The Drama Report 09/10 · 2010-11-26 · • Expenditure by Australian TV drama for adults increased but production of children's programs was down after two strong years. As a result,

S c r e e n A u s t r a l i a

THEDRAMAREPORT 09/10 PRODUCTION

OFFEATUREFILMSANDTVDRAMA

INAUSTRALIA

©ScreenAustralia2010

ISBN:978-1-920998-12-7

ScreenAustraliaisgratefultoallthosethatcontributeddatatothecompilationofthisreport.Thedataprovidedinthissurveyhasbeendrawnfromanumberofsources.ScreenAustraliahasundertakenallreasonablemeasurestoensureitsaccuracyandthereforecannotacceptresponsibilityforinaccuraciesandomissions.

Coverpicture:

TOMORROW,WHENTHEWARBEGAN

Inset:MEANDMYMONSTERS,Courtesy:StickyPictures

$731 million total production expenditure2 per cent up on last year and well above pre-Offset levels

37 Australian features $265 million29 Offset features $262 million

36 Australian TV dramas $286 million27 Offset TV dramas $227 million

12 foreign projects $179 millionForeign PDV only $9 million

Producer Offset total value $128 million

Special focus Cashflowing the Offset

T H E D R A M A R E P O R T 2 0 0 9 / 1 0 | S C R E E N A U S T R A L I A 1

Contents

ABOUT THE REPORT 1

Key terms 2

OVERVIEW 3

ALL DRAMA PRODUCTION 4

THE AUSTRALIAN FEATURE SLATE – DOMESTIC AND CO-PRODUCTION TITLES 5

Feature budget ranges 6

Sources of finance for Australian features 6

THE AUSTRALIAN TV DRAMA SLATE – DOMESTIC AND CO-PRODUCTION TITLES 8

Programs for adults 9

Programs for children 10

FOCUS: TV DRAMA HOURS BY RELEASE DATE 11

Sources of finance for Australian TV drama 12

FOCUS: CASHFLOWING THE OFFSET 13

FOREIGN PRODUCTION 14

DRAMA PRODUCTION BY LOCATION 15

Expenditure by state 15

Location of production company 15

TITLES IN THE 09/10 SLATE 16

PDV SERVICES – FEATURES AND TV DRAMA PRODUCTION 18

METHODOLOGY 20

ABOUTTHEREPORT

The Drama ReportcoverstheproductionoffeaturefilmsandTVdramaprograms(mini-series,telemoviesandseries/serials)byfinancialyear.

ItreportsontheoperationoftheProducerOffsettaxrebatefordomesticAustralianprojectsandofficialco-productions,incorporatingdatagatheredthroughsurveysandpubliclyavailablesourcestogiveacomprehensiveviewofdramaproductionactivityinAustraliaandtheOffset’scontributiontotheannualslate.Dataispresentedforthepastthreeyears,2007/08to2009/10,theperiodsincetheintroductionoftheOffset.

Foreigntitlesareincludediftheyareshot(orsubstantiallyshot)inAustralia,orcarryoutpost,digitalorvisualeffects(PDV)workinAustraliawithoutshootinghere.

Seepage2fordefinitionsof‘Australian’,‘domestic’,‘co-production’and‘foreign’.

FeaturefilmsandTVdramasrepresentabout20percentofallaudiovisualproductioninAustralia.Otherareasofactivityincludedocumentaries,lightentertainment,commercials,musicvideos,corporatevideoandTVproductionsuchassport,newsandcurrentaffairs.SeethestatisticssectionoftheScreenAustraliawebsitefordetailsandforpre-2007/08data:www.screenaustralia.gov.au/gtp/production.html.

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KEYTERMS

Analysisof‘totalbudgets’includesallprojectsthatstartedshootingduringthefinancialyear,withthefullbudgetallocatedtothedateprincipalphotographystarts;budgetsarenotapportionedacrossthedurationoftheproject.ThisindicatorisnotreportedforforeignPDV-onlyproductionsastheAustralianworkmayrepresentonlyasmallproportionoftheoverallbudget.

Asasubsetof‘totalbudgets’,theamountspentinAustraliaisalsoanalysed;thisisparticularlyrelevantforco-productionsandforeignproductions.Again,allexpenditureisallocatedtothedateprincipalphotographyorthedatePDVworkinAustraliabeginsratherthanaccordingtotheactualdateofspending.Note:thisisnotthesameas‘qualifyingAustralianproductionexpenditure’(QAPE)forthepurposeoftheProducerOffset:someexpenditureinAustraliaisnotQAPE,andQAPEcanincludesomeexpenditureonAustralianelementsoutsideAustralia.QAPEisnotreportedhere.

‘Offsetprojects’areprojectswhichhaveaccessedtheProducerOffsetor,ifnotcompleted,willaccessitoncecompleted(theyhavegenerallybeenissuedwithaProvisionalCertificate).AnOffsetprojectmaybeeitheraneligibledomesticproductionoranofficialco-production.

‘Non-Offsetprojects’aredomesticproductionswhichforreasonssuchasformat,levelofproductionexpenditureoruseofprevioustaxincentiveswouldnotbeeligiblefortheProducerOffset.

‘Domestic’productionsinclude:

-Offsetprojectsotherthanco-productions

-non-OffsetprojectsunderAustraliancreativecontrol(iewherethekeyelementsarepredominantlyAustralianandtheprojectwasoriginatedanddevelopedbyAustralians).ThisincludesprojectsunderAustraliancreativecontrolthatare100percentforeignfinanced.

‘Co-productions’areofficialco-productions(ieprojectsmadepursuanttoanagreementbetweentheAustralianGovernmentandthegovernmentofanothercountry).

Becauseofficialco-productionsdon’thavetopassthe‘significantAustraliancontent’testforeligibilityfortheProducerOffsetandmaybeclassifiedas‘Australian’forthepurposesofAustraliancontentregulationapplyingtobroadcasters,inmostcasesthereportdiscussesdomesticandco-productionprojectsasacombined‘Australian’slate.

'Foreign'productionsaredefinedasthoseunderforeigncreativecontrol,originatedanddevelopedbynon-Australians.ThisincludesforeignprojectswithanAustralianproductioncompanyoperatinginaservicecapacity.

In-houseproductionsareprojectsbyAustralianTVstationswherenoindependentproductioncompanyiscreditedasproducerorco-producer.

PDV(post-production,digitalproductionandvisualeffects)referstothoseactivitiesthatcreateaudioandvisualelementsforfilmorTVdramaotherthanbyprincipalphotography,pickupsorphysicalelementssuchassetsandpropsandincludesanimation.Italsoreferstothemanipulationofthoseelementsandincludessoundandvisualediting,digitaleffects,creationofcomputer-generatedimages(CGI),filmlaboratoryworkandduplicationservices.Assuch,itincludesavarietyofactivitiesthatnotonlytakeplaceaftertheshootbutalsoduringtheearlierstagesofaproject’soverallproduction.

