CGC Oakgrove 4.0

Film and TV

Sector Outlook Around 200,000 people work in the sector that generates £10 billion in revenue. Around 80,000 people in the film industry with 55,000 in production, 7,000 in distribution and 17,000 in exhibition. Around 200 films are made in the UK, the majority promoted by US film production companies that spend £1.6 billion investing in movies such as Bond, Star Wars and Dunkirk. The weakening pound against the dollar, 20% tax breaks and our creative talent pool makes the UK good place to do business. The industry has a talent of post-production expertise with 41% of staff working in areas such as editing, sound, special effects and animation (In 1994 this was just 15%). Pay per view TV providers are cashing in our demand for quality TV productions. In the UK each year, 36 productions averaging over £1 million per episode are made. Spending on these series by promoters such as Netflix, Amazon, HBOS is up £500 million since 2013. New growth areas include regional TV as the government releases new licence opportunities to cater for the digital consumer. Currently there are 21 channel licences and 13 more are in the pipeline. The UK independent TV industry is worth £2.1 billion and we are seen as great innovators of creative shows, experts at marketing and foreign rights selling to programmes such as X factor, the Voice, Victoria and Sherlock Holmes. These exports are worth £1.3 billion, with China (40%) and the US (16%) being the major growth sectors. As you might expect, careers in film and television can be competitive. Actors and entertainers are by nature self-employed and until a major film or TV contract is secured, have to supplement their income with other job roles. Estimates are that just 1 in 50 earn more than £20,000 per year. If you want to work as a lighting technician or a make-up artist, for example, you can find employment with television production companies, film producers and facilities companies. It’s worth knowing that the majority of contracts within the sector are short term (45% of people are self-employed) so if you can offer a variety of skills and have the ability to get on well with people you’ll have a better chance of finding more work. The majority of creative and media workers are based in the South East, the North West and Scotland. It can be difficult to get on the first rung of the ladder so to give yourself the best chance possible build upon your qualifications, develop your portfolio, accept any work experience you are offered and be willing to learn new skills. Most television companies are based in London although opportunities for work do exist in other parts of the country. The BBC, for example has moved a lot of its operations to Salford. Many posts are permanent or fixed term with some being offered on a freelance basis. You can also research job opportunities with the independent television companies or websites such as productionbase and talentmanager. You might also want to get on to a traineeship through the Hiive network for creatives.