Creating and producing digital content across multiple platforms

From March 2001 NMK (the University of Westminster's digital media training agency) in association with the Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television (PACT), The Welsh Producers Association (TAC) and BAFTA presented the year-long ‘Digital Synergies’ programme. The programme was based on the premise that interactive multi-platform digital projects could only be effectively achieved by creatives, programmers and technologists from across the entire traditional and digital media spectrum working in new collaborative arrangements. This paper starts by identifying defining characteristics of interactive digital media and then explores the major challenges, highlighted by ‘Digital Synergies’, that need to be overcome before the collaborative business models and production processes necessary to produce such material can become widespread and successful.