John Edwards: ‘The Australian production sector has run itself into a stagnant billabong’
One of Australia’s most lauded television producers has warned that TV networks are opting for the safe route by commissioning only short eight-to-ten episode series and he has also chastised local television producers for the size of the budgets they expect.
Edwards: ‘we have run ourselves into a stagnant billabong’
Delivering the Hector Crawford Memorial Lecture John Edwards, the man behind major hits such as Off Spring, The Secret Life of Us and Police Rescue, today warned the the audience they needed to look at their budgets and whether they could still achieve a good result with a less money.
“My view on the present state of drama production industry is that we have run ourselves into a stagnant billabong,” said Edwards at the Screen Forever conference in Melbourne.
“Less production, same writers over and over, rising costs for no apparent quality gain, shrinking audiences and increasingly reliant on subsidy. All the excitement of bringing through new work, new talent is slowly dissipating.
“The area that has been historically the largest and most productive sector of the Australian broadcast industry has all but disappeared and people keep saying its the golden age of television drama. The emperor has no clothes and he is wearing very weird underwear.”
Edwards cited his budget for The Secret Life of Us to argue it was time for the industry to look at why costs were rising and what we being achieved for that investement.
“My budget for that show was $500,000 to $550,000 (for) an hour (of content), pretty much half of what it costs for an hour of content today,” he said. “And a tiny fraction of what it costs for some.”
However, while conceding that The Secret Life of Us was filmed a decade ago he noted: “100 to 400 per cent inflation seems out of whack especially when there has not been a commensurate increase in the quality of productions. The only significant cost increase across the board has been in the writers and cast fees.”
Edwards argued that TV Networks were taking the safer choice commissioning shorter series for fear they wouldn’t rate well.
“Why wouldn’t the network opt first time around to go with say eight parts and have up to 40 per cent tax payer funded subsidy?,”asked Edwards.
“It’s very understandable that this has become the predominant form. Because six and eight part shows ordinarily cost between $1 and $1.2 million per hour, and once those production structures and so on are in place, the problem becomes it’s very hard to bring budgets down, even if the number of episodes is increased in the future – we’re all both creatures of habit and justifiers of our situations.
“The million dollar plus an episode series becomes “normal”.
Edward’s speech has been welcomed by the Screen Production industry body.
“John Edwards’ lecture is an important wake up call to our industry to consider the challenges facing television drama production this country,” said Matthew Deaner CEO of Screen Producers Australia.
“The recent Screen Australia Drama Production Report confirmed that production of Australian television drama is at its lowest point in a decade.
“Contributing to this trend are several factors, including a move to shorter series as well as sharp declines in commercial television commissioning.”
Nic Christensen
An indulgent, not particularly insightful or helpful speech from the a man who has been totally protected for two decades by the company he works for, and has personally benefitted from the networks’ risk aversion, at the expense of independent producers, from the gale force winds of change that have seen drama commissioning levels drop to the lowest levels in our lifetimes. Never mind the quality feel the width? Particularly not helpful when SPA is a long way down path to secure the 40% Offset the industry needs to address so many of these concerns. Not everyone has a job inside one of the big 7 global media behemoths. Bot much agility or innovation coming from the incumbents.
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Great address. Insightful. Particularly insightful. And helpful.
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100% 0n the nail and the first time in yonks that I have seen the absolute ( well nearly absolute) truth in print from a credible source.
Funding and budgeting is essential, but money, and ever more and ever increasing money can never make good drama from bad drama, or good drama any better.
The hunger for ratings has blinded producers (those who had the sight in the first place) to potential theatrical success. The nonsensical thinking that a star is the universal actor, that a graduate of NIDA or any other academy will come fully equipped as a leading actor, that a bigger budget will get the better artist or that a previous winner will win again and again. All are faulty thinking when it comes to theatre, and wherever drama is to be produced, we are talking about theatre.
Back to basics is always needed in theatre, where the end result is the achieved by individual input where rehearsal is free and nutritious sustenance, and think it through, tighten it up, re run it and tighten it again, are all more important than star acts and mere money.
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Spot on Ronnie.
I’d back your body of work over that of John Edward’s any day.
Now just remind me what they were.
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@ JG
Yes, your comment is valid, but if you don’t know the story, check wiki and you tube for examples.
When, the unheard of, Joseph Schmidt arrived at the Berlin radio station to audition, he
could not be seen over the top of the piano, because although a mature adult, he was only 4 feet 11inches tall. The accompanist and the recording engineer both snickered and made jokes, but they soon stopped and listened when he began to sing.
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Well bugger me Richard. When did Joseph change his name to Ronnie!?!
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@JG Please don’t mistake my intent – I’m pleased the most successful and prolific television drama producer in the country has called out the problem – and he’s totally right about the risk aversion, consequent repetition and creative stagnation. It’s just I don’t agree it’s only a budget problem. Shine, Fremantlemedia (owned by Bertelsmann) and NBCUni market cap $10B (yes that’s a B, owned by Comcast market cap $100B) are media behemoths who could not, until very recently, apply to Screen Australia for funding. That rule was quietly changed, without industry consultation and has quickly changed the industry dynamic. These huge companies are aggressively securing all the available opportunities and wiping out the creative base which is a contributing factor to the stagnation he correctly identifies. It’s not the only factor. Digital disruption has fragmented audiences and changed the business model for FTA forever. There is no going back. How can we protect and re-energise the creative base? How can Australian drama compete in a global market? He’s looking at the problem from his protected point of view. There are other points of view. I cannot compete with John Edwards track record. No-one can.
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@Ronnie
You are wrong when you say that No one can compete with John Edwards, there is always an open playing field for competition this is what keeps creativity alive.
You are right when you say there is no going back, nobody can ever go back, that is why the return journey is always a source of revelation, We must always go forward, the only alternative is to die.
@JG Nice retort, made me smile, but my suggestion was an invitation to create.
The diamond sparkles most often when it is turned in the light.
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@ronnie , you have totally missed the point!!
The point is an offset without a volume commitment by the network is counterintuitive to brining through new talent etc.
The volume doesn’t have to be per series! There could be many 13 or shorter parters.
If you just have a bigger offer, same amount gets made albeit at a higher hourly budget and you’re still locked out…
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And 54 hours of drama outside the soaps last year is appalling!
Unfortunately the industry in Aus requires regulation to keep the industry alive which in the current world would likely also help the networks stave off their online invaders
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Gaz, please enlighten me as to many first-run hours the ‘online invaders’ produced last year.
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Maybe write a script/tv show worth watching and things may be different.
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JG, none. That’s the point. How do you differentiate yourself with imports.
More local makes your service more relevant and less prone to piracy damage etc.
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