Marta Ravin, a seasoned showrunner and executive producer for networks like MTV and Nickelodeon (right) discusses how streaming services changed the landscape of entertainment at a presentation at Mount Saint Mary College. To the left is Merle Becker, an instructor of Digital Media Production at the Mount and former MTV producer.
It’s an ever changing medium, explained Marta Ravin, a seasoned showrunner and executive producer for networks like MTV and Nickelodeon, but there’s always a place for those who have the drive, determination, and creativity.
Ravin revealed the ins and outs of working in television content creation to Mount Saint Mary College’s next generation of producers on Monday, February 26.
She has produced everything from live music shows, award, and reunion shows to paranormal docuseries and kids' renovation shows, as well as digital content. Her credits include MTV’s Total Request Live, TLC’s Long Island Medium, and Universal Kids’ Get Out of My Room.
Ravin got her foot in the door working as an intern on The Joan Rivers Show and also The John Stewart Show, a late-night talk show that preceded Stewart’s run as host of The Daily Show. But a lot has changed in her industry since the ’90s and early 2000s, she said. The days of the “wild, wild west” of cable, with dozens if not hundreds of channels, are far behind us. And it’s more difficult than ever to walk into a room of executives, pitch a show idea, and have it picked up for production.
That’s all due to what Ravin calls “the streaming wars.”
“We are at a crucial moment where streaming is struggling to find ways to make money,” Ravin explained. “People don’t want to pay for seven different services at $9 a pop. Companies are trying to find new ways to monetize entertainment.”
The ability to tell a story, however, is an evergreen skill. And students in the Mount’s Communication, Art, and Digital Media (CADM) program graduate knowing how to do that, she said.
“You’re going to know how to tell a story and make a piece of content,” Ravin noted. “The platform that it gets shown on, or the business that hires you to do that, can be any sort of business. Every business has a website, every website needs content, and content needs to be more and more engaging.”
The Mount’s CADM programs encompass the study of digital media production, graphic design, and journalism. CADM also offers minors in each of these disciplines, as well as in art and film studies. CADM programs prepare students for both traditional and emerging professions.