Edinburgh gets location filming boost
Location filming in Edinburgh rose by nearly 30% in 2015 compared to the previous year, according to figures from Film Edinburgh.
BBC television dramas One Of Us and The Secret Agent had the biggest impact on the city and were major contributors to an overall economic impact of £6.6m.
Film Edinburgh also covers East Lothian and the Scottish Borders, which hosted filming for the second series of Outlander and visual effects plate shots for Steven Spielberg’s upcoming adaptation of The BFG.
“2015 has been a record-breaking year for filming production in the Edinburgh region,” said Rosie Ellison, film manager for Film Edinburgh. “A combination of the right locations, 25% of Scotland crew base, tax credit benefits and hard work to facilitate and attract productions, has helped strengthen Edinburgh’s reputation as a film-friendly city.
“Crucially, the results reaffirm the hugely compelling case in favour of a film studio in the city region. High-value drama productions made up only 4% of the total number of productions filming here, but their overall economic impact in 2015 was £5.4m.
“A film studio would provide the much-needed facilities for companies to base their entire production (offices, build space etc) in the region, not simply their location shoots. The benefits would be immediate and far-reaching.”
The Scottish government remains under pressure to develop the country’s first purpose-built film studio. Wardpark Studios in Cumbernauld near Glasgow is understood to be on the short list of potential sites for expansion, a controversial choice as Wardpark is a former industrial site converted into a studio for the historical drama Outlander.
In October last year the government launched a £1.75m Production Growth Fund designed to further incentivise producers to bring shoots to Scotland. However, the programme has faced criticism, as has the general perceived level of support for the Scottish production industry.
“Whilst the news about the Production Growth Fund is welcome, I think everyone working in the industry in Scotland will agree it’s the same old story - too little, too late,” said Michael Wilson, a producer and production manager, in comments to The Knowledge.
“The Scottish film and television industry has been plagued for years by inaction. It seems to grow out of a lack of leadership and ambition for the industry coming from our government agencies.
“The current UK film tax incentives were a golden opportunity for Scotland when they were brought in. Whilst the rest of the UK is blossoming, we've still had no direct action in Scotland. A fund of this size has little value to major films and TV shows – what they really need is a facility to shoot in.”
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