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Alliotts’ Media Team aims to partner with organisations who actively support film makers, and others, who may not have had an easy path entering the media industry.

We were proud to sponsor Soho Media Club’s ‘Be You’ Festival – a one day summer festival devoted to sparking a ‘progressive conversation about the visible and hidden challenges of diversity, inclusion, belonging and equity in film and TV.’

The day was packed full of talks, workshops, and screenings, with our very own media specialist Sam Ampah hosting a discussion panel ‘How to attract funding for your diverse film’.

Sam was joined on the panel by Jessica Elliott – owner of JE Management; Roger Evans – production manager and consultant to Peacock film finance, and Clare Anyiam-Osigwe – award winning film director and screenwriter.

Filmmakers looking for funding for their project were able to tap into the expertise and skills of panel and other guests.

Here are some of the main takeaways from the day:

Be over prepared

• The first and most important thing is to have a firm idea of your project and your target market and audience; that helps you make the connections you need and draft a synopsis that will really pack a punch. Often time is limited, financiers and investors will only be able to read a very short synopsis, and funding will be limited. Make sure you have a punchy synopsis prepared and aimed at the people you want to impress. You’ll be in a competitive environment and will need to stand out!

Be creative….with a business sense!

• Many people will have strong creative visions for their projects, which is fantastic, but unless you can self-fund there will need to be an element of compromise. Find out where there are gaps in the market and what the industry is looking for, then see if you can fit your own ideas into what people want to find (and fund).

Take advantage of help that is already there

• Many organisations offer grants and commitments to projects they believe are improving diversity – they often need to fulfil commitments and so will be actively searching for projects that are celebrating diversity. ITV and the BFI (British Film Institute) for example. Financial support from these organisations and similar offering support will be competitive, but are always worth looking into. It’s good to attend events hosted by these organisations to establish connections.

Support each other

• Although the very nature of the industry can be competitive, it’s so important to support each other and share information and resources.
• Always be prepared to leap on an opportunity, and where you can always be prepared to give someone else an opportunity too! It’s good karma.

If you would like to talk about the creative incentives available please contact us.

You could be forgiven for thinking that life within the UK Film and TV industry has never been better. New studio spaces are being announced on what feels like a daily basis. Only this week we heard two announcements, one being that Broxbourne council has greenlit a £700m film studio in Waltham Cross. Despite all the good news coming out of the industry, there remains a troubling fact and that is the UK Independent Film sector is on its last legs and needs urgent help if it is going to survive.

There are several reasons why the independent film market is struggling despite what seems to be a golden age for UK Film and TV. Reasons include; increased budgets, lack of cast and crew, and falling revenue. The traditional means of theatrical release is becoming harder, with cinema prioritising big studio films over independent movies. I was once told that ‘at the end of the day the cost to watch a Marvel movie in a cinema and an independent movie is the same, the Marvel movies virtually guarantee bums on seat whereas the independent is less certain’. With cinemas already struggling before the pandemic, it is only right that they fill their screens with blockbusters rather than gambling on providing screens for less known independent movies. Despite all these challenges now is not the time to pull the plug on the UK independent film market.

In July 2022 The BFI released a report they commissioned on how to save the independent film market.

The proposal included the following;

• Increasing the Film Tax Relief for independent film producers

Increasing the Tax relief for independent films will reduce the financial strain on independent film producers. It will allow the money they raise to go further, allowing them to compete with the rising prices and the demand for higher quality productions.

• Increasing support for independent film distribution

Marketing is an area in which independent films have struggled. When budgeting for a production, marketing is one of the most squeezed areas and is often left to the last minute. By offering tax relief to independent film sales and distribution. It will allow independent films to better compete against big studio films whose marketing budgets are sometimes the same cost as an independent film.