Pleasenote:ThisreporthasbeencompiledbyScreenAustralia’sProducerOffset&Co-productionUnit,incorporatingdatagatheredfromadministrationoftheOffsetaswellasdatagatheredbyScreenAustralia’sStrategy&ResearchUnitthroughcontactwithproductioncompaniesorfrompubliclyavailablesources.PDVdataisgatheredthroughsurveyingPDVcompanies.

Seealso'Methodology'onpage20.

« Wicked Love

2


Overview

TheannualslateoffeaturefilmsandTVdramaproductionsconsistsofAustraliantitles(includingofficialco-productions)andforeigntitlesthatstartproductionorpost,digitalorvisualeffects(PDV)duringagivenyear.

Note: * 5-year average pre-July 2007 excludes PDV-only expenditure by foreign projects.

DRAMAEXPENDITUREINAUSTRALIA• Totalexpenditure in Australia by the 2009/10

drama slate was $731million, a 2 per cent increase since 2008/09, and well above the average for the five years to June 2007. Australian feature production accounted for 36 per cent of 2009/10 expenditure, Australian TV drama for 39 per cent and foreign activity (primarily feature production) for 24 per cent.

• ExpenditurebytheAustralianslate – domestic productions and official co-productions – totalled $552million, comprising 37 features spending $265 million and 564 hours of TV drama (36 titles) spending $286 million.

• Australianfeatureproduction was down this year, with last year's slate elevated by two high-budget titles.

• ExpenditurebyAustralianTVdrama for adults increased but production of children's programs was down after two strong years. As a result, overall expenditure by the Australian TV drama slate fell.

• Five foreignfeatures and two foreignTVdramas started shooting in Australia in 2009/10, accounting for expenditure in Australia of $170million. This marked a significant rise in expenditure after last year, when there was very little foreign activity. Five PDV-only projects (all features) contributed an additional $9 million. Both the number and the value of PDV-only projects were down on previous years.

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AUSTRALIANπ TV drama - Children’sπ TV drama - For adultsπ Features

Pre-20075-yr average*

2007/08 2008/09 2009/10

$547m

$694m$717m

$731m

OPERATIONOFTHEPRODUCEROFFSET

• The Producer Offset came into effect for production expenditure incurred from 1 July 2007.

• In 2007/08, 49 per cent of Australian features and 59 per cent of TV drama titles were Offset projects, ie they have accessed, or will access, the Producer Offset on completion. By 2009/10, 78 per cent of the Australian feature slate and 75 per cent of the TV drama slate were Offset projects.

• Offsetfeatures have accounted for 90 per cent of total spend for Australian features over the past three years, while OffsetTVdramas accounted for 71 per cent of Australian TV drama spend and 46 per cent of hours.

• Children’sprogramswere more likely than adult TV to be Offset projects, in this case accounting for 80 per cent of expenditure and 68 per cent of hours.

EXPENDITUREBYLOCATION• Victoria accounted for 37 per cent of

expenditure by this year’s slate, Queensland for 31 per cent and NSW for 26 per cent.

10-year perspective, 2000/01–2009/10

SpendinAustralia:Byannualfeatureslate

SpendinAustralia:ByannualTVdramaslate

Notes:

1. Australian includes both domestic and co-production.

2. Graphs exclude PDV-only expenditure by foreign projects.

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Australian TV drama1

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All drama production

TotalexpenditureinAustraliabythe2009/10dramaslatewas$731million,comprising$552millionbyAustralianprojectsand$179byforeignproductions,mainlyfeatures.OftheAustralianslate,expenditurebyOffsetprojectstotalled$489million–$262millionbyOffsetfeaturesand$227millionbyOffsetTVdrama.

Three-year summary 2007/08–2009/10

AUSTRALIAN1 FOREIGN2 TOTAL

OFFSET1 NON-OFFSET1 TOTAL AUSTRALIAN

NO. TITLES SPEND $M NO. TITLES SPEND $M NO. TITLES SPEND $M NO. TITLES SPEND $M NO. TITLES SPEND $M

Annualfeatureslate

2007/08 19 106 20 66 39 172 22 118 61 290

2008/09 24 359 10 8 34 366 13 21 47 387

2009/10 29 262 8 3 37 265 10 178 47 443

3-yr average 24 242 13 26 37 268 15 106 52 373

AnnualTVdramaslate(seepage8fordetailsofprogramsforadultsvschildren)

2007/08 27 161 19 108 46 269 1 134 47 403

2008/09 34 239 10 89 44 328 4 1 48 329

2009/10 27 227 9 59 36 286 2 <1 38 287

3-yr average 29 209 13 85 42 295 2 45 44 340

TotalannualfeatureandTVdramaslate3

2007/08 46 267 39 174 85 442 23 252 108 694

2008/09 58 598 20 97 78 695 17 22 95 717

2009/10 56 489 17 63 73 552 12 179 85 731

3-yr average 53 452 25 111 79 563 17 151 96 714

DOMESTIC1 CO-PRODUCTION1

NO. TITLES SPEND $M NO. TITLES SPEND $M

Features

2007/08 16 89 3 17

2008/09 22 346 2 13

2009/10 24 232 5 31

3-yr average 21 222 3 20

TVdrama

2007/08 21 141 6 20

2008/09 31 226 3 13

2009/10 25 214 2 13

3-yr average 26 194 4 15

Total

2007/08 37 230 9 37

2008/09 53 572 5 26

2009/10 49 446 7 44

3-yr average 46 416 7 36

Notes: Figures may not total exactly due to rounding.

1. See page 2 for definitions.

2. Includes both productions that started principal photography during the year and foreign productions undertaking only PDV work in Australia.

3. The annual slate is defined as productions that started principal photography during the year.

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Foreign features2

Offset titles

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The Australian feature slate – domestic and co-production titles

All Australian features

OFFSET FEATURES1 NON-OFFSET FEATURES1 TOTAL

NO. TITLES TOTAL BUDGETS $M

SPEND $M NO. TITLES TOTAL BUDGETS $M


SPEND $M

2007/08 19 175 106 20 76 66 39 252 172

2008/09 24 397 359 10 8 8 34 405 366

2009/10 29 290 262 8 6 3 37 296 265

3-yr average 24 287 242 13 30 26 37 318 268

Offset features


NO. TITLES TOTAL BUDGETS $M


SPEND $M

2007/08 16 139 89 3 37 17

2008/09 22 372 346 2 25 13

2009/10 24 237 232 5 53 31

3-yr average 21 249 222 3 38 20



Features down after last year’s high, but close to three-year average

The2009/10Australianfeatureslatecomprised37titlesaccountingforexpenditureinAustraliaof$265million,veryclosetothethree-yearaverageof$268million.Whilethisisdownonlastyear’sresult,expenditurehadmorethandoubledthatyearduetotheinclusionoftwoveryhigh-budgettitles.

