…just 62 people work full-time in film production in Scotland, a nation with a population of just over five million. Something, clearly, is very wrong with this picture, given the dizzying number of films shot in this country recently, from blockbusters like Skyfall, World War Z and Cloud Atlas to homegrown hits like The Angels’ Share and The Illusionist.
The fundamental problem – as laid out both in the report and in Berrie’s committee evidence – is lack of funding.
The fundamental problem is a thorough lack of understanding of how these industries work. It would be fabulous for there to be hundreds working full-time but these jobs tend to be production-based. A production arrives and staff are summoned up and they work through it. Once the production is finished they move on to other productions. They’re not going to be full time and permanent. I would have to ask what the people working full time are actually doing?
The numbers they quote obviously exclude television (BBC Scotland alone employs 1,250) so what are those 62 people doing. Is 62 a good number then?
Funding won’t solve that. Understanding the industry will. Bringing in more productions – especially home grown – will.
I have to wonder how many FTEs work in the film industry in Northern Ireland. I’m imagining you can count them on one hand.