• The introduction of a new zero-rated Vat on exhibition of UK independent films

Introducing zero-rated VAT on the exhibition of independent films, could solve the problem where in which it costs the same amount of money to watch a big studio film as it does to watch an independent film. By introducing zero-rated VAT, cinemas can lower the price for independent films thus making them more attractive to a paying audience. Cinema can then better assess the appetite for the film and increase screens if the film is a success.

• Introducing measures which makes large content providers invest in smaller budget UK films

Introducing measures which forces large content providers to invest in independent films can be angled as a type of CSR initiative. Some could argue that for all the good these providers have done for the UK Film and TV industry, their increased presence in the UK has been one of the driving factors in the decline in the UK independent market. Asking them to put back into the market could be the proposal that saves the industry.

All the proposed measures the BFI has suggested could lead to an upturn in the UK film independent market. However, none of them will be easy to introduce and none of them will be introduced overnight. But the fact they are on the table gives hope that the UK independent film market will not be left behind and still has a real future. Time will tell if these proposals are introduced, in the meantime, we all have to sit and watch while our beloved independent film market is further squeezed, hopefully not past a point of no return.

If you wish to read the BFI commission report in full please use the link below.

https://www.bfi.org.uk/industry-data-insights/reports/economic-review-uk-independent-film

I heard sales agent joke ‘All the best script writers are locked up in a basement at Netflix HQs’

But it wasn’t really a joke.

He was talking about the battle amongst the big streamers to produce the best original content inhouse. This has resulted in an increase in Film and TV budgets, a merry go round of top exec jobs and the noticeable diminishing of the independent film and TV market.

I shouldn’t be too negative, it would be wrong for me to argue that the original content route as a business plan didn’t makes sense. Creating their productions inhouse these companies were able to control the rights and stop their competitors from getting their hands on them, a viable business model you’d say? The rights battle was played out when Disney removed its content from Netflix. This was a major blow for Netflix as it exposed the giant’s vulnerability for first time.

Netflix entered the game in 21^st century and so lacked the legacy content of some of its competitors. Whilst it dominated the market and had no real competitors there was no urgency to create original content. But when Disney and HBO et al entered the streaming market life at Netflix took a turn.

Not so long ago Netflix was on the offensive, releasing big budget movies such as Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, and at the same time sticking it to the film festival by boycotting them. Netflix was a pioneer of the new age of Film and TV. A few years ago, you’d be crazy to think that Netflix would be ever facing a decline.

According to its latest results Q2 2022 Netflix reported a loss of only 970,000 subscribers; in its outlook for the quarter, it had predicted a net loss of 2M. The news is better than expected, but it’s still the largest quarterly loss in the history of Netflix. Its share price has suffered a fall of a jaw dropping 70% and the business was forced to lay off 450 employees.

This is not the end for Netflix it’s the beginning of a new age for the streaming giant.

Netflix is keeping its future growth plans close to its chest there have been some teasing announcements e.g. the introduction of ads on their platform and getting tough on password sharing. Netflix plans to introduce a lower price ad-supported subscription plan in partnership with Microsoft. This is seen as a fair way to keep prices for the subscription low without jeopardising Netflix’s balance sheet. Spotify successfully operates this model and through offering a free service with ads it has converted users to its ad-free subscription service. Spotify is on track to hit 1BN global users by 2030.

We may also have seen Netflix’s first strategic chess move in Cannes with the acquisition of Emily Blunt’s ‘Pain Hustlers’. As I heard a sales agent say, ‘It’s cheaper to acquire films than develop them inhouse’.

We may see a shift away from developing content inhouse to a focus on content acquisition. This shift could be the defibrillator the independent film market needs to shock it back to life. Though I’m sure Netflix won’t stop developing projects inhouse, we may see it acquiring more than it has in the past.

There are also rumours that Netflix will ramp up its plans to release its mid to big budget films in cinemas first. Not for the box office revenue but for marketing and to access tax credits. Releasing films in cinema before they go on the platform Netflix will be able to build up an audience for the film. Those who don’t get to see films in cinemas will be encouraged to sign up for a subscription to watch the films. A type of four walling distribution that is common within the independent market.