Feature co-productions were especially strong this year, with five titles accounting for an Australian spend of $31 million.

Of the 37 features in this year’s Australian slate, 29 were Offset features. On average around two-thirds (65 per cent) of all the features made in the last three years have accessed, or will access, the Offset on

completion. Looking at just the last two years, when the Offset has been fully operational, this rises to around three-quarters of all features.

Several titles were ineligible for the Offset in 2007/08 due to having accessed FFC or AFC funding prior to 1 July 2007, and/or Division 10BA, the previous tax incentive which the Offset replaced. Other than these titles, non-Offset features have all been in the low-budget ranges (see page 6).

As a result, Offset features have accounted for 90 per cent of the total expenditure of Australian features made in the last three years (98 per cent for the last two years, and 99 per cent in 2009/10).


Beneath H i l l 60 »

Photographer: Wendy McDougall

FEATUREBUDGETRANGESThe 2009/10 Australian feature slate saw a higher proportion of titles with budgets greater than $6 million than in previous years (41 per cent, up from 21 per cent last year and 23 per cent the year before) as well as a lower proportion under $3 million (41 per cent, compared to 47 per cent last year and 59 per cent the year before). There was only one co-production with a budget under $3 million this year, with the rest over $6 million.

Features with budgets less than $1 million would not be eligible for the Producer Offset, as a minimum QAPE of $1 million is required, and the majority of non-Offset features in 2009/10 fall into this budget range. (Features with budgets of less than $500,000 are included in the report only if they have had a festival screening or cinema release, see 'Methodology' on page 20.) There were two non-Offset features in the $1–3 million range, both likely to be at the lower end of the range, with QAPE under $1 million.

As noted above, the 2007/08 slate saw several features in the higher budget ranges ineligible for the Offset as a result of their pre-Offset financing structure.

All Australian features

BUDGET RANGE $M

OFFSET NON-OFFSET TOTAL

07/08 08/09 09/10 07/08 08/09 09/10 07/08 08/09 09/10

<1 n.a. n.a. n.a. 8 8 6 8 8 6

1 to 3 6 6 7 9 2 2 15 8 9

3 to 6 7 11 7 0 0 0 7 11 7

6 to 10 3 4 7 1 0 0 4 4 7

10 to 20 2 1 5 0 0 0 2 1 5

20+ 1 2 3 2 0 0 3 2 3

Total 19 24 29 20 10 8 39 34 37

% < $1m 0% 0% 0% 40% 80% 75% 21% 24% 16%

% < $3m 32% 25% 24% 85% 100% 100% 59% 47% 41%

% $6m+ 32% 29% 52% 15% 0% 0% 23% 21% 41%

% $10m+ 16% 13% 28% 10% 0% 0% 13% 9% 22%

Offset features

BUDGET RANGE $M

DOMESTIC CO-PRODUCTION

07/08 08/09 09/10 07/08 08/09 09/10

<1 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

1 to 3 5 6 6 1 0 1

3 to 6 7 11 7 0 0 0

6 to 10 3 3 6 0 1 1

10 to 20 0 0 2 2 1 3

20+ 1 2 3 0 0 0

Total 16 22 24 3 2 5

% < $3m 31% 27% 25% 33% 0% 20%

% $6m+ 25% 23% 46% 67% 100% 80%

% $10m+ 6% 9% 21% 67% 50% 60%

Notes:

n.a. – not applicable.

SOURCESOFFINANCEFORAUSTRALIANFEATURESThe Australian film/TV industry provided the largest proportion of finance to this year’s Australian slate, contributing $147 million to 28 domestic features and all five co-productions. Finance provided by producers via the Producer Offset (cashflowed in various ways, see page 13) comprised the largest proportion in this category, followed by distribution and production companies.

Foreign investors provided the second-largest proportion (23 per cent) of finance for this year’s slate, contributing $68 million to 13 domestic titles and all five co-productions. Foreign investment can vary significantly from one year to the next, with high-budget, principally foreign-funded titles causing large fluctuations.

Direct government sources accounted for 17 per cent of overall finance to the Australian feature slate, providing $51 million to 25 titles, up from last year’s $35 million for 26 titles.

Most of this funding came from Screen Australia, which invested $39 million in 19 of the domestic titles and two of the co-productions. The state agencies contributed $12 million to 22 features, up on last year’s $9 million to 20 features. Film Victoria accounted for over 40 per cent of this amount. In addition, the Adelaide Film Festival and the Melbourne International Film Festival contributed to one title each.

After last year’s drop, private investment in the feature slate increased this year, to $30 million for 24 titles (10 per cent of total finance). This was a combination of bank finance and contributions by private investors. In the absence of Division 10BA of the Income Tax Assessment Act, which was replaced by the Producer Offset, some private investment is now being attracted through the offering of favourable recoupment positions to investors. Some projects have also been able to attract private investment from individuals or groups of individuals through their subject matter.

6

The Australian feature slate

ContributionstotheannualAustralianfeatureslate(domestic&co-production),2007/08–2009/10

CONTRIBUTION $M

% OF TOTAL FINANCE

NO. FILMS INVESTED IN

Australiandirectgovernmentsources1

2007/08 41.4 16% 20

2008/09 35.3 9% 26

2009/10 51.0 17% 25

3-yr average 42.6 13% 24

Australianprivateinvestors2

2007/08 44.8 18% 23

2008/09 4.3 1% 13

2009/10 30.1 10% 24

3-yr average 26.4 8% 20

Australianfilm/TVindustry3

2007/08 66.8 27% 26

2008/09 153.7 38% 32

2009/10 146.9 50% 33

3-yr average 122.5 10% 30

Foreigninvestors

2007/08 98.8 39% 11

2008/09 211.3 52% 15

2009/10 67.9 23% 18

3-yr average 126.0 40% 15


1. Includes direct funding from Australian state and federal agencies and funding bodies (see page 20). Equity investments only – distribution guarantees, loans and underwriting are not included.

2. Private investment sources including the final titles accessing 10BA and 10B tax incentives.

3. Finance provided by Australian-based producers and production companies (including the Producer Offset cashflowed in various ways, see page 13), distribution companies, free-to-air broadcasters (commercial and public) and subscription TV channels.


Sanctum »Courtesy: NBC Universal

« Red H i l l

8

Overall,the2009/10AustralianTVdramaslatecomprised564hoursofprograms(36titles),accountingforexpenditureinAustraliaof$286million.81percentofexpenditurewasbytheadultdramaslateandtheremainderbyprogramsforchildren.Totalexpenditurewasslightlybelowthethree-yearaverageof$295million,andsignificantlydownonlastyear’s$328million.Thiswasduetoalowerlevelofchildren’sproduction;expenditurebyprogramsforadultscontinuedtoincrease.

