Extended production is key in the rising costs

The fact that production is extended due to the restrictions of protocols (fewer people and reduced uses of space, among others) is the factor that weighs the most on the rise of costs due to COVID-19, said the panelists of the PRODU webinar Series Development and Production in the Pandemic.

In the encounter, Michela Giorelli, VP of Content Production and Development for Latinoamérica Discovery Networks Latin America/ USH; Carmen Larios senior Content VP at A&E and Lifetime Latin America; Joanna Lombardi, Director of Fiction for Latin America at Telefónica Media Networks and Marcelo Tamburri, Fiction Content Development VP at Turner-WarnerMedia Latin America, participated.

“The increase in fiction is between 20 and 30%, depending on the size of the project. Complying with the protocol makes you go slower, therefore it is necessary to increase the number of shooting days and reduce the size of the team,” said Joanna Lombardi. The big ghost according to Marcelo Tamburri, is the possibility of having to stop the production if there is a case of COVID-19.

En el caso de producción de formatos, los costos son más manejables porque los equipos son más pequeños y flexibles. “Aunque obviamente los presupuestos tienen que aumentar por los protocolos” dijo Michela Giorelli.

Tamburri said it is necessary to calculate before starting production the extra costs due to protocols and decide if you are going to go forward or not. “There is no way to escape this. It is something we will have for a long time. Working with protocols will be part of the new reality,” said Lombardi.