Last month, a number of costuming groups headed to Pinewood Studios to take part in the Future’s Festival, which not only saw visitors meet the costumed ranks of the Rebel Legion, Mando Mercs, UKG and more but also was home to an event that aims to bring fresh blood and talent into the UK film industry, a sector that like so many around the world is struggling right now. Take a look at images from the event taken by our very own visitor Sander de Lange, and read The Guardian piece in full, a sobering piece that highlights the struggles of the industry.
Behind the scenes of the UK’s £6bn film and high-end TV production industry, second only in size to the US, the industry is battling with an increasing shortage of skills.
The issue is with so-called below-the-line jobs, behind the camera – carpentry and set building, hair and makeup, accountancy and, in the words of one executive, “anything with the words ‘artificial intelligence’”.
“Skills is a big issue, second only to the potential impact of AI that I have seen come up the most,” says Dame Caroline Dinenage, chair of the select committee of MPs conducting an inquiry into the state of the UK film and high-end TV production sector.
“The sector relies on a huge army of talented people behind the scenes. We keep having skills mentioned as a big issue, but below-the-line skills don’t get spoken about. We need a masterplan and a widening of the net to get people from a more diverse range of backgrounds into the industry.”
At Pinewood – where the number of exhibitors has doubled to 50 since the first Futures Festival in 2022 and includes the George Lucas-founded, Disney-owned special effects giant Industrial Light & Magic – one company cites estimates that, in the lighting sector alone, as many as 500 workers are close to retirement age and will need replacing.
While initiatives such as those run by Pinewood and Leavesden are doing their bit when it comes to attracting the next generation of workers, film and TV has one enduring problem – it seems everyone wants to be a star.
“I’m actually an actor, so I thought I’d turn up, speak to people, network, get involved in anything I can, really,” says Harmony Reid, 24. “I’m interested in creating, maybe directing, but I’m a presenter also.” However, she concedes that events like this one are focused on work “predominantly behind the camera”.