Over the last three years, Offset TV drama has averaged 29 titles, 297 hours and total spend of $209 million each year, out of total annual Australian TV drama slate of 42 titles, 648 hours, and total spend of $295 million. Overall, Offset titles have accounted for 71 per cent of expenditure but only 46 per cent of hours, due to the fact that long-form TV drama (over 65 episodes) is not eligible for the Offset, and the QAPE per hour must be above a certain threshold.

Children’s programs are more likely to have accessed the Offset than programs for adults, with Offset activity accounting for 68 per cent of children’s drama hours made and 80 per cent of expenditure, compared to 38 per cent of hours and 68 per cent of budgets for adult drama.

All Australian TV drama programs

OFFSET TV DRAMA1 NON-OFFSET TV DRAMA1 TOTAL

NO. TITLES HOURS2 TOTAL BUDGETS $M

SPEND $M NO. TITLES HOURS2 TOTAL BUDGETS $M


SPEND $M

Programsforadults

2007/08 16 181 108 108 12 338 89 88 28 519 197 196

2008/09 21 171 144 144 6 314 73 73 27 486 218 218

2009/10 22 205 187 186 5 244 47 47 27 448 234 233

3-yr average 20 186 146 146 8 299 70 69 27 484 216 215

Programsforchildren

2007/08 11 130 85 53 7 62 35 20 18 192 120 74

2008/09 13 146 115 95 4 37 18 16 17 183 132 111

2009/10 5 59 49 41 4 57 27 12 9 116 76 53

3-yr average 10 112 83 63 5 52 27 16 15 164 109 79

TotalTVdramaslate3

2007/08 27 311 193 161 19 400 123 108 46 710 317 269

2008/09 34 318 259 239 10 351 91 89 44 669 350 328

2009/10 27 263 235 227 9 301 74 59 36 564 310 286

3-yr average 29 297 229 209 13 351 96 85 42 648 325 295

Offset TV drama


NO. TITLES HOURS2 TOTAL BUDGETS $M


SPEND $M

Programsforadults

2007/08 16 181 108 108 0 0 0 0

2008/09 21 171 144 144 0 0 0 0

2009/10 22 205 187 186 0 0 0 0

3-yr average 20 186 146 146 0 0 0 0

Programsforchildren

2007/08 5 59 33 33 6 72 52 20

2008/09 10 114 88 82 3 33 27 13

2009/10 3 39 28 28 2 20 21 13

3-yr average 6 70 50 48 4 41 33 15

TotalTVdramaslate3

2007/08 21 239 141 141 6 72 52 20

2008/09 31 285 232 226 3 33 27 13

2009/10 25 244 215 214 2 20 21 13

3-yr average 26 256 196 194 4 41 33 15



2. Commercial broadcast hours rather than actual running time. Individual program duration has been rounded to 15, 30 or 60 minutes as appropriate (including commercial breaks).

3. The annual slate is defined as productions that started principal photography during the year.

The Australian TV drama slate – domestic and co-production titles


Adult drama slate up, with trend towards higher production values; children’s drama down after two strong years

By format

PROGRAMSFORADULTSThe adult TV drama slate comprised 27 titles (448 hours) with total budgets of $234 million and accounting for expenditure in Australia of $233 million. While down in hours on the last two years, both total budgets and expenditure in Australia were up. There was a drop in series/serials production, but increases in mini-series and telemovies, continuing the recent trend towards higher-production value TV drama for adults. Average cost per hour across all categories of programs for adults increased in 2009/10. There have been no adult TV drama co-productions for the past three years.

Seriesandserials: Series and serials typically account for the majority of TV drama hours and expenditure in Australia.

However, production of series/serials dropped again this year, in hours, total budgets and expenditure in Australia, while cost per hour increased further, consistent with the trend towards higher production values.

Three new series titles were introduced this year by the ABC (I Rock, Angry Boys and Lowdown).

NO. (IN-HOUSE)

HOURS1 TOTAL BUDGETS

($M)

TOTAL SPEND

($M)

AV. COST/HR

($M)

2007/08 16 (4) 442 126 125 0,285

2008/09 15 (4) 390 126 126 0.324

2009/10 13 (4) 337 116 116 0.345

3-yr average

15 (4) 389 123 122 0.315



Mini-series: Production of mini-series rose again this year, with 10 titles, 105 hours and total budgets of $106 million, all above the three-year averages. Cost per hour also rose above $1 million. Several of the titles in this year’s slate were made for the subscription TV channels (including Cloudstreet, Spirited, Killing Time and the second series of Tangle).

NO. (IN-HOUSE)


($M)

TOTAL SPEND

($M)

AV. COST/

HR ($M)

2007/08 8 71 61 61 0.861

2008/09 10 93 87 87 0.934

2009/10 10 105 106 106 1.011

3-yr average

9 9 85 85 0.945



Telemovies:After dropping last year, telemovie production increased again in 2009/10 to similar levels as 2007/08, with four titles spending $11 million.

NO. (IN-HOUSE)


($M)

TOTAL SPEND

($M)

AV. COST/HR

($M)

2007/08 4 (1) 6 10 10 1.707

2008/09 2 3 4 4 1.402

2009/10 4 7 11 11 1.680

3-yr average

3 (<1) 5 8 8 1.633



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2008/09

2007/08

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Adult programs: π Series and serials π Mini-series π Telemovies Children’s programs: π Children’s programs

Hours produced

2009/10

2008/09

2007/08

Spend ($m)

519192

486

448

183

116

$196m

$218m

$233m

$74m

$111m

$53m

1 0

PROGRAMSFORCHILDRENThe Australian children’s drama slate fell this year, to 116 hours with total budgets of $76 million and total spend of $53 million. This was down on the three-year averages by about a third. Both domestic and co-production children’s drama activity fell.

However children’s drama production tends to be cyclical, partly due to the long production schedules of some titles, and much of the decrease is a balancing of increased production in the last two years (see focus on hours by release date, opposite). The most significant drop this year was in domestic production, which was the source of last year’s higher levels, while co-productions were responsible for the higher levels in 2007/08.

Children’s drama production is expected to increase again next year, with around 78 hours worth already scheduled for 2010/11 production, including returning series of Dance Academy and My Place for the ABC, and new titles Lightning Point, Get Ace (both for Ten Network) and Guess How Much I Love You (ABC).

