broadcast' magazine 2009 post production supplement

PostPostProduction

6 March 2009 | Broadcast | 29www.broadcastnow.co.uk

I

‘It’s important not to let the gloom over the economy obscure the fact that the UK’s post market is still a vibrant place to be’

DAVIDWOOD

Toughing it out in post

30 The Top 50

36 Business trends

40 Indies and post-production

42 International scene

Contents

David Wood Emily Booth Will Strauss Colin Birch Peter Gingell Sangeeta Chauhan Lorna Whittick, David Longworth Alison Pitchford

Rebecca Hainsworth Jo Knowles Nathan Leong

30

36

40

Post Survey

30 | Broadcast | 6 March 2009 www.broadcastnow.co.uk

Post Survey The top 50

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Industry overview

Market watershed

Down… but not out

‘It was a corking year. Then September happened and everybody just froze. The global recession had a real impact in terms of fear’Penny Verbe, managing director, Smoke and Mirrors

Revenue from TV brought in by the top 50 post-production companies in 2008.

£267m BBC Post Production: top TV turnover in UK post with £40m


6 March 2009 | Broadcast | 31 www.broadcastnow.co.uk

THE TOP 50 TELEVISION POST-PRODUCTION COMPANIES 1 – 28

1 BBC Post Production 40.00 98 40.80 429 (40) Beijing Olympic Games, Criminal Justice, Oceans: full post

2 The Farm Group 24.00 100 24.00** 240(40) The Devil’s Whore, The X Factor – series 5, Lead Balloon: full post

3 Barcud Derwen 15.00 90 16.60** 200 (100) Only Connect, Santa, Rivers and Life

4 Input Media 14.70 98 15.00** 185(20) Uefa Euro 2008 official Preview Shows, Davis Cup and Federation Cup highlights shows, Uefa Champions League highlights and magazine shows: full post

5 3SixtyMedia 13.50 90 15.00** 43# (20) Coronation Street, The Street series 2, Britannia High: full post

6 Pinewood Shepperton 12.00 32 37.00** 221 Little Dorrit: studios and audio; Waking the Dead, series 7: audio; Lily Allen Show: studio

7 Evolutions 10.90 99 11.00 146 (20) The Apprentice – series 4, Top Gear – series 11 and 12, The F Word – series 4: full post 8 Leeds Post – The Leeds 10.00 50 20.00** 164 (74) Wire in the Blood, Spooks Code 9, Emmerdale: full post Studios

9 The London Studios 9.40 100 9.40 78# (30) Come Dine with Me, Dirty Dancing, Britain’s Best Dish: full post 10 Molinare 8.90 80 11.10 147 (5) Silent Witness, MasterChef, Trawlermen series 2 and 3: full post

11 Films at 59 7.70 95 8.10 90 (0) Dickinson’s Real Deal, Nick Baker: full post; Shaun the Sheep: audio

12 Mediahouse 7.65 90 8.50** 63 (35) Superstars, Ryder Cup Official Film: full post; Forum: studio

13 Prime Focus Group (UK) 7.60 40 19.00 275 (5) The Beckoning Silence: grade, online; King Lear, The American Future: A History: grade, online and audio 14 Ascent142 6.80 41 16.60 178 (20) The Diary of Anne Frank, Apparitions – series 1, episodes 4-6, Tess of the D’Urbervilles: full post 15 The Mill 6.48 15 43.20 392 (68) Doctor Who – series 4, Merlin – series 1, Demons – series 1: grade, online, VFX

16 Framestore CFC 5.40 10 54.00 610 (50) Primeval, 39 Steps, The Crooked House: VFX 17 Envy 4.90 60 8.20 115 (0) The Restaurant, Gladiators: full post; FA Cup titles: smoke, grade

18 Sumners 4.40 97 4.50 64 (28) Waterloo Road, Dragons’ Den, The Royle Family Christmas Special: full post 19 Twofour Digital 4.00 80 5.00** 39 (10) Are You Smarter Than a 10 Year Old?, Make My Body Younger: full post; The Hotel Inspector: offline, graphics, online, audio 20 Pepper 3.90 80 4.90 73 (0) Sharpe’s Peril: vfx, online, grade; Colour of Magic, Murder of Billy Jo: online and grade 21 Clear Cut Pictures 3.20 90 3.47 40 (4) Catastrophes, Ascent of Money, Horizon: full post

