Specialists in the creative industries often, but not always, have something to do with talent. Conversely, talent often, but not always, refers to the "creatives". The freelance artist already had a special position in ancient Rome. Artistic self-realization requires talent and is not equated with "work" in the sense of "slaving" imposed by others. Especially when it comes to "work-life balance", and this is often what recruiting is about, we should take a closer look at "work". Is the rigid separation between work and leisure time appropriate everywhere in the creative industries? Automation is changing the fields of activity of employees. Initially only in factories, but now thinking machines are also displacing clerks. Especially in logistics and catering, where the call for staff is loudest, there is no shortage of skilled workers, but rather assistants. What does all this mean for the film and television industry? Who is still concerned with the question that used to be all-important: "How do I become rich and famous?"
This year, the Talent Summit at the Munich Film Festival is once again aiming to discuss the background to mechanics, risks and opportunities with top decision-makers. The question of "why" is, in doubt, more exciting for the individual than the career of an individual fate - of a successful or failed star. In an industry with a collective agreement with 50 working hours per week, it is also worth taking a look at global developments, in which European countries tend to rely on the four-day week. With the dual training system and many degree courses, Germany produces "professions" that also create identity for those who practice them. Yet the term "work" is undefined, especially in our industry.
In practical application, challenges also arise when German practice meets international customs. Cassandra Han will give us an insight into her everyday life as a casting director (f). She works with international actors for German and European projects, with American managers and the big US agencies, but also with other European countries. Germar Tetzlaff (Paramount), Timm Oberwelland (Tobis), Tania Reichert-Facilides (Studio Hamburg), Florian Deyle (Unified Film Makers) and Martin Blankemeyer (Munich Film Workshop) will contribute factual and professional input on the current challenges facing the film industry.
In his current book "Freedom for All" , Richard David Precht also devotes himself to the definition of work. Applied to our industry, this also leads directly to the question of unskilled and skilled workers, the question of what an optimal training should look like and what the prospects for the respective career might look like - and also who takes care of career planning. "Professions" with an identity-forming appeal, for example acting or acting, lose their magic the closer you get to those affected. If someone is particularly successful and gets by with one film a year, and lives alternately in Los Angeles, Mallorca and Berlin, the profession has charisma. Many actors only have a few projects a year, and many have none at all for years. Anyone who doesn't get a star's fee will have to do some other gainful employment in the rest of their time, for better or for worse. So if someone only has one film a year, but otherwise works in the catering industry or at the supermarket checkout - is he or she not an actor?
Our society defines itself through success and achievement. Young people are driven more by the "meaning" or "effect" of their own work. As integrative participants in the creative industry, there is a finished product at the end of every production. In the best case, your own name appears in the credits or at least in the relevant mention portals. The good news is that individually solution-driven activities are unlikely to be replaced by computers in the long term. When deciding on site which replacement motif is chosen, a human decides for good reason. The high proportion of collaborative work creates a sense of community and thus satisfies our innermost longings for mutual recognition. This is probably why such a meaningful "job" often does not need a "job title" - it is only a description of the current activity on a journey through various positions that are rarely restricted by studies or certificates. So if we do not have to distinguish so clearly between work and leisure time, we take note of the late-night overdraft in good spirits. If "work" is not comparable to the 8-hour shift in the factory hall, but has a positive connotation in itself, work itself can also be part of the "work-life balance", as part of life. A househusband or a farmer work and live with blurred boundaries, especially with regard to the separation in terms of location and time. In his book mentioned above, Precht asks many questions, such as "how does a beggar actually work?", which are, in sum, difficult to transfer to the creative industry. Nevertheless, he gets to the heart of the problems in our industry too.
One exciting aspect of the Talent Summit is always the personal discussions. These usually show that a career is difficult to plan and that a lot depends on chance. Someone has already found an answer to many challenges. We want to make these findings useful for all of us. Teamwork was and is the defining element of film and television, in production, marketing and distribution.
Live and in person at the Talent Summit at the Munich Film Festival on June 30, 2022 from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. - See you there!
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