NO. (IN-HOUSE) HOURS1 TOTAL BUDGETS ($M) TOTAL SPEND ($M) AVE COST/HR ($M)

Domestic

2007/08 11 107 58 46 0.537

2008/09 14 151 106 98 0.702

2009/10 7 96 55 40 0.574

3-yr average 11 118 73 61 0.617

Co-production

2007/08 7 85 62 27 0.737

2008/09 3 33 27 13 0.821

2009/10 2 20 21 13 1.068

3-yr average 4 46 37 18 0.804

Total

2007/08 18 192 120 74 0.625

2008/09 17 183 132 111 0.723

2009/10 9 116 76 53 0.657

3-yr average 15 164 109 79 0.669



Me and My Monsters

Courtesy: Sticky Pictures

Children's drama production tends to be cyclical, partly due to the long production schedules of some titles

The Australian TV drama slate

As an analysis of production activity, the information in this report presents data on projects that started shooting during the financial year, with the full budget allocated to the date principal photography started.

To help contextualise some of the peaks and troughs in production activity, hours produced are also presented below based on the year of first broadcast. The dip in production of children’s TV drama in 2009/10, following the previous two years of high activity, is shown against a more even three years of releases, illustrating that the drop in production in 2009/10 is mainly a balancing of the previous two years.

Note:

Commercial broadcast hours rather than actual running time. Individual program duration has been rounded to 15, 30 or 60 minutes as appropriate (including commercial breaks).

Focus: TV drama hours by release date

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Adult Children’s

Rescue Spec ia l Ops

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SOURCESOFFINANCEFORAUSTRALIANTVDRAMAThe Australian film/TV industry provided the majority of finance for this year’s Australian TV drama slate (76 per cent), contributing $234 million to 36 titles. As usual, the largest proportion of this (and the largest from any sector) came from the commercial free-to-air broadcasters. The balance came from public broadcasters, subscription TV, distributors and production companies, including finance provided by producers via the Producer Offset (cashflowed in various ways, see opposite).

Direct government sources contributed $28 million to 21 programs in the 2009/10 TV drama slate, accounting for 9 per cent of total finance. This was down again after last year’s increase to $42 million, but still above the previous year’s $18 million.

Screen Australia was the principal source of government finance, providing $14 million to nine titles. Contributions from state agencies remained at last year’s higher level, with $8 million going to 17 local productions and two co-productions. Film Victoria accounted for more than 40 per cent of total state agency finance. Additional finance came from the Australian Children’s Television Foundation and other government departments.

Contributions from private investors to this year’s TV drama slate dropped to less than 1 per cent of total finance.

Foreign investment contributed $47 million (15 per cent) to the 2009/10 Australian TV drama slate, much the same as last year but down on 2007/08.

ContributionstotheannualAustralianTVdramaslate(domestic&co-production),2007/08–2009/10

CONTRIBUTION $M

% OF TOTAL FINANCE

NO. PROGRAMS INVESTED IN

Australiandirectgovernmentsources1

2007/08 18.4 6% 16

2008/09 42.0 12% 26

2009/10 28.3 9% 21

3-yr average 29.6 9% 21

Australianprivateinvestors2

2007/08 7.5 2% 2

2008/09 7.2 2% 2

2009/10 0.3 <1% 2

3-yr average 5.0 2% 2

Australianfilm/TVindustry3

2007/08 218.7 69% 32

2008/09 252.3 72% 35

2009/10 234.4 76% 36

3-yr average 199.0 61% 57

Foreigninvestors

2007/08 71.9 23% 17

2008/09 48.5 14% 15

2009/10 46.6 15% 12

3-yr average 55.7 17% 15


1. Includes direct funding from Australian state and federal agencies and funding bodies (see page 20). Equity investments only – distribution guarantees, loans and underwriting are not included.

2. Private investment sources including the final titles accessing 10BA and 10B tax incentives.

3. Finance provided by Australian-based producers and production companies (including the Producer Offset cashflowed in various ways, see opposite), distribution companies, free-to-air broadcasters (commercial and public) and subscription TV channels.

As usual, the largest proportion of TV drama finance came from the commercial free-to-air broadcasters

« Dance Academy

Photographer: Steve Brack

The Australian TV drama slate

The Producer Offset (tax rebate) is available to producers of feature films, television and other projects with ‘significant Australian content’ or official co-productions. It is accessed via the Australian production company’s income tax return once the film is completed. For eligible features, it is worth 40 per cent of ‘qualifying Australian production expenditure’ (QAPE); for other formats, including eligible TV drama, it is worth 20 per cent of QAPE. The Offset has been available for qualifying expenditure undertaken from 1 July 2007. However, some titles in the 2007/08 slate were ineligible due to pre-existing funding arrangements.

As the Offset is only accessed on completion of the film, it is necessary for producers to cashflow the portion of the budget that the Offset will eventually contribute.

In the first year of its operation (2007/08), the majority of Offset finance was cashflowed by film/TV industry and government sources (the Film Finance Corporation cashflowed the Offset for all its funded titles that year).

By 2009/10, we see over 40 per cent of Offset finance being cashflowed by banks and other private sources. Film funds set up specifically for this purpose are also becoming more significant, contributing 15 per cent of Offset finance in 2009/10, compared to 2–3 per cent in the first two years. The film/TV industry itself continues to be a major source, contributing 32 per cent of cashflow finance in 2009/10. In this case, production companies and broadcasters are covering the Offset contribution from their own funds.

SOURCESOFOFFSETCASHFLOWFINANCEFORFEATURESANDTVDRAMA

Value

TOTAL NO.

OFFSET TITLES

TOTAL VALUE OF

OFFSET ($M)

CASHFLOWED THROUGH:

YEAR OF PRODUCTION

GOVERNMENT (INC STATE AGENCIES)

FILM/TV INDUSTRY SPECIFIC FILM FUNDS PRIVATE/BANK LOANS UNKNOWN

NO. TITLES $M NO. TITLES $M NO. TITLES $M NO. TITLES $M NO. TITLES $M

2007/08 46 77 20 22 17 42 1 2 6 11 2 1

2008/09 58 176 14 16 24 131 5 5 11 16 5 5

2009/10 56 128 7 12 20 40 10 19 20 52 1 2

3-yr average 53 127 14 17 20 71 5 9 12 26 3 3

Notes: Some titles cashflowed the Offset with more than one source, so figures for number of titles do not necessarily total.

Proportions

Focus: Cashflowing the Offset

T H E D R A M A R E P O R T 2 0 0 9 / 1 0 | S C R E E N A U S T R A L I A 1 3

28%

9%

10%

55%

75%

32% 15%

14%

9%

41%

1%

3%

2%

3%

2%

% of Offset cashflowed through various sources

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

2007/08

2008/09

2009/10

π Government π Film/TV industry π Specific film funds π Private/bank loans π Unknown

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

2007/08

2008/09

2009/10

π Government π Film/TV industry π Specific film funds π Private/bank loans π Unknown

% of titles cashflowing Offset through various sources

43%

24%

13%

37%

41%

36%

9%

18%

13%

19%

36%

4%

9%

2%

2%

FEATURESIn 2009/10, five foreign features started shooting in Australia, allocating approximately $169 million (around two-thirds of their budgets) to expenditure in this country. The production of two high-budget titles from the US, Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of Dawn Treader and Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, has marked a significant rise in expenditure following a dip in 2008/09 where only six Indian features spent $2 million locally.

