University News Last updated 16 June 2009
Creative content producers need to take project management seriously, according to one industry expert. Steve Stopps, from Leamington Spa-based Blitz Games Studios, says that many creative companies need to reassess how they run their operations.
Steve, who is the keynote speaker at Birmingham City University's ‘Creative Networks' event on Thursday 25 June, believes that project management is increasingly important, given the growth of the creative industries sector. The creative industries are expected to employ 1.3 million people by 2013 - more than the financial sector -- and will contribute £85 billion to the UK, up from £57 billion in 2009.
A quarter of those employed in the UK games industry are located in the West Midlands. Steve said: "This is a multi-billion dollar industry, which strongly performs even during the recession.
"The current generation of the highest quality AAA games are similar to Hollywood blockbusters. If a company is going to risk huge amounts of money on a product it needs to gets its project management right. A huge amount of skills and disciplines contribute towards the end product and it's important that these are properly managed.
"With the possibilities offered by digital technologies there is a real opportunity for the screen and sound based sector to capitalise on the growth in demand for its products, but it has to get serious about managing content production."
Steve will be speaking at Birmingham City University's city centre campus at Millennium Point, Curzon Street on Thursday 25 June, starting at 6pm.
Creative Networks is a FREE event and was established in 2004 as a regular monthly hub of networking and expertise for those working or hoping to work in the creative industries. For more information call 0121 331 5400 email creative.networks@tic.ac.uk or visit www.creativenetworksonline.com
The talk follows last months' visit by Lord David Puttnam who addressed more than 200 guests at Birmingham Hippodrome as part of an event called Platform Alteration, hosted by Screen WM in association with 4iP and Creative Networks.
A video of Lord Puttnam's speech will be available at www.screenwm.co.uk and you can see notes from the panel discussion here www.screenwm.co.uk/blogs/detail/458/notes_from_the_platform_alteration_panel