AN EVENT BEING run by the Screen Directors Guild of Ireland in Dublin today and over the whole weekend is looking at where the film and television production is heading.

Digital Biscuit features equipment workshops, panel discussions and inspiring talks with creators like Chris Nee of Disney Junior (Angela Anaconda, Blue’s Clues, Deadliest Catch), David Yates (director, Harry Potter series), Irish Oscar-nominated director Jim Sheridan and Richard Baneham (visual effects animator, Avatar).

Here are ten things we learned at today’s event:

1. With video moving online, huge new opportunities are created and Ireland, as we did for financial services, can create a similar ecosystem for large companies to deliver media content to Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
2. We’re seeing a movement away from broadcaster delivered content… where the future is might be uncertain but if we’re smart about how we operate then we can grab a piece of the pie.
3. It’s estimated that by 70-85 per cent of data traffic to mobile phones will be video by 2017. Everybody has a TV in their pocket.
4. Increasingly people are connecting the internet to their televisions. You don’t need a set-top box when you have the internet . And everywhere you have the internet there is a two way conversation – at the moment we call that social media.
5. NBC streamed last year’s Superbowl but made a number of mistakes. It didn’t work on Chrome. They didn’t licence the music for the half-time show or the commercials. As a result, people watching a pirated stream had a better user experience.
6. The digital world means that the production teams that can work across continents. You don’t have to be in LA.
7. It used to cost millions to set up a TV channel. Now you can set up a channel online overnight.
8. Content makers, pipe owners and screen makers have the greatest opportunity in the digital age. They are all necessary parts of the process.
9. We’re going mobile. Intel is winding down the division that manufactures motherboards within the next three years.
10. There an increasing number of options to place your video content, but connnecting with your audience is the key and interactivity is a huge part of it.

Ross Whitaker (@rosswhitakertv) is a filmmaker and editor of Film Ireland.

See DigitalBiscuit.ie or follow the #DigitalBiscuit hashtag on Twitter to see more of the conversation from the event.