A further five titles started PDV work in Australia in 2009/10 without shooting here. These titles accounted for $9 million in local expenditure, compared to $19 million from seven titles last year. The 2009/10 titles included Sucker Punch, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Iron Man 2. Work was also done on two non-US films, True Legend (Hong Kong) and Another Year (UK).

NO.1 TOTAL BUDGETS2

SPEND IN AUST1

2007/08 7 (+15) 190 105 (+13)

2008/09 6 (+7) 10 2 (+19)

2009/10 5 (+5) 250 169 (+9)

3-yr average 6 (+9) 150 92 (+14)

Notes:

See page 2 for definition of foreign.

1. Figures preceded by ‘+’ are for foreign productions undertaking only PDV work in Australia.

2. Total budgets include only foreign titles shot in Australia – total budgets for foreign PDV-only titles are not available.

TVDRAMA

NO.1 HOURS2 TOTAL BUDGETS3

SPEND IN AUST

2007/08 1 (+0) 10 150 134 (+0)

2008/09 2 (+2) 8 2 1 (+<1)

2009/10 2 (+0) 3 15 <1 (+0)

3-yr average 2 7 56 45

Notes:

1. Figures preceded by ‘+’ are for foreign productions undertaking only PDV work in Australia.


3. Total budgets include only foreign titles shot in Australia – total budgets for foreign PDV-only titles are not available.

Two foreign TV drama titles started shooting in Australia in 2009/10: the Korean series Paradise Ranch and the French series Foudre, which filmed four episodes in NSW. Foreign TV drama expenditure in Australia was well down on the three-year average despite a rise in the total budgets of these titles. There have been no foreign children’s TV dramas shot in Australia since 2003/04.

There were no foreign TV drama titles undertaking PDV work in Australia in 2009/10 without shooting here.

Foreign features up again after lean year in 2008/09; very little TV drama

Foreign production

1 4

TheFederalGovernmentintroducedtheRefundableFilmTaxOffset(RFTO)severalyearsagotoencouragelarge-budgetforeignproductionstoshootinAustralia,providingarebateonqualifyingexpenditureabove$15million.InMay2007,theRFTOwasreplacedbytheLocationOffsetandtheratewasincreasedfrom12percentto15percent.Basedonestimatedexpenditure,therewerenotitlesfromthe2009/10slatethatwouldbeeligibletoapplyfortheLocationOffset,reflectingthecontractioninforeignproductionthisyear.

IntheMay2010Budget,theFederalGovernmentreducedthethresholdforthePDVOffsetfrom$5millionto$500,000.Theimpactofthesechangesislikelytobereflectedinthe2010/11slate.

« Un inhab i ted

Shooting off Masthead Island, Qld.

Photographer: Bill Bennett

Drama production by location


0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

50020

07/

08

200

8/0

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200

9/10

200

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200

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200

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9/10

NSW QLD SA VIC WA TAS/NT/ACT

Foreign

AustralianSpe

nd ($

m)

Victoria accounted for the greatest share of spending by the 09/10 slate; production companies, however, are mainly based in NSW

EXPENDITUREBYSTATEWith the two significant foreign productions in this year’s slate, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, shooting in Victoria and Queensland respectively, those two states accounted for the highest proportions of expenditure in 2009/10: 37 per cent of total expenditure was in Victoria and 31 per cent in Queensland. There was also solid expenditure by Australian productions, both features and TV drama, in Victoria, and by Australian features in Queensland.

TV drama was strong in NSW, with most expenditure relating to domestic productions.

Activity in South Australia and Western Australia was also mainly related to Australian titles – features in South Australia (including a large proportion of this year’s feature co-production expenditure), and both features and TV drama in Western Australia.

$M NSW QLD SA VIC WA TAS/NT/ACT

2007/08 249 135 33 256 22 1

2008/09 451 47 29 164 18 4

2009/10 189 226 20 272 23 1

% NSW QLD SA VIC WA TAS/NT/ACT

2007/08 36% 19% 5% 37% 3% <1%

2008/09 63% 7% 4% 23% 3% 1%

2009/10 26% 31% 3% 37% 3% <1%

LOCATIONOFPRODUCTIONCOMPANYAs an indication of where production activity is being generated, the report also allocates the budget of each Australian feature and TV drama program to where the production company is based in Australia, rather than where the shoot takes place.

Feature film and TV drama activity generated by NSW-based companies continued to account for the majority of production (66 per cent).

TotalbudgetsforfeaturefilmandTVdramaproduction($m)bylocationofAustralianproductioncompany

$M NSW QLD SA VIC WA ACT/TAS/NT

2007/08 402 51 5 89 22 0

2008/09 521 25 4 184 19 3

2009/10 402 18 23 127 32 2

% NSW QLD SA VIC WA ACT/TAS/NT

2007/08 71% 9% 1% 16% 4% 0%

2008/09 69% 3% 1% 24% 2% <1%

2009/10 66% 3% 4% 21% 5% <1%

Titles in the 09/10 slate

Australian features

DOMESTIC

Bad Behaviour Global Alliance Productions, Mediakin, Sterling Cinema Australia, Caldwell Entertainment

Beneath Hill 60 The Silence Productions Pty Ltd

Big Mamma’s Boy Bruno/Lotito Pty Ltd

Blame Factor 30 Films Pty Ltd, 3 Monkey Films Pty Ltd

Burning Man Burning Man Productions Pty Ltd

City of the Damned Pittot Films

The Cup Puzzle Productions Pty Ltd

Dealing with Destiny Dalifey Pty Ltd

Dream Children Fat Kid Films Pty Ltd

The Eye of the Storm Paper Bark Films Pty Ltd

Griff the Invisible Green Park Pictures Pty Ltd

A Heartbeat Away Pictures in Paradise

Here I Am Scarlett Pictures Pty Ltd

The Killer Elite Omnilab Media Group

Little Johnny the Movie Instinct Entertainment Pty Limited, Studio Moshi

Mind Fire Myrtletown Films Pty Ltd

Needle Needle Productions Pty Ltd, Filmscope Entertainment Pty Ltd

Oakie’s Outback Adventure Whip Cracking Productions

Red Dog Woss Group Films, Endymion Films Inc and Woss

Red Hill Hughes House Films

The Reef Reef Films Pty Ltd

Sanctum Sanctum Australia Pty Ltd

Sinbad and the Minotaur Limelight International Media Entertainment Pty Ltd

Sleeping Beauty Magic Films Pty Ltd

South Solitary Macgowan Films Pty Ltd

Summer Coda Revival Film Company

Swerve Duo Art Productions

Tomorrow, When the War Began Omnilab Media Pty Ltd

Toomelah Bunya Productions

Uninhabited Uninhabited Films Pty Ltd

Wog Boy 2: Kings of Mykonos See-Saw Films Pty Ltd, Go Films

X Circe Films Pty Ltd

CO-PRODUCTIONS

Arctic Blast (Australia/Canada) Arctic Productions Pty Ltd, Polar Productions Inc.

