You may have noticed that there’s a lot of talk about Production Management at the moment. Kimberley Godbolt from Talented People first raised the issue in her article last month
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You may have noticed that there’s a lot of talk about Production Management at the moment. Kimberley Godbolt from Talented People first raised the issue in her article last month
https://talentedpeople.tv/dont-do-a-disservice-to-production-managers/
Then Jamie Stratton wrote an open letter to broadcasters calling for parity of earnings, and now Broadcast has published an article saying there is a catastrophic shortage of Production Management
https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/indies/covid-creates-catastrophic-shortage-of-pms/5161962.article
So how did we get here?
In my opinion this all started a long time ago. Before Endemol decided to split the team into ‘Editorial’ and ‘Production’ for their big reality shows (Big Brother really), everyone in the office was ‘Production’ and everyone was in the same team making the same programme. This separation has meant that Production Management has become more sidelined over time, and is frequently seen as separate from the team ‘making the programme’. It’s a great shame, and it really didn’t need to happen.
Production Management is a key part of programme making. It’s the nuts, bolts, gears and engine that makes a show happen. But separating ‘Production’ from ‘Editorial’ makes it appear less important, less worthwhile, and less visible than it should be.
So it really is time that we ditched this split and returned to being one team, making one show, all together.
DITCH THE SPLIT!
https://talentedpeople.tv/dont-do-a-disservice-to-production-managers/
Then Jamie Stratton wrote an open letter to broadcasters calling for parity of earnings, and now Broadcast has published an article saying there is a catastrophic shortage of Production Management
https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/indies/covid-creates-catastrophic-shortage-of-pms/5161962.article
So how did we get here?
In my opinion this all started a long time ago. Before Endemol decided to split the team into ‘Editorial’ and ‘Production’ for their big reality shows (Big Brother really), everyone in the office was ‘Production’ and everyone was in the same team making the same programme. This separation has meant that Production Management has become more sidelined over time, and is frequently seen as separate from the team ‘making the programme’. It’s a great shame, and it really didn’t need to happen.
Production Management is a key part of programme making. It’s the nuts, bolts, gears and engine that makes a show happen. But separating ‘Production’ from ‘Editorial’ makes it appear less important, less worthwhile, and less visible than it should be.
So it really is time that we ditched this split and returned to being one team, making one show, all together.
DITCH THE SPLIT!
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ITV Studios has launched a review into production management pay rates following campaign group pressure, with organisers meeting the BBC, Channel 4 and Sky over the coming weeks.
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https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/itv-studios/itvs-opens-pm-pay-review/51622
Jamie Stratton and Josh Carpenter launched the fair pay campaign last month calling for pay parity with editorial colleagues and improved working conditions. An open letter to all broadcasters has amassed 2,300 signatures.
An ITVS spokeswoman said that its review is underway.
“We are considering the matter raised very seriously and are talking with our production teams to discuss the issues surrounding pay for both staff and freelance roles,” she said.
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“We’re aiming to have completed our review by September and we will have discussions with our production management teams about the findings.”
Meanwhile, Stratton and Carpenter said meetings are in the diary with the BBC, Channel 4 and Sky over the coming weeks.
Last month’s open letter was backed by Pact, Bectu and the Production Managers’ Association and demands “recognition of the work we do and additional funding which is both fair and transparent”.
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It calls for a head of production rate to be comparable to exec producer, production exec to series producer and so on.
Since the campaign launched, Broadcast has been inundated with emails from production managers who believe they have been poorly paid and suffered from a lack of credit for years and want broadcasters to recognise the value of their work.
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Last week, Broadcast reported on a “catastrophic” current shortage of production managers and co-ordinators, with demand massively outstripping supply and some indies attempting to lure talent away mid-contract.
https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/itv-studios/itvs-opens-pm-pay-review/5162249.article