Assessing risk against rising costs in the independent TV & Film sector

Producers of UK independent film & TV are waiting for the conclusion of negotiations between Pact and Bectu about the industry's pay and working conditions. There is concern that these negotiations may cause the cost of making films to rise further and exceed productions’ already-limited budgets.

This comes off the back of an inflationary crisis that is now affecting the production of independent films as prices rise in every area. Independent productions will need to find the right balance between keeping filming profitable whilst providing a safe working environment for cast and crew.

Here are three factors forcing up the cost of producing independent TV & film.

Higher supplier costs, reduced box office revenue

There has been rapid growth in the UK film and TV industry in the past 5 years, fuelled by the big streamers, production spend has increased by 63% since 2017. Consequently, costs have gone up for the whole industry, while budgets for independent films have flatlined or even declined slightly, meaning a decline in real terms for independent films. At the same time, box office revenue has dropped from generating nearly 60% of independent film income in 2010 to around 50% by 2018, meaning the industry has had to adapt and find new avenues to profitability.

Lack of commercial insurance deterring investors

Now that the Government-backed Production Restart Scheme has ended, the lack of insurance cover for independent productions has only accentuated these financial pressures. This has had a knock-on effect on financier confidence who are now reluctant to provide funding to the sector due to uncertainty about return on their investment.

Financing independent films in the UK is complicated and relies on several options, including regional and national funding; publicly owned national broadcasters and their film arms; fiscal measures such as government schemes; and private investors. As a result of the significant risks involved, these bodies are increasingly unable to provide productions with the financing they need.

COVID contingency costs

The cost of COVID measures is still having a significant impact, adding an extra 10-20% to a production's budget. Producers are being asked to make sure they have at least 5 days’ contingency cover and to do whatever they can to make sure they protect their most important assets in the face of tight budgets.

How is the sector balancing rising costs against safety on set?

In a webinar run by Cignpost, independent Producer Rebecca Knapp spoke of a case where a production’s principal actor was vulnerable due to their age. That individual was tested using gold-standard PCR, while the remainder of the cast and crew used lateral flow testing. Smaller productions are moving towards assessing risk on a case-by-case basis instead of taking a uniform approach.

Smaller productions must keep their eye on the ball, staying up to date with new variants and case numbers. "From a producer's perspective,” says Rebecca, “We're going to be keeping our eye on new variants; looking at how the case loads are increasing; looking at places where we can film where we do have added protection, so that may mean we start losing productions from the UK. We’re also going to be looking at what we're shooting – I suspect crowd scenes will start disappearing or we'll start looking at alternative ways of doing those".

There are support measures in place for UK independent film production, including funding from the BFI, BBC Film and Film4; the Film Tax Relief (FTR); and the UK Global Screen Fund (UKGSF). However, independent productions can take steps themselves to protect against interruptions from COVID.

Cignpost design bespoke and robust testing regimes to create a safe working environment for the independent sector. Contact us today for a free COVID protocol review and consultation.