The Dragon Pearl (Australia/China)

AMPCO Films, Zhejiang Hengdian Film Production Co., Ltd.

Oranges and Sunshine (Australia/UK)

Sixteen Films, See-Saw Films Pty Ltd

Santa’s Apprentice (Australia/France)

Avrill Stark Entertainment Pty Ltd, Alphanim Lte

The Tree (Australia/France) Arbre Films Pty Ltd

Foreign features

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (US)

Fox 2000 Pictures, Walden Media

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (US) Miramax Films, Necropia, Gran Via

Crook (India) Vishesh Film, Films and Casting Temple Pty Ltd

Orange (India) Anjana Productions, Films and Casting Temple Pty Ltd

We Are Family (India) Dharma Productions, Films and Casting Temple Pty Ltd

PDV-ONLY

Another Year (UK) Film4, Focus Features, Thin Man Films

Iron Man 2 (US) Paramount Pictures, Marvel Studios

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (US) Walt Disney Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Saturn Films

Sucker Punch (US) Legendary Pictures, Cruel and Unusual films

True Legend (Hong Kong) EDKO Films, Shanghai Film Group, Focus Features

Priest (US) Screen Gems, Michael De Luca Productions, Buckaroo Entertainment

1 6

Gr i f f the Inv is ib le

Photographer: Mark Rogers

Australian TV drama

DOMESTIC

Series/Serials

Angry Boys Angry Boys Productions Pty Ltd

City Homicide series 4 Seven Network Operations Limited, City Homicide Production Office

Home and Away series 23 Seven Network Operations Limited

I Can’t Believe It’s Not Better Foxtel Pty Limited

I Rock Mum’s Spaghetti Pty Ltd, Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Jesters series 2 Return Fire Productions

The Librarians series 3 The Librarians Pty Ltd, Gristmill Pty Ltd

Lowdown High Wire Films

Neighbours series 27 FremantleMedia Australia (Melbourne)

Packed to the Rafters series 3 Seven Productions

Rescue Special Ops series 2 Southern Star Entertainment Pty Ltd

Review With Myles Barlow series 2

Starchild Productions Pty Ltd

Rush series 3 Southern Star Entertainment Pty Ltd, Network Ten

Telemovies

Hawke The Film Company

Offspring Southern Star John Edwards

Sisters of War Pericles Film Productions Pty Ltd

Wicked Love Playmaker Media Pty Ltd

Mini-series

Bed of Roses series 3 Ruby Entertainment, Tindale Rd Films No 1 Pty Ltd

Cloudstreet Screentime Pty Ltd

Cops: L.A.C. COPS Production No 1 Pty Ltd

Killing Time FremantleMedia Australia

Offspring Southern Star Entertainment Pty Ltd

Rake Essential Media and Entertainment

Sea Patrol series 4 McElroy All Media Pty Ltd

Spirited series 1 Southern Star John Edwards

Tangle series 2 Southern Star John Edwards

Underbelly: The Golden Mile series 3

Screentime Pty Ltd

Children's

Bananas in Pyjamas series 5 Southern Star Entertainment Pty Ltd

Davincibles SLR Productions, Moonscoop, Neo Network, Rai Fiction, Big Animation

Castaway Westway Productions

Dance Academy series 1 Werner Film Productions, Dance Academy Productions Pty Ltd

The Elephant Princess series 2

Jonathan M Shiff Productions Pty Ltd

Flea Bitten Moody Street Kids Pty Ltd

Penelope K By the Way Freehand Productions Pty Ltd, Blink Films Pty Ltd

CO-PRODUCTIONS

Children's

Dead Gorgeous (Australia/UK)

Burberry Entertainment Pty Ltd

Me and My Monsters (Australia/UK)

Sticky Pictures Pty Ltd, Tiger Aspect Pictures (SPV) Limited, Me & My Monsters Ltd

Foreign TV drama

Foudre series 3 (France) Adventure Line Productions

Paradise Ranch (Korea) Samhwa Networks, SM Entertainment


1 81 8

Thissectionincorporatesdatafromaseparatesurveyofcompaniesprovidingpost-production,digitalandvisualeffects(PDV)services.

ThedatafocusesonincometocompaniesinthePDVsectorandispresentedaccordingtowhenincomewasearned.Itisthereforenotcomparablewiththedatainthemainbodyofthereport.Forexample,theincometoPDVcompaniesshownherefor2009/10camefromexpenditurenotonlybyprojectswhichbeganin2009/10(the‘2009/10slate’referredtointhemainbodyofthereport)butalsobyprojectscontinuingproductionfrompreviousyears.

IncomefromAustralianPDVworkonfeaturesandTVdrama($m),2007/08–2009/10

$M

AUSTRALIAN FOREIGN TOTAL

DOMESTIC CO-PRODUCTION SHOT IN AUSTRALIA PDV ONLY IN AUST.

Features

2007/08 50 2 9 10 71

2008/09 91 3 1 9 105

2009/10 133 15 1 16 164

3-yr average 92 6 4 12 113

TVdrama

2007/08 34 9 <1 0 43

2008/09 42 7 1 <1 50

2009/10 40 5 0 0 45

3-yr average 39 7 0 <1 46

Total

2007/08 85 10 9 10 114

2008/09 133 10 3 9 155

2009/10 173 20 1 16 210

3-yr average 130 13 4 12 159

%share 82% 8% 3% 7% 100%

Income from PDV work on features and TV drama has averaged $159 million annually over the past three years

PDV services – for features and TV drama production

Note: Figures may not total exactly due to rounding.

Based on this analysis, income from PDV work on features and TV drama was:• $114 million in 2007/08• $155 million in 2008/09• $210 million in 2009/10• an average of $159 million anually over the last

three years.

This represents approximately 22 per cent of total feature and TV drama production expenditure in Australia over this period.

Services to Australian productions have accounted for the majority (82 per cent) of this work (average $130 million annually) over the last four years, with titles including Australia, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole and Happy Feet 2 .

However, foreign productions also use Australian PDV companies. Recent examples include Iron Man 2, Sucker Punch, which came to Australia for post only, as well as The Voyage of the Dawn Treader which also shot in Australia. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and The Way Back are two major productions that began post-production in 2008/09 and continued in 2009/10.

