INTRODUCTION COMMERCIALS 30
SURVEY
until the end of December,” says Blink. Academy reports that after the
“instant halt in proceedings... we had the best six months we’ve ever had.” And that rollercoaster pattern seems
to have followed for most. “Clients have spent money,” says Knucklehead. “There have been periods where it’s been slower, but also periods when it was so busy there were no crew to be had, no studios, no resource.” Partizan says: “If you had asked us
last March we would have thought the year would have been a disaster but, after the first lockdown, commercials bounced back a lot quicker and we had a very busy year.” Independent states that “the back
end of the year proved to be much more buoyant than anyone could have predicted. Clients with unused budgets and an audience glued to their TV’s led to a much better end of year than anyone could have anticipated.” Along with the amount, the quality
of briefs increased over the year too as more ambitious production became possible. “We saw a drop in high-end TVC briefs over the first lockdown (replaced by stripped back creative or UGC) but this soon got tired, and we’ve seen a steady increase in the quality of briefs since,” says Dark Energy. But even though production came back, it was far from production as
£191K
The average budget for a 30-second ad reported by
respondents (that’s
down from £231k last year)
usual, says Pulse Films. “By the end of the year, the scripts we were seeing were back to pre-COVID levels, but the approach to shooting them was more open, with many agencies and clients not expecting to attend shoots in person, and some shoots still taking place with directors being remote.” And even after filming was back
LAST MARCH WE WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THE
IF YOU HAD ASKED US
YEAR WOULD HAVE BEEN A DISASTER
on, it took on whole new level of complexity. “Never will we complain about the challenges of organising a non-Covid shoot EVER again!” says Fat Lemon. “The safety protocols around shooting during a pandemic have been complicated and challenging. Holding clients’ hands and also making sure crew are comfortable that their safety is paramount on top of finding creative gold with financial control.” Chief Productions sums up the
mood now by saying, “the market for commercials continues to be buoyant and we’re nervously optimistic this will continue into 2021.” Many production companies name
48% Of respondents said
that budgets had fallen this year.
26% said they’d risen and 26% said they’d stayed the same
check their trade association, the APA, for being a driving force in navigating the difficulties of shooting safely and legally during a pandemic. “A special mention is due to [chief exec] Steve Davies and the team at the APA for its development of a viable covid shooting protocol and steadfast leadership throughout 2020,” says Somesuch.
“without which many in the UK production industry would not have survived.” Another Film Co too is among
the many saying that “much of the credit must go to Steve Davies at the APA who worked tirelessly to get the industry going again.”
CONFIDENCE IS KEY And while the industry had a better year than anyone expected back in March 2020, there’s a feeling that we’re not out of the woods yet. Possibilities of a further COVID wave, new strains of the virus resistant to vaccines - all of this could plunge the economy and commercials production back into trouble. “The biggest threat is the continuing Covid situation and client confidence,” says Stink. As is “the ability to actually shoot the scripts that agencies are writing, the ability to bring directors to the UK, or take directors (and other crew) to other countries.” Clients are cautious beasts, and
the mere threat of productions being shut down dents confidence. The key is “keeping the clients convinced we can shoot and deliver the films in the current conditions and not to put anyone at risk,” says Hellolove. Production companies believe they
can keep on delivering. “Let’s not forget there are real opportunities for clients
Spring 2021
C02
Commercials 30
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