21 Crow TV 3.20 85 3.80 45 (2) Golden Balls, Super Size vs Super Skinny, Alan Whicker’s Journey of a Lifetime: full post 23 Breathe 3.00 100 3.00 25 (4) Gok Wan: Too Fat Too Young, Consuming Passion: 100 Years of Mills & Boon, Only When I Dance 24 Smoke & Mirrors 2.90 29 10.00 98 (7) Creative Burst for Five idents, ITV2 Rebrand idents, BBC Proms

25 LipSync Post 2.70 24 11.25** 65 (7) Animal Planet: teaser campaign; Britain from Above, Supersizers Go...: titles

26 Editworks 2.60 90 2.85 30 (0) Harry Hill’s TV Burp – series 8, The Graham Norton Snow – series 4, In It to Win It – series 9: offline, online, audio 26 Soho Film Lab 2.60 32 8.00 85 (3) Rushes and telecine work on Ascent 142 productions 28 Suite 2.50 95 2.64 25 (0) Extras – series 2 and Special, Not Going Out, The Inbetweeners – series 1 and 2: full post

Name £m TV turnover 2008 % from TV £m turnover 2008 Staff (freelance) Key credits for 2008

** Turnover includes non post-production work Post-production turnover Figures from 2007 # Post-production staff

For all the latest breaking news, updated daily, visitwww.broadcastnow.co.uk



‘If they’re cancelling shows such as Heartbeat then who knows what will be cancelled next’Nicky Sargent, managing director, The Farm Group

Budgets squeezed

Price war

Combined revenue of the top 10 post-production facilities derived from television in 2008.

£158m

POST-PRODUCTION REVENUES

Top 10 facilities’ combined revenues year on year 2008 – £158m 2007 – £165m 2006 – £144m 2005 – £124m

Top 5 post houses by all revenue Framestore CFC – £54m MPC – £50.6m The Mill – £43.2m BBC Post – £40.8m The Farm Group – £24m

Framestore: The 39 Steps


THE TOP 50 TELEVISION POST-PRODUCTION COMPANIES 29 – 50

29 MPC (Moving Picture 2.50 5 50.60 325 (325) Sky rebrand: 3D, flame, grade; More 4, The Shining promo: flame and grade; Company) Antiques Roadshow promo: HD, flame, 3D, grade

30 Technicolor Creative 2.10 15 14.00 130 (10) House of Saddam, Into the Storm, Sleep with Me: negative development, Services UK dailies, full picture, audio, deliverables

31 Halo Post Production 1.70 75 1.95 26 (2) Hancock and Joan, Mutual Friends: online and audio; Britain’s Next Top Model: online, grade and audio

32 Platform Post 1.65 97 1.70 16 (4) Thomas the Tank Engine: online, picture; Trapped, Horrible Histories: full post 33 Bubble TV 1.40 90 1.50 12 (1) Mission Beach USA, Meerkat Manor 4: full post; Dispatches – Saving Africa’s Witch Children: online, audio

33 The Joint 1.40 75 1.80 20 (2) Baftas 2008 packages, Frock Me: offline, online, grade, audio; Oasis Electric Proms 2008: offline, online, grade

35 Wild Tracks Audio Studios 1.30 90 1.43 19 (1) Skatoony Series 3, Nickelodeon Promos, BBC Worldwide Promos: audio 35 The Club 1.30 80 1.60 27 (4) Finishing, editing and audio for broadcasters

35 Rapid Pictures 1.30 70 1.75 15 (5) Borderforce: full post; Victorian Farm: audio; Young at Heart (cinematic release): offline, online

35 Lola 1.30 65 2.00 12 (15) Catastrophes, Fearless Planet, Clash of the Santas: CG and VFX sequences

39 Zero DB 1.00 95 1.10 5 (5) Football Hurts, Living with Boy George, Prison Break: Access All Areas: offline, online, grade

39 Fluid Pictures 1.00 90 1.10 8 (6) Colour of Magic: VFX; Special Forces: graphics, VFX; Monster Moves – series 3: graphics

41 HD Heaven 0.95 95 1.00 3 (0) Fifth Gear – series 14, Gadget Show – series 9 and 10, Fifth Gear Europe – series 1: online, grade, VFX

41 Mwnci 0.95 95 1.00 12 (2) Amazon with Bruce Parry, Grandpa in my Pocket: online, grade

41 Jump 0.95 95 0.99 12 (0) ITV1’s Euro 2008 titles, I’d Do Anything titles, Setanta’s England World Cup Qualifiers titles

44 Locomotion 0.94 20 4.70 43 (10) Little Howard’s Big Question: character development, compositing and full post of animated sequences; Extraordinary People: 3D and FX on Little Mermaid episode

