Change Has Never Been This Good for the UK TV and Film Industry

A lot has been going on in the UK TV and film industry lately, and this hasn’t been more evident with top-rating TV shows like  Fox Network’s 24: Live Another Day, HBO’s Game of Thrones, Starz’s  Outlander, ABC’s Galavant, FX’s The Bastard Executioner,  just to mention a handful.

Yes, that’s right. Highly-charged television shows produced in the US, all shot here in the UK. Unless they’ve ran out of places to shoot their shows in the US, what is driving all these TV productions to fly 4,242 miles and shoot here in the UK?

The UK has proven time again that it is consistent in coming up with top quality, commercially successful television shows and movies. Now, in its bid to attract more productions, the UK government has recently announced an enticing tax-relief package that will indeed drive these entertainment companies to shoot here for years to come.

This is exactly what prompted the producers of 24 to fly to the UK and shoot the ninth season here. However, will the producers come across any issues trusting new film crews in an also new location with 24’s intense, and fast-paced action sequences can be quite a challenge?

Imagine shooting 12, one-hour episodes in a short span of eight days, and putting in 6 to 7 minutes of cut screen time each day. A seemingly overwhelming task, so to speak, but good thing the British Film Commission and Film London were at hand to resolve any potential logistical nightmare by providing them with a highly skilled and dependable crew.

Multi-awarded and critically acclaimed shows such as Game of Thrones, have shown the entertainment industry that it can be more viable to make the UK its shooting ground – using a largely British crew and facilities. This also means that for our local workforce to keep its edge, we need implement initiatives and programs that will do so.

We also have to encourage the younger generation to join skills enhancement programs and industry apprenticeships being offered by the Production Guild of Great Britain via the BFI film school, along with other relevant agencies.

As you may have already guessed, the recent tax relief package also covers the film and video games  industry. One of the major films that took advantage of the tax package were the producers of the smash franchise Mission: Impossible 5 Rogue Nation.