It was a last minute thing for us, going to Edinburgh TV Festival this year. Of course, it’s the kind of industry event we should be at every year – it’s a perfect mix of business and pleasure for TP: mingling with both indie and broadcaster clients as well as freelancers, but for a small business in the current climate, it’s tough to justify the cost of hotels and trains (inflated during the Fringe) as well as the Festival Pass itself.
But when Kimberly was asked to be part of a panel session called ‘TV’s Invisible Army: Tackling the Freelancer Crisis, with travel and day pass covered (thanks team EdTVFest), we could hardly turn down the opportunity. For two reasons: to speak up about what we think could be done, as well as get stuck into some other sessions and big conversations – and report our findings back to you, who couldn’t be there.
So here’s our take.
The vibe felt good – respectful of the current challenging climate, but with a feeling of gratitude to be there amongst our people, and celebratory of certain achievements against the odds.
The common theme – although it wasn’t stated as that – was clearly ‘class’, with James Graham’s MacTaggart keynote speech covering social class and regionality, a brilliant session called ‘The C Word (Class)’ and Carol Vorderman’s alternative MacTaggart about regional, class and educational snobbery and London.
The state of the nation is on everyone’s lips. Lots of ‘what’s next?’, ‘I can’t afford it either’ and ‘how long will this last?’, but cautious optimism that things might be improving. Yet a resigned sense that it is changed forever, with most mid-budget content simply gone, and most money and effort focused on premium, global content and digital.
On our single day there, we hotfooted between these sessions:
‘Back from the Brink: Reimagining the Future of TV’
A lot has changed in a short time: this was a brutal and whistlestop tour of what’s changed and why, and discussing things like the potential threat of losing social purpose content to chase global ratings, and how only 48% of 18-24yos watch any TV at all.
‘Is this the Beginning of the End for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion?’
In short no. Sure, we’ve heard of a couple of roles in DEI in bigger organisations being made redundant which is upsetting, but this seems in line with their general structural changes and cuts. For successful work in DEI, collaboration across the industry is key (“it’s not a competitive sport!”), as is embedding inclusion into an organisation’s DNA and reflecting on how far we’ve come in 10 years.
‘TV’s Invisible Army: Tackling The Freelancer Crisis’
Kimberly’s panel. Not as well attended as we’d all hoped. But to be fair, we were up against ‘Will. I. Am: AI and the Future of Creativity’, and a Disney Plus commissioner panel, so we get it. Although we have since wondered whether it was indeed a scheduling oversight, or a conscious decision…
We discussed big picture changes with the new iteration of the Freelance Charter promising a funded position to push through much needed change, and the importance of communication from indies and broadcasters to freelancers – especially when times are tough. Would’ve been nice to see more commissioners in the room listening to important insights on the situation!
‘Game on… How Squid Game: the Challenge Redefined Reality TV’
A fascinating insight into how two of the biggest production companies, Studio Lambert and The Garden Productions came together to co-produce a hit competition show on a scale never before imagined, let alone made. Aside from the organising the massive stunts, how much or toothpaste do you need to buy for 456 people, anyone?!
MacTaggart key note speech
Screenwriter James Graham delivered a stonking MacTaggart calling out class as “everyone’s least favourite diversity and representation category”, with only a shocking 8% of people working in film and TV from a working-class background. He wonders whether class feels more complex to people to pinpoint with the British ’embarrassment over money thing’. Let’s hope this kicks off the same kind of conversations that Jack Thorne’s MacTaggart did, which resulted in the super successful TAP.
That evening, we mingled with some Ones to Watch and TP’s indie clients and friends at the National Museum where we exchanged stories – both positive and challenging – which always feels good.
Certainly a whistlestop visit, but it really felt like a privilege, and we raised a toast to this challenging last year and everyone out of work.
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