Open Crew Meeting - Glasgow - 18th July 2009
Date: (16/07/2009)
Leading names in Scottish production call urgent meeting to discuss setting up new Guild - for everyone from runners to producers - a chance to get your views heard.
Information courtesy of Film Bang - Scotland's industry directory.
Here's the invitation in full - the meeting is:
Saturday, 18th July
1030
Film City Glasgow, 4 Summertown Road, Govan, G51 2LY
(enter via Summertown Road entrance)
Dear Fellow Technician
Gone are the days when we could rely on constant work for decent rates of pay. Too many talented technicians, producers and production staff are spending months and months at a time out of work. Many are leaving the industry or moving south creating a talent drain which only makes the situation worse.
The press however would have the public believing that the industry was booming, unfortunately this spin seems to be what the people in power are choosing to believe.
Scottish Screen are being merged with the Arts Council and it was only at the eleventh hour that any kind of public consultation was arranged. Funding policies, more emphasis on local crewing from the line producer down, on productions funded out of the Scottish pot, the continued lack of a studio and exemption from the smoking ban for the purposes of portraying real life on screen are but a few of the issues needing to be addressed.
At the moment we have no voice. BECTU seem uninterested and Scottish Screen claim to be unable to lobby their paymasters on our behalf. We are a group of individuals. If any other industry employing the number of people the Scottish Film and TV industry does, was in such a state, it would be getting column inches in the newspapers.
To this end I and several others would like to set up an association or guild of some kind. Made up of a committee of industry technicians chosen by fellow technicians. It would act as a voice to the press and be able to lobby the Culture Minister on a regular basis keeping him informed of the real situation in the industry, rather than the spin fed to the press by those with agendas other thanthe creation of a sustainable industry for the talented individuals who live and work in Scotland.
A meeting open to all freelancers from runners up to producers will be held on Saturday
18th July at 1030 at Film City Glasgow, 4 Summertown Road, Govan, G51 2LY (enter via
Summertown Road entrance) to sound out the feelings of the industry. If the majority are in agreement then a committee can be selected to move further with the issues raised on the day.
Please make the effort to attend, we are good at moaning about the situation but very poor at doing anything about it. We need as much input and support as possible. Don’t assume someone else will raise an issue you are concerned about.
Yours sincerely
Stephen Burt
Willy Wands
Iain Johnstone
Andy Harris
Gill Horn
John Rhodes
Irene Napier
Stuart Bruce
Michael Higson
Alasdair Walker
Julie Bills
Jonathan Farmer
David Gilchrist
Margaret Graham
John Gow Michael Wilson