PRODUCTION


UK FILM STUDIOS


A spy among friends


everywhere are working with educational and training bodies. Shinfield Studios has a partnership with the University of Reading; 3Mills is exploring opportunities to develop a training hub on site; while Garden Studios CEO Hoegh is also founder and owner of the MET Film School. At Sky Studios Elstree, the new facility has its


first intake of school leavers and graduates who will work on year-long placements. “We’ve also recently recruited a talent manager who is searching for young, diverse talent to join our teams plus working with productions to fill apprenticeships and training and development opportunities,” says Sky Studios COO Caroline Cooper. The studios’ new planning application for extended facilities, comes with a


Just as we could recreate China on our back lot, you can recreate the UK


74 televisual.com Spring 2023


dedicated training academy. British production expertise is a cornerstone of


the territory’s appeal. “If we solve these things and go forward in the right way, there’s no reason we can’t remain incredibly competitive and taking a big share of the global production pie,” says Wootton.


LOST IN SPACE But will a production gold rush lead to new studios lying empty? Looking at the side-bars on this feature you get a snapshot of the wide scope of studio ambitions, across the country. Other schemes include Sunderland Shipyard Studios, which envisages 500k sq ft creative space, including the largest covered water studio in the world. There’s Medina Studios on the Isle of Wight, Hertswood Studios’ one million sq ft, near Sky Studios Elstree, or Marlow Film Studios extensive plans. In 2019 the BFC estimated that there were two


million sq ft of stage space in the UK. Since 2020 it calculates the amount has already doubled. Real estate company Knight Frank made its own assessment in a report published last April. It estimated an existing six million sq ft of stage facilities, with six million more needed within five years. Rob Page at Space Studios argues that the


increase will be incremental: “what will inevitably happen, there will be a steady increase in stage


space for the next five to 10 years and if there’s also a steady increase in demand, those things will match each other in term of trajectory. Obviously, there’s a danger of the supply and demand equation tipping the other way, but we don’t see signs of that happening.” The BFC, whilst encouraging sensible levels of


development, is cautious. “We’re saying there’s lot of studio space being built. We’re not jumping on any further bandwagons to build more,” says Adrian Wootton. Thomas Hoegh believes there’s too much in


the pipeline. “I’m very concerned that there will be over- supply.” But he points out that interest rate rises will put paid to some development plans for now. Differentiating and providing value will become more important for all studios. The UK is not the only country adding studio


space. The US, Canada, New Zealand, there are blueprints and studio construction sites across the world. In Lithuania, there are plans for a media industry city. “It’s incredibly important that the UK remains


competitive. Just as we could recreate China on our back lot, you can recreate the UK…Prague is regularly used for London,” Says Andrew Smith at Pinewood. “I don’t think we should ever be complacent.”


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