Importantly a condition of the UK Film Tax credit is that there needs to be an intention for theatrical release. Currently, Netflix films produced in the UK are unlikely to have met this condition. This means that Netflix’s films are unlikely to have to have received tax credits from their UK productions. But as budgets tighten Netflix may need to take full advantage of tax credits for its inhouse productions.  It could make this happen by acquiring cinemas and showing their films to a paying audience; benefit from UK film tax credit and see its income increase.

It may look bleak for Netflix, with layoffs and falling subscription numbers but it’s still the largest streaming platform and the thirst for content is not going anywhere. What Netflix needs to do now which the Hollywood report put so eloquently is show discipline.

Big budget and a great cast doesn’t always equal a great film. Netflix needs to find a way to increase revenue without alienating customers with increased subscription fees. If Netflix manages to strike this balance it won’t be long until we see the streaming giant reach its pandemic level of success.

Charlie Chaplin became one of the world’s highest earning and famous film stars in the early part of the 20^th century starring in films such as ‘The Kid‘ and ‘The Gold Rush‘. He was born in extreme poverty in London’s East End and made his way first to New York and then onto Hollywood during the silent movie era. His phenomenal career is the subject of a current film ‘The Real Charlie Chaplin’ for those who wish to understand more about one of the most successful film stars.

He would never have been able to achieve the same level of fame and wealth if he had stayed in the UK, certainly not from film. Hollywood was where films were made and all film studies (without exception) were based there, including Chaplin’s own production company, United Artists. However, that is no longer the case.

The UK is on course to become bigger than Hollywood and it is predicted that within two years will have more studio facilities and square footage than the whole of Los Angeles. The UK has been renowned for its top-end studios based around South East England such as Pinewood, home to the Bond movies; Leavesden, home to Harry Potter; Shepperton and Bray; and Twickenham where the Beatles recorded and were filmed making ‘Get Back‘ a documentary series which has just been released by Disney+.

However, there are more studios being planned and built than ever before. There are at least 20 new studios being developed which would mean there will be over 50 Studios in the UK capable of producing Blockbuster films. According to the British Film Institute, the investment into UK studio space is currently around £1bn. And it is not all in the South East, studios are being built in Belfast, Leeds, Liverpool, and Edinburgh.

The demand for studio space follows the vast increase in films being shot in the UK. The key drivers that attract producers to the UK are the Film Tax Credit regime, running at over £1bn per annum, the great array of locations, a highly skilled workforce, and an overall pleasant culture and working environment.

Having suffered a dreadful downturn in revenues following the shutdown of their Theme Parks during the pandemic, Disney is seeing a fabulous upturn in its overall business primarily due to the success of direct to consumer platform Disney+ and joint ventures with Hulu and the sports service ESPN+.

It’s apparent that we, our friends, family and colleagues are spending an increasing amount of our time on streaming services, particularly post pandemic. Disney is proving to be a big winner in this marketplace. Disney attracted almost 12mn new subscribers in the first quarter which was way above market expectations. When Disney+ launched in December 2019 the plan was to have attracted upwards of 90mn subscribers by now. The number of subscribers is 150mn.

It is a simple fact that to attract viewers you need content. Past acquisitions by Disney including the Star Wars franchise; the Marvel comics book titles; and 21^st Century Fox (at $71.3bn) has meant that the Disney catalogue is both attractive and gives them the ability to produce spin offs from past productions and series.

I thought it was a public relations success to premiere the Beatles documentary, ‘Get Back’ just before Christmas. It reminded me of when HBO released the ‘Sopranos’ and so setting the channel up as the choice for a selective audience who were prepared to pay to watch what they liked.

Of course, it must be said that the phenomenal success of all the streaming companies Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and the rest is great news for the UK Media industry. Their programs need to be made, and the UK is very much a go to destination for producers, thanks in no small part to the £1bn plus that is being handed out by the UK Government in the form of Film Tax Credits.