"There are broader benefits from rubbing shoulders but for a purely buying and selling perspective, doing business via zoom meetings, phone calls, and email is a more streamlined, more efficient process," says AGC Studio CEO Stuart Ford.
Most market participants say the digital EFM has been working like a well-oiled machine. Some gripe that Berlin didn't need to launch its own separate streaming platform —"we get a new platform for each market, a new system to learn, with new quirks and new glitches" noted one veteran sales agent — but, having learned from Cannes and the AFM's technical teething problems, there have been no reports of major issues so far.
Mark Gooder of Cornerstone says he misses having buyers in the same room when making a pitch —"you can immediately sense when something's not landing when they aren't interested," he notes — but Jeffrey Greenstein of Millennium Media says his company has found a way to recreate the physical experience online.
Several aspects of the virtual markets look like they are here to stay. Both sellers and buyers say, post-pandemic, they'll be looking to streamline their market presence, sending fewer people to physical events and doing more business online. Industry streaming platforms are certain to be a fixture of every future event.spoke to — buyers, sellers, producers, and talent —still can't wait to get back to the stress and chaos of a regular movie market.