Don't be a P(i)RAT(e).....

On the news today it was reported that there has been a rise in video and film piracy thanks to the reduction in household incomes and the increased speed of broadband connections which are making illegal downloading easier.  A 'pirate' was interviewed. When asked if he was concerned that he was having a direct negative impact on film making and putting people out of work he was unapologetic.  'They get paid enough' he said.

Well buddy, let me just help you out a bit on this one.  While it might not affect the producers and directors, further down the production chain it has a dramatic impact. Yes, by and large jobs in film and tv production are well paid... when you're working. When you aren't you don't get anything.   Most people in film and tv are on Schedule D tax. If they are out of work, most can't even claim benefits as they are assessed on their previous years accounts so if the previous year was a good one it's just hard luck. No state help for you. What? You paid 40% tax last year? Tough!

Pay and conditions in the film industry have declined dramatically in the last few years. While my work colleagues are all moaning about losing their over-generous car allowances, The Husband is working for the same company he worked for in 2004 for £250 pounds a WEEK less. Holiday pay is now deducted from your paycheck each week then paid back to you at the end of the shoot so in reality you are paying for it yourself, there is no sick pay, maternity pay, and certainly no time off unless it's as a result of death, plague or pestilence. Pensions? Not a hope. Accomodation allowances are rarely paid now. If you work away from home you have to pay for your own accommodation.  Try finding reasonably priced accommodation for 3 or 4 months. It's hopeless. Letting agencies don't want to know as it's too short for an assured shorthold tenancy, private landlords are equally wary, which leaves hotels or serviced apartments, all of which are hideously expensive. And if you think they'll do you a good deal for a long let, think again. They know they have you over a barrel.  The Husband recently worked on a production where the set designer was living in a caravan in the car park of the TV studios. Oh, yes indeed. It certainly is a glamorous life! 

Further down the production chain, the runners and assistants, who previously could have expected to at least be paid their expenses, now often have to work for nothing.

Negotiating a deal with a production company has become a largely pointless exercise.  If you don't like their terms and conditions then there is probably a long queue of unemployed people lined up behind you who will.  The Husband has been told several times recently 'If you don't like it......' 

When there is work, the hours would make the average person feel faintly queasy.  The Husband's average day will start at 6am to be on set at 7am and then he'll work through until maybe 9 or 10 at night. If he's actually on set he might get a lunch break, if he's not then he won't.  Most filming weeks are now 6 days as the productions need to get the filming done as quickly as possible to keep costs down. The one 'day off' is usually spent dressing sets in preparation for the first day's shooting of the following week. How else can they get it ready?  Overtime is not paid. Family life is non-existent. In the 'old days' we would globetrot with him, going away on location for months on end. The production always provide a nice apartment or hotel suite - though he always had to pay extra when we were with him.  Holidays were spent in Barbados (although usually on cheapie last minute deals because you can never plan ahead).  These days we can't afford to go with him as all accommodation costs  must be covered ourselves. This year's holiday will be spent in France trying to get the rent money out of our non-paying tenants.

When The Husband started out, the industry was a closed shop. No Union Membership. No Job. You had to be proposed and seconded by current members or you couldn't get in.  While I'm not a wholesale fan of unions, in film and tv they did fight for their members and conditions and pay were far better.  Since they have lost their influence, pay has decreased, working days have got longer, deferred payment productions have increased (this is where you work for low/no pay and are paid when the film starts to make money, assuming it ever does).  The Husband's pay has not really increased in the past 10 years and in the last few has dropped dramatically.

With the financial crisis, the heart was cut out of UK film and television production funding. Productions closed overnight and work dried up. The Husband, who was used to working 10 out of 12 months at the very minimum suddenly had no work for nearly two years. Two years during which time he had to cash in his pensions, use up all our savings, even sell personal possessions to pay the gas bill.  We know other people who were far worse off, who lost their homes and everything they owned. We know of some who took their own lives.  I learned to feed my family for a few quid, grew my own vegetables and became fairly proficient at make do and mend.  It's alright if you are Kirstie Allsop, doing it for faintly nostaligic reasons, not because you have to, some may say it's character building. I just think is was shit.  Meanwhile, Mr Video Pirate thinks they're all well paid fat cats. The truth is that every penny that is taken away from UK film and television production is a penny that is not paid to someone who is, in all likelihood, already struggling to make ends meet. Not the producers. They'll be fine.  But the people lower down, the ones just starting out and trying to make a career for themselves. The ones who will have to work well past conventional retirement age just to claw back what they lost in the recession. I've told The Husband that we'll both be working till we are 80 then it's straight off to Dignitas.  He laughed. He thought I was joking.....

Film and TV production is now picking up. The Husband has been working flat out since last September on a number of different projects but all up in Manchester, a long way from home in the South West.  Still, it gave him the chance to share the Granada TV canteen with the 'guests' of The Jeremy Kyle Show recently. I told him to keep his distance otherwise he might find himself in the comfy chair having a paternity test for some slapper from Scunthorpe.  You see what I mean about the glamour!

UK art department crew are the envy of the world. They are, without doubt, the most incredibly talented film and television professionals in the world. They produce top quality films for a fraction of the cost of their US counterparts. We should be celebrating them, not taking their livelihoods away. Times are tough for everyone but please, give them a chance. Don't be a P(i)RAT(e)!