Challenges of the post boom

UK post-production may be going through something of a golden age, fuelled by the SVoD players and their huge demand for lucrative high-end TV work, but for many in the sector, it’s a story of contrasting fortunes.

On the one hand, there’s plenty of work around, particularly for high-end post services (4K, HDR, Dolby Atmos), coupled with a greater understanding – especially by SVoD platforms – of the need to pay for them. However, outside of the streaming services, the amount of money facilities’ traditional client base have available to pay for post services continues to decline.

Broadcast TECH surveyed 28 post and VFX houses working across different genres of TV and advertising, asking them a series of questions about the state of the industry in 2019. Their views were surprisingly consistent across the board.

We also reveal the top 10 post-production houses most admired by their production company clients.

Charlotte Walsh
Head of post-production, Blazing Griffin Post Production

It’s a great time to be in post-production as the UK is in one of its busiest years in the industry. Technology is advancing, allowing more flexibility in terms of multi-location edits and remote workflows, and the trend towards picture finishing in Dolby Vision HDR has allowed us to push creative boundaries even further.

Paul Schleicher
Executive producer, Axis Studios

It’s a period of fantastic opportunity. The global streaming market is attracted to the talent, financial incentives and expertise in the UK.

At the same time, a push by UK broadcasters to support local content outside London means regional post firms are thriving.

Derek Moore
Chief executive and co-founder, Coffee & TV

With everything you read in the media about advertising budget cuts and threats from the current political situation, you would think the post-production sector would be in dire straits. But our industry is booming. Even though budgets are being stretched, there are still many clients in need of, and willing to pay for, the best artists and creative.

Rowan Bray
Managing director, Clear Cut Pictures

The market is relatively buoyant but challenged by hard-pressed budgets and increasing fixed costs. We need clarity about the regionalisation policies of the UK broadcasters – there’s a lack of commitment to any one place, skills shortages in some regions and unpredictable volumes of work.

The globally recognised creative and technical standards of our workforce cannot be recreated in the regions overnight.

Tony Greenwood
Technical director, Core Post

Generally, it feels like there are more companies wanting to make more content in the north. Lucy Ainsworth-Taylor Chief executive, BlueBolt High-end TV production has taken over from the large studio films. Larger facilities have now all opened up TV departments and the work is being spread more widely.

Dave Austin
Managing director, The Edit

In Brighton, we’ve seen a big expansion in the number of production companies. Being a regional hub but close to London both helps and hinders us. We have slim margins and have to remain cost-focused for the customer, but as long as we keep giving them what they want, hopefully they will keep coming back.

Dave Cadle
Chief executive and founder, Envy

This year has definitely seen a positive change in the number of projects requiring UHD, HDR and Atmos post-production. There is clear enthusiasm from our creative and technical teams to work with the highest possible production values.

Helen Stanley
Global managing director, integrated advertising, Framestore

It’s a great time to be working more in episodic programming, which is at its most ambitious. Clients want cinematic-quality visuals condensed into TV shows and this is something that Framestore enjoys doing.

John Rogerson
Chief executive, Halo

Our film business has been very strong on the back of the low pound and tax credits for international producers. The streamers have also had a major impact on the kind and quantity of TV work we’re seeing.

Peter Hampden
Director, LipSync Post

There are still many unknowns around what future arrangement the UK has with the EU, yet the influx of feature and TV productions shows no sign of abating. The most demanding work is being placed in the UK, not only because it’s very competitive with the rest of the world, but because we have a mature infrastructure and a world-class talent pool.

Mark Benson
Chief executive, Moving Picture Company

The birth of various VFX start-ups and changing ad agency models has created healthy competition and, more significantly, motivated our industry to work even harder at pushing the boundaries of creativity within the considerations of today’s budgets and the expectations of delivering content more quickly.

Nigel Bennett
Commercial director, Molinare

The quality of projects coming through our doors has grown exponentially. There has been an increase in the adoption of high-resolution picture formats, Dolby Vision HDR and UHD. Dolby Atmos is also a high priority for high-end productions.

Elouise Carden
Joint managing director, Rapid Pictures & Radiant Post

We are really excited about how buoyant the industry seems to be at the moment. There are a lot of interesting projects in post right now and coming up, many embracing new technology and giving us new and exciting workflows to create and implement.

YES

John O’Callaghan
Head of studios and post-Production, BBC Studioworks

Yes, we believe our clients see us as equals. Post houses increasingly bring more to the table in terms of on-screen innovation, technological benefits and general creativity.

Dave Cadle

An increasingly global TV industry requires customised workflows, which makes a post house the essential partner.

David Klafkowski
Chief executive, The Farm

The Farm has always considered itself a partner with all our clients. The sooner we are involved with a production’s workflow, the smoother the production will run.

Helen Stanley

Studios increasingly need to be a creative partner to clients rather than just a resource to deliver images. Nigel Bennett Absolutely. I think ‘partner’ is the word, but that comes with trust and experience. Having built strong relationship with producers and individuals over the years, it allows us to work hand in hand with production.

