Register now for the first of our CREATIVE CONNEXIONS sessions:
Date: Monday 9 March
Venue: Film City Glasgow, 401 Govan Rd, Glasgow G51 2QJ
Timings: Please arrive at 2.45pm
Session: 3.00 - 5.00pm
followed by a networking reception until 6.30pm
Should your company pivot, and if so, why now?
The traditional separation between scripted and unscripted production is softening. Across the UK, we are seeing more production companies working fluidly between scripted & unscripted, as a way of protecting IP, broadening development pathways, & keeping ideas alive in a tightening commissioning market.
This session explores the practical decision-making behind a pivot. When does expanding your slate strengthen your IP position? When might it dilute focus? How do you recognise when a factual idea has the potential to become scripted IP (or vice versa)? And what does that shift mean for rights, development spend, talent attachment & commissioner conversations?
We will explore:
Identifying when a pivot makes strategic sense
Recognising transferable ideas
Rights and development implications
Financing and risk profile.
Talent and team structures
Commissioner conversations
We will also examine what differentiates scripted and unscripted at a structural level. Scripted typically carries longer development cycles, higher upfront investment, talent-driven packaging, & greater financing complexity. Unscripted can offer faster turnaround, repeatable formats & lower risk thresholds, but often with different IP and backend models. Understanding these structural differences is critical before attempting to operate across both.
For companies considering whether to pivot or how to do so without destabilising their core business, this discussion offers an insightful, strategic, & operational look at what it genuinely takes to expand across genres successfully.
Speakers:
Caroline Levy, Series Producer & Consultant,
Toby Stevens, Head of Objective Media Group, Scotland
Derren Lawford, Executive Producer, Creative Strategist and founder of DARE Pictures
Gavin Smith, Commissioning Editor Scripted for BBC Scotland
Victoria Musguin-Rowe, Executive Producer (Unscripted) & Factual Consultant (Scripted)
Creative Connexions forms part of the Glasgow City Council Business Growth Programme and is funded by the UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund. The programme is managed and delivered by Film City Futures.
GENERAL EVENT INFORMATION
Accessibility:
If you have any accessibility requirements, please contact the FOCUS team in advance: hello@filmcityfutures.com
Privacy policy:
By booking this event you consent to FOCUS & Film City Futures storing your contact details. Please note: we will only ever contact you via email regarding FOCUS events and will not share your confidential information with any external third parties.
Photography notice:
Please be aware that we may take photographs and videos at this event. By attending and/ or participating in this event, you agree for us to photograph and/ or video record you and to use such images and recordings on our website, social media and other platforms as required.
COVID-19 statement:
Please do not attend in-person events if you, or anyone in your household, has had any symptoms or tested positive for COVID-19 within the past five days prior to the event.