As Northern freelancers and independent production companies grapple with a film and TV industry some describe as “on its knees,” attention is increasingly turning to what, if anything, can be done to stop talented people walking away for good.
What’s clear from my conversations with freelancers and indies during our special focus week is that there’s no easy fix.
I’ve since received a handful of messages from senior TV executives in London and even the US with similar frustrations, highlighting the scale of the problem that talent is leaving the industry, no matter where it’s based. Yet for those in the North, they do believe there are ways things could change.
Long-term investment and the talent pipeline
For some, the answer lies in long-term regional investment. Nadia Jaynes, founder of Manchester-based Little Monk Pictures, argues that without on-going investment in freelance talent beyond short trainee schemes, the North risks becoming a “training ground” for London rather than a viable base for careers.
“If we want to retain talent in the North, we have to reinvest, upskill and have a long-term plan for where that talent goes,” she explains. “Otherwise, people come into the industry here and then realise that to have a sustainable career, they have to move south or leave altogether.”
READ MORE: Behind the camera: Northern TV freelancers sound the alarm on a “skills gap” and low pay
Her views are shaped by her own experience of breaking into the industry. At just 16, she was working for Kangol sewing hats in Cumbria while her mum was a cleaner and her dad worked at a nuclear power plant, something she says is why she fiercely “champions the working classes”.
“I am a working class girl myself. I never would have imagined that I would ever work in film. There’s some brilliant working class talent that cannot afford to live in London and ride it out while they wait for a job every couple of months. They leave the industry because it’s not sustainable for them. And it happens in droves.”
While she acknowledges the value of trainee schemes and placements, she questions what happens once they end. “What happens to those working class kids after that six-week placement when they’re not being paid anymore? Where do they go?”
She suggests there should even be a temporary “pause” on those schemes, with money instead reinvested into “two or three low-budget indie features”, providing paid work for crew who might otherwise be out of work.
“The industry is on its knees at the moment. It’s just about rethinking about how we spend some of this money for skills when there are thousands of people leaving the industry and we’re still bringing in more trainees.”
Too many entrants, not enough jobs?
Others also raised the issue about how talent is being funnelled into an industry that may no longer be able to sustain them.
Cat Lewis, founder and CEO of Nine Lives Media, challenges the lack of open discussion around the “seismic change” the industry is going through as TV ratings “decline” and advertising revenue follows.
“There’s a lack of transparency. Young people are trying to hang on in an increasingly competitive industry, with fewer jobs and bigger gaps between contracts. Every young person should be very aware of the revolution and the different opportunities still out there for content creation, often more social media based, and work out how they can operate in this new marketplace.”
READ MORE: “It’s really tough to survive”: Northern indies on adapting to a changing TV industry
Freelance filmmaker Dion Russell has also seen how the industry is being “flooded every year” with new people trying to break in.
“Students say they want to jump into film and TV, so that one job that 1,000 were applying for suddenly increases to 2,000, then 3,000. It’s almost as if the industry can’t sustain itself.”
For John*, a producer who has worked in television since 2010, apprenticeships could offer a better route than traditional film and TV degrees for the next wave of talent.
“Young people are going to university thinking they’re going to graduate and get these jobs, but no one is telling them the jobs don’t exist. It’s oversaturated and that work is going to keep drying up. The traditional unscripted model and scripted broadcast work is slowly dying off year after year.”
The freelance model: does it need a shake-up?
Beyond how people enter the industry, some argue the freelance model itself is no longer fit for purpose.
Alice*, a Doncaster-based camera operator who recently quit after nine years, argues there needs to be “better, structured training opportunities” for freelancers and greater transparency over rates.
READ MORE: Locked out or left behind? The very different barriers facing two Northern film and TV freelancers
“There definitely needs to be a support website that will tell you how to be a freelancer, along with support groups. The industry model has changed completely. People started off as staff years ago, you were trained to a high standard, and that’s why the UK film and TV industry is so renowned internationally. Now, it’s just unsustainable.”
John* might be planning to “pivot out of TV” within the next five years but he believes changes to the freelance model could convince him to stay.
“I think we need to move away from the freelance nature of things and have more staff jobs at production companies. A lot of freelancers would take them just to alleviate the stress.”
He suggests production companies could “remodel” their structures, employing staff across multiple projects to help new talent progress while supporting experienced workers through gaps in employment.
Government, support and a ‘Freelance Champion’
For industry changes to happen, several freelancers argue the government needs a clearer picture of the reality facing freelancers.
“I think it takes people in those roles coming into our space for a week, whether that’s a trainee scheme or a production company, to really understand what’s going on,” says John*.
That view is shared by Dion Russell, who believes that if the government could see how “extreme and demanding” the industry is, freelancers might receive “better support” and protections.
Spencer MacDonald, national secretary of film and TV trade union Bectu, says an “industry-wide support scheme” is essential if the UK is to retain its reputation as a “world-class” production hub.
“I know that the government put a levy for training but they should also have a pot for situations where people are out of work. There needs to be a revamp in terms of how we can actually support those freelance workers.”
Although Bectu successfully lobbied the government to appoint a ‘Freelance Champion’ to act as a voice for freelancers, as set out in the Creative Industries Sector Plan last June, that role is yet to be filled.
In a recent House of Lords debate, the issue was raised again and the government responded that it is working “closely with industry” to finalise the role with a roundtable planned with freelancers, and an appointment would be made “as swiftly as possible”.
“Without the freelancers, there’s no industry,” he adds. “The government needs someone who actually understands freelancers as most of the rhetoric they come out with fits someone who’s permanently employed.”
But whoever eventually takes on the top job is a “step in the right direction”.
“They have at least acknowledged that being a freelancer is different. So we’re going to carry on lobbying the government on that, we want to make sure they listen and address their issues.”
Streamers, broadcasters and an uncertain future
At the same time, structural shifts in commissioning are reshaping careers at every level. Sarah*, a senior TV executive with more than 30 years in the industry, says changing viewing habits mean “everyone wants to go for the streamers”.
“The streamers are here to stay and terrestrial television is going to be playing second fiddle to them,” she explains. “There must be a way to tax streamers to help fund UK talent. We need to start running the show a bit more, and then we might get somewhere.”
Despite working across major dramas and documentaries, she says that without a streamer credit, those platforms won’t hire her.
“It actually makes me not as employable as somebody about half my age who’s probably done two streamers. Suddenly, winning awards and all that stuff means absolutely nothing and it’s back to square one, back to the drawing board.”
John* argues that broadcasters are reluctant to speak openly about these challenges, and that without more “open conversations”, little will change.
“Senior people high up in the TV industry all know there’s a problem here. But they can’t say it out loud.”
There is clearly no shortage of ambition or talent entering the industry. The harder question is whether the structures around them are equipped to support long-term careers rather than short-term hope.
*Names changed for anonymity.
You can catch up with the rest of our focus week here, examining the realities facing film and TV freelancers.
