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.