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Creative Industries

Creative Industries

Sector Overview Wales

Animation

The animation industry UK-wide consists of a workforce that stretches across many sectors in the audio visual industry. Animated content features on television, in feature films, commercials, websites and computer or video games.

Fast Facts:

  • The 2006 Skillset Census identified 354 people working in animation in Wales (freelancers and employees.
  • According to the census, approximately 31% of the animation workforce is freelance and a similar proportion is female.
  • The census identified 36% Welsh speakers working in animation on census day, underlining the role of the Welsh medium broadcast media in supporting the sector.
  • The sector is centred on Cardiff and to a lesser extent North Wales. However, its growing links with multimedia may lead to greater geographical dispersion across the country.
  • Welsh animation includes titles such as Sali Mali and Animated Tales of the World and brand new productions such as Hana's Helpline, produced entirely in Wales by Calon TV.
  • Animated films from Wales have also won two Oscar nominations (Famous Fred and The Canterbury Tales) and a collection of Emmy awards.

Film

The film industry employs some 27,000 people across the UK, mainly in small production companies and strongly centred on London - where 95% of all UK film productions are currently based. The industry in Wales is dominated by a few small production companies located in Cardiff, the majority of whom also produce TV and radio content.

Fast Facts:

  • The 2004 Skillset Film Production Workforce Survey estimates a total of 10,000 people having worked on UK productions in 2002 of which 7% (or 720 people) had worked in Wales.
  • Recent film productions that have come out or been filmed in Wales include Tomb Raider II, King Arthur, The Libertine, Half Light, Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, Heidi, Daddy's Girl & Big Nothing.
  • The industry has also produced talented film practitioners including Director Marc Evans whose credits include Snowcake, Trauma, My Little Eye, House of America, Beautiful Mistake and actors such as Ioan Gruffydd who has starred in 102 Dalmatians, ITV's adaptation of The Forsyte Saga, Black Hawk Down, King Arthur (as Lancelot) and most recently the Fantastic Four and Amazing Grace.
  • The new Film Agency for Wales was established in July 2006 with a remit to ensure that the economic, cultural and educational aspects of film are effectively represented in Wales, the UK and the world. As a strategic agency, the Film Agency facilitates the emergence of a viable and sustainable Welsh film industry and promotes a vibrant and dynamic film culture.

Television

The television is currently economically vital to the industry in Wales, underpinning much of the activity in related sectors, such as facilities and film. Terrestrial television (BBC, ITV and S4C), and independent production are the most significant employers.

Fast Facts:

  • Television has an occupationally diverse and highly skilled workforce split between staff and freelance employment, with a relatively high proportion of Welsh speakers especially in the independent sector - which stands at 36%.
  • According to the Skillset workforce survey, Wales accounts for 5% of the total UK television workforce.
  • TV companies in Wales regularly produce content for network transmission whilst we also have many small independents which typically produce only one or two commissions a year, mostly in a single genre.
  • According to the 2006 Skillset census, the television industry accounts for more than 3,500 jobs in Wales, fairly evenly split between broadcasters and independent producers. In the independent sector, over half of the workforce is freelance.
Source: www.Skillset.org