Focus on Victoria: settling the score
Rivalries between the states are inevitable but ultimately unproductive. While Victoria may not have the highest production investment total of the year, the cultural capital of Australia is strengthening its local slate.
Victoria is considered Australia’s cultural capital, so why isn’t it the country’s screen production capital too, or at least not anymore?
According to the National Survey of Feature Film and TV Drama Production, in 2008/09 the value of the feature and TV drama production slate in Victoria was $157m, 23 percent down from last year’s
$251m. The drop placed Victoria behind NSW and its $434m, for the third time in the last five years.
All states savour the moment when statistics favour their efforts, but sometimes the numbers are not on their side. However, there are reasons behind this apparent under-performance, and things that those same numbers are not telling.
The dramatic statistical fluctuation is the result of the influence of international projects on their host states; Victoria had a high in 07/08 with the HBO mini-series The Pacific – $100m of spend – and US-financed Happy Feet 2 and Legend of the Guardians tipped the balance in favour of NSW the following year.
“Like the other states, the depressed US dollar had a significant impact on Australia’s ability to attract production,” said Film Victoria CEO Sandra Sdraulig.
“NSW-based companies had the fortune to have those two films included in their expenditure. “
“Those figures are always going to seesaw between Sydney and Melbourne, with the Gold Coast attracting some of that. It’s a natural kind of fluctuation,” explained the Victorian chapter head of the Screen Producers Association of Australia, Jim Shomos. “The key is how much local production is being created and made by local independent producers. That’s the main question.”
And indeed, the survey’s production investment total is slightly misleading because it doesn’t show the level of local production and generation of Australian-owned intellectual property generated by Victorian creatives.
While the combined budgets of local features and television productions can’t boost the numbers the way The Pacific could, many production companies have actually been able to increase their slates.
“Both TV and feature local production expenditure increased by approximately $40m,” said Sdraulig, citing 5,164 full-time jobs created as a result. “The TV sector is thriving – some of Australia’s longest running and most popular shows are filmed here. We’re the only state to have a dedicated TV production program, which has also extensively supported the development of pilots.”
The TV sector contributed $131.9m to the state’s activity, providing consistent expenditure and work. “Production investment, script development and slate funding – has helped local production companies like Renegade grow from producing TV advertisements to successful shows like Rockwiz and Wilfred, and documentaries like Inside the Firestorm,” added Sdraulig.
So, does the loss of the statistical crown ultimately affect the self-esteem of Victorian practitioners?
“Not at all,” she said. “The Victorian industry is incredibly resilient. The talent here translates into confidence in the industry. Local production companies are building impressive slates and the local industry is performing strongly.”
TAKING THE INITIATIVE
Shomos says the Victorian chapter of SPAA is the most consistent and well-voiced of all, and not just because of the amount of experienced producers in the state, but also due to their need to be heard, since a majority of the decision-making in the film and television industries takes place in Sydney.
“So many decisions are made in Sydney,” said Shomos. “The broadcasters and Screen Australia are based there, and that does have an effect on people.”
But according to Shomos, Marta Coleman’s development team at Screen Australia has understood the importance of having a higher presence in Victoria, which has somehow corrected the imbalance.
Another issue that the producer has identified is that, although not as noticeable as a $100m Hollywood project, there is yet another level of runaway production in Victoria: the interstate kind.
“While it’s a fantastic thing to have all this production happening in TV, many projects are from bigger interstate production companies coming to utilise the facilities, support and logistical ease of producing in Victoria, like Southern Star and Screentime,” he said. “We’re not always benefiting in terms of emerging producing talent.”
While not all of the 58 film and TV productions supported by Victoria were originated there, they did keep many of its crews and service providers busy, with features (Red Hill, X, Summer Coda, The Kings of Mykonos, Six Lovers, South Solitary), TV series (Angry Boys, Lowdown, Dead Gorgeous, The Slap, Killing Time, and new series of Rush, Tangle, Bed of Roses and The Librarians, among others) and documentaries (Anatomy – Series 2, Inside the Firestorm, Hawke, etc.). There was also post-production-only work for James Cameron’s project Sanctum and ABC3’s series Dance Academy.
In terms of international attraction, Victoria has its Production Investment Attraction Fund (PIAF) and Regional Location Assistance Fund (RLAF) to capture the attention of overseas producers. International highlights for this financial year include 2009’s Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, The Killer Elite (starring Jason Statham and Clive Owen; shooting this month) and the Indian production Orange – which also had a NSW shoot.
In other areas, one of Victoria’s most important initiatives is its Digital Media Funding, which that the state has pioneered by providing support for cross-platform projects and video games, like the Downloadable Games Initiative for the creation of prototypes for online distribution. Shomos – whose work in the area made him the winner of an International Digital Emmy in 2008 – believes it is the one sector where local creatives can compete fairly with world-best practice products.
“Digital provides a level playing field with anywhere else in the world, whereas with film it’s much more difficult to compete with a $100m production. With digital media, we can compete effectively and succeed,” he said.
(note from the editor: Victoria’s digital budget has been slashed in the 2010/2011 budget, as reported by The Age).