45 Rainbow Post 0.90 90 0.98 19 (2) The Hindenburg Disaster: full post; Police Interceptors: grade, VFX, online; Jack Osbourne: Adrenaline Junkie – series 4: audio

45 Online Post Production 0.90 75 1.20 12 (8) Inside Hamas: offline, online, grade, graphics, v/o, audio mix; The Unwinking Gaze: online, grade, v/o, audio mix; Buena Vista Social Club at Carnegie Hall: offline, online, visual effects

47 Yellowmoon 0.84 70 1.20 11 (4) Future Weapons: full post; The Bests: offline, audio

47 Unit Post Production 0.84 35 2.40 40 (10) Extreme Bodies – series 1: offline, online, audio, grade; Timewatch: Last day of WW1: online, audio; Nightcops – series 1: offline, online, audio, VFX, grade

49 Aquarium 0.70 60 1.17 12 (0) Merlin, City of Vice, Fiona’s Story: audio

50 Rushes 0.69 8 8.60 95 (4) Human Body: VFX; National Television Awards 2008: VFX, graphics, programme packaging; Phoo Action: VFX, 3D

Name £m TV turnover 2008 % from TV £m turnover 2008 Staff (freelance) Key credits for 2008

Figures from 2007

Halo Post Production: Mutual Friends Molinare: MasterChefBBC Post Production: Beijing Olympics

Thanks also to the following companies for their time and input: Coach House Studios, M8media, Diverse Post Production, DGP, Run VT LTD, Dubbs / Eyeframe, Doghouse Post Production, Silverglade Associates, Concrete, 422 Manchester, Fifty Fifty Post Production Ltd, Sequence Post-Production Ltd, Editz Design and Post Production, West Digital Ltd, Gemini Audio, Tide UK, Bigbuoy, The Digital Audio Co, Nice Biscuits Post Production, Freehand, Steam Motion and Sound UK, RocketThe following companies declined the offer to take part: Deluxe, MTV Studios, The Station

For all the latest breaking news, updated daily, visitwww.broadcastnow.co.uk

www.broadcastnow.co.uk34 | Broadcast | 6 March 2009


Question of survival

The number of people employed in post production, across some 300 companies

8,000

‘I’d rather work with 100 clients all spending £500 than have two clients spending a hundred grand’Chris Phinikas, owner, Bubble TV

GROWTHNot every company needs or wants to grow in terms of reve-nue. But banks are very inter-ested in growth, not least because they need to know whether the company will be able to meet its financial obligations. And in a recession, the more a company is growing, the more money is left over and available to cover outstanding liabilities.

While the recession may not have quite bitten in 2008, what is very clear from the results of the Broadcast Post Survey is that there has been a major shift in revenue growth among the top 50 post houses. Taking into account all income, there are significantly fewer companies bringing in increased revenue year on year.

In the 2007 survey, 27 of the top 50 companies saw their incoming cash go up year on year while seven saw it go down. In 2008, just 19 went up and as many as 15 saw their income go down. While the rest stayed the same, that’s quite a shift. So how have the successful companies bucked the trend?

The biggest riser was sports specialist Input Media, which works with Setanta and ITV and is behind football club channels such as Arsenal TV and Chelsea TV.

Input’s David Johnson says the main driver for growth was quite

simply the winning of contracts. “Ours is very much a contract-based business,” he says. “There’s been a dramatic increase. In particular we won and took on transmission work for Setanta and won the FA interna-tional feed contract.”

Greg Darby, managing director and owner of Yellowmoon, says drama was a large growth area for his company. “That accounted for a large increase in our staff and turnover,” he says.

Penny Verbe at Smoke and Mir-rors puts her company’s growth down to elbow grease. She says: “It’s all down to working hard and seizing opportunities. We know we’re not saving lives but we try to do the absolutely best we can on a job whether it’s reversioning or a

promo. We pitch hard on every job. We’ll do treatments, we’ll do tests, we’ll do break-downs. Whatever it takes to get the job.”

The fastest growing companies (in terms of percentage increase in sales year on year)*

Input Media +97 Smoke & Mirrors +65 Framestore CFC +58 Yellowmoon +54 Aquarium +38 The Farm +33 Unit +30 Films@59 +25 HD Heaven +25 Lip Sync +22

* only includes companies that provided figures in both 2007 and 2008.

