Skillset/UK Film Council Feature Film Production Workforce Survey 2008

6.1 Routes into the film industry

Respondents were asked a number of questions about how they first got started in the film industry.  The majority of respondents were relatively recent entrants, with a sizeable proportion having started paid work in the industry in the 1990s (36%) and since 2000 (36%).

Women were more likely than men to have joined the industry in recent years: 44% of women joined since 2000 compared with 30% of men. However, while more women than men joined the industry in the period 2000-2003 (53% of entrants were women compared with 47% men), fewer did so in 2006 (37% of new entrants in this year were women compared with 63% men).

Nearly two fifths (37%) of respondents had done some unpaid work experience in the film industry before getting a paid film industry job. This marks an increase in the proportion compared with the response to the same question in the 2005 survey, indicating the greater likelihood of unpaid work experience being undertaken by recent entrants.

The fact that those entering the industry in earlier decades were less likely to have undertaken unpaid work prior to entry is confirmed in Table 6.1.4, which shows that over half of those entering the industry since 2000 had undertaken such work compared with 40% of those entering in the 1990s, 23% of those entering in the 1980s, 10% of those entering in the 1970s and 2% of those that started in or before 1969. This trend could be over-emphasised by ’recall bias’, that is the ability of respondents to accurately recall their involvement in unpaid work in previous decades.

Over three quarters (76%) had done some other audio visual work before entering the film industry, an increase over the figure reported in the 2005 survey (67%), most commonly in television (47%), film shorts (41%) and commercials (33%)

Half of all respondents had undertaken work outside the film and audio visual industries before working in feature film production This did not vary significantly by occupational group, and there was no consistent pattern by year of entry (as the incidence of ‘outside’ work fluctuates over time). However, women (58%) were more likely than men (46%) to have undertaken work outside the film and audio visual industries before working in feature film production.  The majority of those who had undertaken such work had worked in other business areas, hotels and restaurants, the retail trade (except motor vehicle) and in construction.

Figure 6.1.1 Excluding any unpaid work experience, in what year did you first start working in the film industry?

Base = 1,134.

Table 6.1.1 Excluding any unpaid work experience, in what year did you first start working in the film industry?

Table 6.1.2 Before that, had you done any unpaid work experience in the film industry?

Figure 6.1.2 Before your first paid job on a feature film production, had you done any work (paid or unpaid) on any of the following types of productions?

Base = 1,158.

Table 6.1.3 Before that, had you done any unpaid work experience in the film industry? (by year of entry into film industry)