Mark Benson

Definitely. We act as creative partners to our clients. It’s very much a collaborative process.

Jon Hurst
Managing director, Nineteentwenty

Yes. We are engaged earlier and often consulted when choosing production partners.

Julian Aston
Chairman, Suite

Because the majority of clients have little or no understanding of the increased technical complexity, especially in relation to UHD/HDR, post houses have begun to reassert themselves in terms of collaboration.

Paul Wilkes
General manager, West Digital

We see our relationships with our clients as a partnership. We respect what they do and they respect what we do.

Nigel Gourley
Managing director, Outpost Facilities

With some streaming services, it feels less like we are suppliers and more like partners.

Rosie Ross
Development producer, OnSight

We agree with this trend. Ultimately, this strengthens the client-post relationship as well as the final product.

Jo Beighton
Managing director, Platform

It depends on the clients but more often it’s yes. That is the culture we try to promote.

Jay Makwana
Commercial director, Storm HD

Post is being consulted a lot more now at the pre-production stages. It’s by working together as partners, rather than suppliers, that you are able to achieve the best results.

NO

Paul Schleicher

Post-production is viewed as a technical commodity. My sense is that clients mostly take a pragmatic approach to choosing vendors. Location, cost, availability, relationships, capability and reputation all feed into decision-making.

Lucy Ainsworth-Taylor

There is a better understanding of what VFX can bring to the table among production companies now but being competitive and good at what you deliver is most important.

Rowan Bray

It is dependent on the complexity of the project, the experience of the client and the expectations of the production team.

Some projects we have undertaken this year would not been made without our expertise – and that is not necessarily universally recognised by clients across every project.

Steve Doran
Commercial director, Coda Post Production

I don’t believe so. We are the service, the professionals, the people to make problems disappear and there to help advise, creating an atmosphere where directors and producers can realise their ideas.

COMPETITION FROM LONDON

Charlotte Walsh

We are a relatively young post house based in Scotland. Despite industry efforts, we still struggle to compete with London-based post houses due to their many years of experience and credits. We would love to see more Scottish productions choose to remain in Scotland to do their post-production.

Michael Illingworth
VFX supervisor and owner, Vine FX

Making sure we understand our clients’ needs and reassuring them that we can produce world-class work no matter where we are located [is essential].

LACK OF CLIENT LOYALTY

Rowan Bray

Clients want keener prices but are unwilling to commit to specific suppliers, which in turn makes our forward planning more uncertain. Decisions to take established programming regionally, especially at the last minute, are already affecting the capacity available in London.

HIGH-END TV

Dave Austin

It remains to be seen if the hunger for more high-end drama will kill off fact-ent TV. If it does, it could take some time before that high-end work comes to the regions. Brighton could do with a large studio to get us on that path.

Elouise Carden

Terrestrial/traditional TV is losing more of its dominance to digital platforms and this is affecting the number of commissions coming through.

RENT, RATES AND TALENT

John Rogerson

The costs of running a business in Soho are crazy. There are no existential threats as such – just simple economics. Commissioners require more for less and this filters down.

Dave Cadle

It has been the same for many years but for most of us it will be rent, rates and holding on to talent.

David Klafkowski

Boris, Brexit and heatwaves aside, shrinking budgets, Soho real estate and never having enough offlines – but these are the same every year.

Peter Hampden

Rising Soho rent and rates, and attracting top talent post-Brexit.

Paul Wilkes

The current political environment. Rising costs, particularly salaries. Finding talent.

Jo Beighton

Rising costs without clients being prepared to pay higher prices that reflect the raise in rents/salaries and so on.

Julian Aston

Ever increasing business rates.

IN-HOUSE AND POP-UP POST HOUSES

Danny Coster
Head of Moving Image, Leap

Ad agencies bringing all post in-house has often been a threat. Small start-ups/ bedroom editors are equally a threat for projects that have no requirements for client attendance. And now the appearance of virtual post and VFX houses is narrowing the pool.

SPEED OF CHANGE

Mark Benson

For us, the biggest threats will only be brought on by ourselves if we do not evolve. The industry is changing at speed, and we need to evolve alongside.

REDUCING PRODUCTION BUDGETS

John O’Callaghan

Production budgets are increasingly being squeezed, which can have a knock-on effect on post-production if clients do not plan their costs effectively end-to-end.

Tony Greenwood

Managing reduced budgets, while delivering higher-quality content.

Nigel Bennett

There is a need for faster, more efficient workflows at a time when budgets are under pressure. The challenge for post facilities will be the sheer volume of data being managed and delivered at high resolution.

BREXIT

Jon Hurst

Uncertainty in the political landscape and Brexit is making recruitment harder.

Rosie Ross

European confidence.

AI AND THE EVOLUTION OF TECH

Jay Makwana

AI capabilities. If workflows are automated before they are ready, it could jeopardise the quality of work. Also, the tech giants jumping ahead of themselves and introducing things like 8K before the industry and consumers have had a chance to explore 4K properly.