Aquarium: Merlin


Post Survey Business trends

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Survival of the fittest…Editing: desktop systems are dominating as the price of technology falls

‘If [post houses] want access to money on more favourable terms, maybe they should speak to venture capitalists’Gareth Wilding, director, Fineline


‘You have to assess your business constantly, month by month. You have to be adaptable’Natascha Cadle, facility director, Envy

AVCO THE AVERAGE POST PRODUCTION BUSINESS

The fictional facilities operation Avco didn’t have the ideal 2008. It certainly did not outperform the market like it did in 2007, when it grew by some 25%. As a result of difficult market condi-tions, turnover for 2008 was up by just 3% to £7m. But at least it was up.

Like many broadcast-reliant facilities, Avco, whose figures are generated from the average for all the companies completing the Post Survey that do at least some television work, was the victim of a hardening of rates and a reduction in the number of commissions. But, interestingly, monies from TV actually increased at a faster rate than overall turnover, going up by about 11% to £3.9m.

With just over half of sales com-ing from broadcast customers, it means commercials and film were slightly less important last year. Monies generated from those two

sectors accounted for 15% and 12% of business respectively. Last year the figures were 20% and 15%. But increasingly, other areas of business are playing a role with, for example, corporate now accounting for 5% and IPTV/interactive for 4% (see chart below).

Avco is still based in London and still faces the same threats and difficulties (rent, price wars, staff costs) as it did in previous years. But it is looking carefully at its overheads now, and employing significantly less staff. The staff count (including anomalies such as BBC Resources and Framestore CFC, which employ 1,000 people between them) is 57. This is down by 14 people on last year. The number of freelanc-ers being employed has gone up by two to 12.

Despite – or perhaps because of this – Avco made a profit again this year.

STAFFING IN UK POST

46% of respondents say they are currently operating at optimum staffing levels

15% say they would need a fifth more staff to work effectively

49% say they could afford to lose only 5% of staff and still do a good job

17% say they couldn't afford to lose any staff

of the companies surveyed want the government to set up a loan scheme for post houses

52%

IPTV etc 4%DVD 4%

Broadcast 55%

Film 15%

Commercials 12%

Pop promos 3%Corporate 5%

Other 2%

SOURCES OF WORK


Post Survey Business trends

LOSS LEADERS UNDERCUTTING AND POACHING

Loss leaders are unpopular in the post industry, but predatory oper-ators are known to use them to steal competitors’ business.

Just over 57% of the compa-nies surveyed say they have not undertaken a job at a loss. Just over 35% say they have.

West London’s post companies arrange monthly networking nights where they share business intelligence and sometimes the jobs themselves. They trust each other, but sensitive business information isn’t shared. They remain competitive.

It’s about keeping work within the West London post community. Many clients find it convenient and, without it, work is at risk of being lost to Soho. Key customers and contracts are generally con-sidered off-limits, and if two com-panies pitch for the same job, the winner buys the loser lunch. Which is all very neighbourly.

There’s no rate fixing, no cartel. If Elouise Bell, general manager at Rapid Pictures, brokers a deal with another post company on behalf of a client, she tries to ensure the ratecard price is paid and the client often invoices the third party directly.

When Jason Tomkins, opera-tions director at Clear Cut Pictures in Hammersmith, takes in West London overspill work he sees it as “servicing that company’s cli-ent on their behalf”, and wouldn’t consider trying to poach the busi-ness long term. “You won’t get

that in Soho,” he suggests. For Doghouse co-owner Barton-

Hill, a similar arrangement that operates in Bristol not only keeps London predators at bay, it pre-serves the integrity of the city’s post community.

While they may seem quaint and idealistic, perhaps arrange-ments like these are the answer to companies sinking and going under. On the other hand, it’s not very Darwinian. Some think the extinction of weaker members of the post species is a necessary part of the industry's evolution.

BUSINESS BUILDER STAFF TRAINING

Training providers and Skillset look away now. A whopping 76% of respondents spend less than 5% of their turnover on training. Just over 46% blame not having the time or money to train staff as the biggest challenge in 2009. For 15%, it’s keeping up with technol-ogy trends, while 11% say the big-gest reason is inadequately trained new entrants.

Sumners trains staff during the quieter “graveyard shift”. Some “soft skills” are learned while in charge of the famous Sumners cake trolley. As co-owner Janet Sumner is fond of saying: “You can learn an awful lot about people from the way they deliver cakes”. Clients regularly comment on the quality of the service they receive and whether a slice of gateau comes with a smile on top.

At Evolutions, 90% of staff train-ing is done in-house and for very little actual outlay, while over in Bristol, the Doghouse machine control room is located next to the office. Staff can be in there learn-

ing about a new piece of equip-ment or a process, yet still have to keep an eye on the job at hand – serving the company’s clients.