In terms of Film Victoria’s contribution to the Federal Government review, Sdraulig said the state agencies would be making a joint submission, but from Victoria’s point of view, there were four elements that should be looked at: a) the effectiveness of the Producer Offset’s 20 percent rebate for television; b) the need to increase the 15 percent Location Offset to make the country more attractive to overseas productions; c) More comprehensive data collection and analysis from Screen Australia, particularly in the digital media sector; and d) expanding rebates and incentives to the games sector.
NOT SO FESTIVE MIFF
The Melbourne International Film Festival is one of Victoria’s strongest screen industry components. It is currently undergoing structural changes; executive director Richard Moore left in February to join Screen Queensland as head of screen culture. Board chair Claire Dobbin announced two new positions, festival director and CEO, with respective programming and business functions, as recommended by consultancy company KPMG.
While the official version was all about ‘thank yous’ and exciting plans, MIFF was said to be “in crisis, with its board at loggerheads with its management”, with reports claiming that Moore was told his position would cease to exist months before the official announcement of his departure, and the existence of a letter from former MIFF business manager Mary Mahoney to Film Victoria “in which serious concerns were raised about the behaviour of the board”, accusing Dobbin of “micro-management of the office” (“Film festival crisis as struggle for control unreels”, The Age, March 11,2010).
Encore requested an interview with Dobbin, but a spokesperson said that “in terms of doing interviews about this matter, the festival prefers to move forward and focus on putting this year’s edition”, and sent a written statement from Dobbin:
“A KPMG review of MIFF recommended organisational changes to best position MIFF going forward, and bring it into line with other film and arts festivals around Australia. It is acknowledged that change can be difficult and a former staff member did not agree with the changes, as was reported by The Age in an article which grossly overstated the situation.”
Dobbin added: “Whilst differences of opinion do occur between the Board and senior management from time to time, this has not led to any sense of crisis and MIFF executive director Richard Moore and his dedicated team are completely focussed on delivering an outstanding festival in 2010 with the full support of the Board.”
The recruitment process for the two new positions is currently taking place. In the meantime, the 2010 edition will see the premiere of the MIFF Premiere Fund supported features Kin, Matching Jack and Blame, and the documentaries Ben Lee: Catch My Disease, Machete Maidens & Midget Mayhem, and Mother of Rock.
STUDYING THE STUDIOS
Another Melbourne screen institution that has been under public scrutiny this year is the Melbourne Central City Studios at Docklands.
In 2002 the state entered into an agreement with a developer to build and operate the MCCS, with a $31.5m loan. The contract was modified and the state guaranteed $14.5m of the developer’s borrowings, and deferred the repayment of its loan to February 2008.
But in June 2008, the operator requested the state to buy the company, for which Victoria paid $6m the following November. The net assets were then valued at $11.7m, but a post-purchase valuation conducted by the state wrote down $11.2m, leaving net assets of $500,000. According to MCCS the write down is the result of a change in the estimated life of the administration building and warehouse, from 40 years in the first valuation to five and 10 respectively; a decision which could be reversed if the ongoing MCCS review determines an extension of the useful life of the assets.
Additionally, in the last financial year, MCCS recorded a loss of $6.8m. The company says that only $3.63m of that loss can be attributed to trading performance.
The state’s Auditor-General Des Pearson reported to Parliament that the studios had “a high financial viability risk due to their current-year losses”, and that MCCS’s future plans are forecasts were sensitive to the global economy, “and therefore uncertain”. He added that while MCCS has created over $470m in economic activity, it has not met its commercial KPIs.
“Many people have failed to understand that film production is cyclical; there are busy years followed by quiet years,” said MCCS CEO Rod Allan when asked about the attacks on the studios. “MCCS hosted the huge The Pacific […] It’s no surprise that we could not match the level of activity the following year.
“People need to see the studio as an enabling asset for the development of the local film industry and growth of the economy. It has to be able to service both local and international productions,” argued Allan.
MCCS hosted the Miramax thriller Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark in the third quarter of 2009. Allan told Encore that they have booked two features, one TV drama pilot and three audience-based TV series, with “at least two more productions slated later in the year”.
As for the MCCS precinct fulfilling the long-term objective of becoming a hub of production services, hosting permanent tenants, Allan admitted that “due to a number of factors, this has not yet been achieved”.
The government has identified areas of opportunity and infrastructure development, including a horizon tank, but everything is on hold until the review on studio facilities’ needs, commissioned last year, is completed.
“There are numerous options for the studio’s future, but we’ll have to wait and see what the government decides,” said Allan.
(note from the editor: the Victorian Government announced an investment of $4.4m on the studios).
NSW, CATCHING UP
New South Wales has been quite aggressive in terms of incentives to attract productions and events that will help transform the state into the ‘creative capital of Australia’, but Victoria is not fazed.
“We’re pleased that NSW has caught up, and we will continue to try to lead the way,” said Sdraulig. “NSW has stated publicly that it has modelled its new and recent incentives approach in response to our template and success. We’re proud to have steered the way and delighted to have a new passenger. However, I say passenger because our focus should be on securing productions for Australia, not competing with each other.”
