paper and virtual reality glasses; and each sphere requires a different model. What's more, even though the target audience are children, the product can reach them in different ways: as a supplement in a media publication, as an educational tool at school, and so on.
For his part, Berga stresses that even though it might not seem the case, there is money in the culture industry. For example, funding from public authorities or big sponsors. Berga defends the capacity of cultural projects to gain an international reach and the profit that can come from a brand. "Culture helps a lot of companies to position themselves," he concludes.