Policy Advisor Presentation

Policy Advisor

PRESENTATION

What do you consider to be the three main challenges facing the UK's public service broadcasters and how can they be addressed by Government?

• LABOUR EXPLOITATION

(Screen Industry Trainee Schemes)

• FUTURE PANDEMICS/WORKFLOW ADAPTATION

(Large scale television production programming halted)

• POOR WORKING CONDITIONS (Mental health, long working hours, low pay etc. - Animation & VFX areas specifically)

Labour Exploitation

• Creative Industry trainee schemes
• Hurt both the artist AND the industry

Skilled workers providing full services to studios and television productions on a minimum wage opens up opportunities for abuse and explotiation These schemes are framed as 'opportunities' but they become a form of labour exploitation when trainees are expected to work at higher levels with senior responsibilities but with the same 'trainee pay'

Possible Solutions:

• Tighter policies and regulation reform
• Working more efficiently with BECTU and OfCom to establish sustainable schemes that benefit the trainee aswell as the wider UK industry together as a whole rather than becomming a 'free business commodity'
• Regular check-ins with both the trainee and the service studios
• HARSHER PENALTIES FOR ANYONE WHO EXPLOITS THE SCHEMES

Future pandemics/workflow adaptation

• Live action and set production work halted as a result of the 2 year lockdown period
• Cancels programming

In order for the live broadcasting sector to continue to thrive there needs to be a strategic plan created for an alternative production method should we experience another pandemic at some stage in the future

Possible Solutions:

• Introduction of AR - Augmented Reality to replace the need for shooting at actual locations
• Establishing a combined/hybrid workflow of re-using live action material or archival footage of locations along with AI - artifical intelligence or CGI computer generated imaging to reconstruct TV drama or live set productions

Poor working conditions

Possible Solutions:

• Diversity and Inclusion awareness training across the industries and made mandatory in line with current UK protected characteristics legislation
• Employee assistance programmes embedded within service studios - NI Screen currently trying to operate a welfare officer scheme for creative productions on their anti-bullying campaign from 2021

• Diversity and disability exclusion rates high for the creative industries - BECTU
• Excessively long working hours typically across animation and VFX in particular due to high caliber and quality processing for rendering times and images - work is laborious and has to be produced by large teams working at high speed but also to a high standard (burnout country)
• A severe lack of mental health employee assistance programmes