Rushes managing director Joce Capper points out that part of the problem with training is there is no set way to do anything anymore. “There are no set procedures and myriad ways to do many compli-cated processes. Lots of training cannot be standardised easily,”

she says. Capper also wonders if the employment expectation lev-els of further and higher education students are set correctly. It’s tough enough keeping experi-enced people employed right now, she explains.

“Currently, it’s not skills short-ages that are the main concern, it is ensuring we create enough opportunities for our existing staff.”

‘Asset finance is virtually non-existent at the moment, and if there is any money, it comes at a price’Julian Day, managing director, DGP

Horizon: Clear Cut liaises with other West London companies

Training: key challenge in 2009


Post Survey Indies and post-production

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Forging a new deal for post

The Farm: most used and admired company

Television business down

‘It’ll come down to a tender process and who can hit the money with the most inclusive package’Sam Jukes-Adams, head of production at Impossible Pictures


One-stop shops

of post houses that responded said an aggressive sales strategy helped to improve business in 2008

24%

Aggressive post sales

The Devil’s Whore (left) is the kind of work that put The Farm in pole position; Gladiators (right) by second-placed Envy

Ranking Company Number of votes

1 The Farm 502 Envy 403 Evolutions 303 Molinare 305 Ascent 142 256 Blue 227 Crow TV 158 Clear Cut Pictures 139 BBC Post 1110 Films @ 59 10

MOST USED

MOST ADMIRED

Results are based on a sample of 120 clients. The make-up of the sample included full-time and freelance staff working for broadcasters, indies and animation companies. Each one was asked to rank in order the three companies that they admire and use the most. Companies were awarded three points if they were the most admired, two points if they were second most admired and one point if they were third. Those scores were added together to create the table above.

‘Production companies are tiring of the big, cheap, battery-hen post experience’John Rogerson, managing director of Halo Post

Ranking Company Number of votes

1 The Farm 672 Envy 53 3 Evolutions 27 4 The Mill 265 Molinare 23 6 Blue 187 Sumners 138 Clear Cut Pictures 119 BBC 99 Crow TV 99 The Joint 9

IMPORTANCE AND INFLUENCE120 post-production clients ranked the following in terms of importance when choosing a post facility:

Creative Talent – 37% Rates – 32% Existing relationships – 25%

Technology – 6% Location – 3%

70 facilities bosses were asked to rank the following factors in the order in which they think they influence a client’s choice of post facility:

Existing relationships – 53% Creative Talent – 21% Rates – 20%

Location – 4% Technology – 2%


Post Survey International focus

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The global face of UK postAscent 142: US company acquired a number of London post houses

‘While the UK post industry bursts with creative talent, it lacks a commercial cutting edge’Anshul Doshi, managing director, Prime Focus London


FOREIGN INVESTMENT WHAT THEY SAID

The arrival of foreign investment into the UK post-production industry has…

Has your company been approached by a potential foreign investor?

Do you provide your services to companies based outside the UK and Ireland?

Global standing

of respondents think investment in the UK post-production industry from overseas is a good thing

40%

A positive impact on the market

A negative impact on the market

No significant impact on the market

Yes No

Yes No

40%

25%

35%

16%

84%

62%

38%

GLOBAL INVESTORS

Ascent Media hit London in the late 1990s, acquiring TVi, TVP, Rushes, Soho 601, Soho Images, Telecine, Todd-AO, and The London Playout Centre.

Technicolor bought MPC in late 2004, outbidding rumoured rivals Deluxe, WPP and The Carlyle Group.

In 2005, Germany’s Das Werk bought 85% of Glassworks from Eidos.

Deluxe acquired Capital FX, rebranding it Deluxe Digital Media, and Midnight Transfer.

In 2006, Prime Focus bought 55% of VTR, which it now owns outright. The business has been streamlined, commercials house Clear added, and some Soho properties shed. There has been a management restructure and a name change, to Prime Focus London.

In May 2008, Molinare sold a majority shareholding to another Indian company, Pixion, a wholly owned subsidiary of Century Communications, which went on to buy MenFromMars.

Azimuth Post Production has risen from the ashes of Resolution, with a private investor from the Middle East – through his involvement with ORTV – taking on the premises and buying the assets from the liquidator.

‘It’s good when foreign investors help the companies they’ve just bought stand tall in the global market’David Peto, co-founder Unit Post

House of Saddam: post by Technicolor

broadcast' magazine 2009 post production supplement

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