Montreal: With an eye to the future of new media platforms, the Quebec film and TV producers association has struck a committee to look into the ramifications these changes will have on the industry.

APFTQ director of communications Céline Pelletier says the group is facing a long list of queries from networks, producers and artists about what iPods, video cell phones and the like mean for royalties, as well as other parts of the economic equation.

"We have been considering setting up a committee to examine these questions for a number of months. Rather than deal with each question one by one, we [decided on] having a group of professionals look at the broad range of issues and recommend arrangements that will suit producers, artists and unions," she says.

The 10-person committee includes Jacquelin Bouchard, chairman of the APFTQ board; Vincent Leduc, VP of Zone3; Luc Wiseman, president of Avanti Ciné Vidéo; Orlando Arriagada, president of Tutti Frutti Films; and Richard Laferrière, president FRV Media, among others.

The group will consult with experts throughout the industry, including unions, lawyers and individual artists. They hope to have their recommendations ready by May. However, Pelletier cautions that "this is a soft deadline."

"These are complicated questions and we want the committee to take its time in offering thoughtful reflections on this vast and evolving issue," she says.

www.apftq.qc.ca