As Hollywood and gaming collide, collaborations between film, music, television, and video games are becoming more and more common great results. Entering this intersection of industries is challenging, even diversity, inclusion and open doors to new creators and innovators. This was one of the main themes of this year's GamesBeat Insider event, "Blurring the Boundaries: The Convergence of Film, Music, Television, and Games."

Amanda Cruz, Head of Business Development at Big Fan and Erica N., Director of Lionsgate Games. Ewing sat down with Bridget Stacey, vice president of global marketing, Xsolla to talk about how the industry is evolving at the intersection between gaming and entertainment. How future leaders with diverse perspectives can get their foot in the door now.

"Gaming is definitely a younger industry than film and television -- it's where you have to be an entrepreneur," Cruz said. “The best people I know are where they have a job they love, and they've done it most of the time. Film and television force you to wear many hats.”

But entertainment and entertainment are still largely dominated by men, but more women leaders are emerging at the forefront of the industry than ever before. Today, there are more voices at the table, more diversity in games and characters, but to maintain this trend, marginalized people need support from their peers. Ewing credits being part of the Frag Dolls, a girl group hired by Ubisoft to promote games and compete in eSports, as an important part of her rise in the gaming industry.

"Being around them, getting strength from them and finding space, finding other women along the way or people I admire, who are a few steps ahead of me," she explained of her career. “When I take a few steps forward, you take those few steps back and always keep that door open. I hope we continue to do this for each other and it shows at the table.

Normalizing new perspectives

He met Cruz when Ewing started at the Lionsgate Games, where Cruz was an integral part of his career. Lionsgate Studios is defined by its female-led entertainment — Orange is the new black and the Strengthfor example, one of the biggest shows on television. They are also produced by the studio Hunger gamesthe highest-grossing stock franchise with a female host, Cruz said.

"The interior of the studio is very similar," he said. "We had many female department heads. We had a lot of voices at the table. It felt normal. The normalization of that definitely gave Erica and I a lot of confidence when we went into other spaces when it wasn't the norm."

How the gaming industry is changing

Film and television are a bit ahead of the curve in this conversation, Kruse said.

"Obviously I work with older women than I do in film and television," she explained. “But in the short time I've been at the games, it's changed dramatically. I will say the coolest thing is the collaborative nature of these games. It's hard to be in movies and TV when you're young, but in games I was completely different. I've never been in a community where I've been able to say, "hey, I don't know what to do." People, especially amazing women in the industry, have jumped ahead to provide me with resources or education, which has been amazing.

The crucial role of mentoring

“I think Erica and I both take mentorship seriously. We do not only educate ourselves, but we try to educate other people," said Krause. "I don't think these people are important enough. Film and TV is a broken apprenticeship system.'

To address the ways in which those in subordinate roles have failed in the studio's culture, they actively mentor junior employees and encourage them to pass on and offer mentorship to others, even if they are not easy to coach or even make mistakes. . They also encourage others to put themselves out there, connect with and introduce yourself to people in the industry you admire who might offer their time and attention, and be generous with their time in return.

“Give someone else the time of day. "You don't know what kind of magic will happen after that," he said. “We just have to be there for each other. This is the essence of it."