The wide range of PDV work on recent foreign features and TV dramas carried out by Australian companies includes visual effects, sound mixing, foley and ADR, as well as traditional post-production activities such as editing. Visual effects has made up approximately 73 per cent of the value of PDV income earned on foreign features and TV drama over the last three years. The remaining 27 per cent was made up of digital and non-digital post-production, including sound post-production and other digital production such as scanning and digital colour grading.

The Federal Government’s PDV Offset was introduced to help encourage foreign productions to take advantage of Australian PDV expertise, providing a 15 per cent rebate on qualifying PDV expenditure. The incentive came into effect from 1 July 2007 with a threshold of $5 million, but this was reduced in the May 2010 Federal Budget to $500,000. Based on survey data three projects would have been eligible for the PDV offset in 2009/10 under the reduced threshold, but only one project under the original threshold of $5 million.

IncomefromAustralianPDVworkonfeaturesandTVdramabystate($m),2007/08–2009/10

NSW VIC QLD SA WA, TAS,NT, ACT

TOTAL

2007/08 68 15 22 6 2 114

2008/09 109 27 5 10 4 155

2009/10 157 23 8 20 1 210

3-yraverage

111 22 12 12 3 159

% share 70% 14% 7% 8% 2% 100%

INCOMEBYSTATEA substantial proportion of PDV work in Australia is undertaken in NSW, which accounted for 70 per cent ($111 million annually) of spending on PDV in the three years 2007/08 to 2009/10. NSW companies provided PDV services for features such as Iron Man 2, Sucker Punch, and The Way Back.

The balance of PDV work over the period was spread between Victoria at 14 per cent (average $22 million) of the total, followed by South Australia (8 per cent: $12 million)Queensland (7 per cent; $12 million) and the remaining states and territories (2 per cent; $3 million).

PDV is an area of film activity where the smaller states have been able to consistently compete with their larger counterparts, with an estimated 42 per cent of expenditure on PDV-only projects being spent in South Australia, compared with 55 per cent in NSW in 2009/10.

Titles undertaking PDV in Victoria included the features True Legend and Sanctum, and TV drama Sumo Mouse. Queensland projects included Animalia and K9. PDV projects undertaken in South Australia included the features Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and The Way Back.


Tomorrow, When the War Began

ABOUTTHEPDVDATA

CompaniesidentifiedbyScreenAustraliaasprovidingPDVservicesforfeaturesandTVdramaweresurveyed,andthisdatawasusedtosupplementthemainreportdata.PDVisdefinedasasetofactivitiesratherthanastageintheproductionprocess(see'Keyterms'onpage2).

ToprovideasenseoftheongoingbusinessactivityofPDVcompaniesinagivenfinancialyear(ratherthanaccordingtoanannualslateofproductionsortitles),incomehasbeenassignedtotheyearitwasearnedratherthanallocatedtothestartoftheshootorPDVinAustralia.AsaresultthefiguresinthissectionmayincludeprojectsthatcommencedshootingorPDVworkinthepreviousfinancialyearsandcannotbecomparedwithfiguresinthemainbodyofthereport,whicharebasedonprincipalphotographyorPDVstartdate.

NotethatthisdatarelatestotheproductionoffeaturesandTVdramaonlyandsodoesnotcoverallPDVactivityinAustralia.ThemostrecentdatafromtheAustralianBureauofStatisticsindicatesthatAustraliancompaniesreceivedincomeof$427.6millionin2006/07fromtheprovisionofPDVservicesacrossallaudiovisualproduction,with43percentaccountedforbyfeaturefilmsandTVdrama.OtherareasofPDVactivityincludecommercialsandotherTVproductions.

2 0

Methodology

• Compiled by Screen Australia’s Producer Offset and Co-production Unit, using data collected in the administration of the Producer Offset, incorporating production data gathered by the Strategy and Research Unit through contact with production companies and from publicly available sources. PDV data is gathered through surveying PDV companies.

• The following federal and state government funding agencies provide data on titles they have funded and, in the case of state agencies, titles shot and/or post-produced in their state: Screen Australia (including the former Film Finance Corporation Australia and the Australian Film Commission), Screen NSW, Film Victoria, South Australian Film Corporation, Screen Queensland, ScreenWest, Screen Tasmania and Northern Territory Film Office.

• In some cases, estimates have been made where data was not available.

• Foreign projects are included in the report when a substantial amount is shot in Australia or when PDV work is undertaken in Australia. Where only one or two episodes of a foreign series are shot in Australia or where the spend is less than 10 per cent of the total budget, only the budgets for the episodes shot in Australia are included in the total.

• Features with budgets under $500,000 are only included if they have had a screening at a festival or cinema release.

• Spending in Australia may include some expenditure on foreign production elements – for example, fees for non-Australian actors or other individuals while working in Australia. Likewise spending in a particular state may include fees for elements from outside the state such as foreign or interstate cast or crew.

• When analysing sources of finance, the ABC and SBS are categorised as film and TV industry, rather than as government sources. This reflects industry perception of the public broadcasters as part of the broadcast sector rather than government film agencies. In addition to the federal, state and territory film agencies (listed above), government sources may include direct finance from other government agencies and departments, including the Australian Children’s Television Foundation and the Adelaide and Melbourne Film Festival Funds.

• Funding figures from government agencies may not correlate with the figures in this report because this report includes projects according to the start date of principal photography rather than contract dates.

• Contributions to TV drama by broadcasters in this report do not correlate with expenditure reported by the Australian Communications and Media Authority in the Broadcasting Financial Results. This report analyses finance sources in place at the start of production while the BFR reports expenditure by the commercial free-to-air broadcasters on screened programs during the year and includes amortisation costs for programs purchased in previous years and programs purchased after completion. For pay TV, ACMA reports annual expenditure by drama channels on 'eligible Australian drama', including licence fees, production expenses and limited pre-production costs. Expenditure on features may be apportioned across financial years. For both free-to-air and pay TV, the ACMA figures can include expenditure on New Zealand programs, following the ‘Australian content’ definition.

• Sketch comedy programs are included in line with the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s definition of TV drama under the Australian Content Standard.

• Mini-series are defined as: a limited series of drama which is less than 13 hours in total length, with individual episodes at least one commercial broadcast hour in length.

• Series of telemovies are counted by the number of individual titles.

• Data is updated on an ongoing basis, with the result that some discrepancies with previously published reports may appear. The discrepancies reflect new information or adjustments to methodology.

• Figures may not total exactly due to rounding.

T H E D R A M A R E P O R T 2 0 0 9 / 1 0 | S C R E E N A U S T R A L I A 2 1w w w. s c r e e n a u s t r a l i a . g o v . a u

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Documents

The Drama Report 09/10 · 2010-11-26 · • Expenditure by Australian TV drama for adults increased but production of children's programs was down after two strong years. As a result,