AUTUMN 2021 LEADER


CONTACTS Editor


Jon Creamer


jon@televisual.com Contributing editor Tim Dams Contributors Pippa Considine Michael Burns Meg Carter Art direction (editorial) Nicola Hannan Art direction (advertising) Rick Rogers


rick@rickrogers.co.uk Cover


Sky Atlantic's Britannia (Neal Street, Vertigo Films) ©Sky UK Ltd


Managing director James Bennett james@televisual.com


Televisual is printed on paper stock from sustainable, managed forests and uses environmentally friendly (soy-based) inks and is distributed in compostable polywrap. Televisual does not use any cover treatments such as laminates, and constantly looks at ways of reducing its carbon footprint.


Subscriptions


Annual subscription (four issues) £50 in the UK / £66 overseas Go online to televisual.com or email subs@televisual.com


facebook.com/ televisualmedia @televisualmedia


JON CREAMER EDITOR


THE ONLY CONSTANT IS CHANGE This issue, we publish our annual landmark survey of the UK independent TV production sector, the Production 100. Unsurprisingly, the mood among the indie respondents to the survey is


mixed. While last year it was all about the impact of Covid on the industry, this time the focus is much more on the burgeoning recovery. Many report that business has bounced back well as content-starved


broadcasters attempt to replenish their stocks. But that brings its own problems. While a bounce back is good news, issues are rearing their heads – increased costs due to Covid protocols (rarely being shared by the broadcasters), a scarcity of talent and resultant rising wage costs, competition for kit and studio space and squeezed PSB budgets. Much of this is down to the Covid effect. But there are other changes afoot


too. The rise of the streamers has led to a production boom, but those same customers operate in different ways to indies’ traditional PSB clients. Holding on to programme rights, the mechanism that has built the UK indie sector, is far from a given when it comes to working for SVODS. And Channel 4’s ownership is under threat too, its structure the bedrock that the indie sector was built on in the first place. We also take a look at the prospects for factual TV producers in this issue in


our Factual Genre Report. With streamer customers entering the fray alongside the traditional PSBs, prospects are good. There’s change here too. As viewers turn away from linear viewing, domestic broadcasters are focused far more on their digital offerings with programme demand shifting to the big, the bold and the box set. There’s plenty of change in the post and vfx market as well. Post production


had to perform some astonishing cartwheels during the various lockdowns to keep the show on the road, quickly pivoting to hybrid on-prem/remote workflows when post houses were almost no-go areas. In our debate – Has Post Changed Forever – we ask the post world how many of those changes will stay with us for the duration. Quite a few it seems. And as HETV becomes more and more complex in its production, post and


delivery requirements, we also take a look at the growing importance of the Post Production Supervisors who are stepping in to wrangle that complexity. We also focus on VFX supervisors this issue too, a role that has grown in


importance in the TV world as HETV means complex vfx are now present in almost all scripted productions and beyond.


BULLDOG AWARDS 2 02 1


Editorial jon@televisual.com Advertising advertising@televisual.com Mailing House One Post onepost.co.uk Solicitors David Salamons Cubism Law 020 7831 0101 Printing Stephens & George 01685 388 888 stephensandgeorge.co.uk Web developers Neujuice neujuice.com minkidesign minkidesign.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior consent of the publisher. Published by Televisual Media UK LTD © Televisual Magazine 2021 ISSN 0264-9845


Autumn 2021 televisual.com 05


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140