Regular readers will know that I have been harping on about the workings of Section 481 for some time, most recently here.
Yesterday the Department of Finance announced that a consultation on Section 481 will take place between now and July 31st. A good briefing on the consultation and the workings of Section 481 is available on the Department website here.
The one issue that is not mentioned is that a new European dispensation for the industry is to come into effect before our present Section 481 arrangements come up for renewal in 2015. That said, the Department may be taking the view that any change to the regulatory framework to be introduced at the European, supra-national level may be minimal in its effects.
The consultation questions are summarised as follows:
1. Is the exchequer’s supports to the film and TV sector in Ireland through Section 481 relief an efficient use of scarce resources and if so why?
2. Is the current Scheme maximising the potential economic benefits to Ireland in terms of stimulating activity in the film and TV sector? If not, why not?
3. What are the economic arguments for restricting or terminating the scheme?
4. What possible changes to the existing scheme, if any, should be considered and why?
5. Do interested parties agree that there is merit in extending Section 481 Film Relief Tax incentive scheme beyond 2015? If yes, why? If no, why not?
6. How does the scheme interact with other enterprise tax incentives such as the BES/EII?
Get your spake in, as they used to say before we got posh.
update - James Hickey, IFB CEO, speaking about the consultation on 'Morning Ireland', RTE Radio 1, this morning - at this link.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
All the world's a stage...
A correspondent has passed on a link to a news item in 'The Stage' yesterday headlined Actors protest over BBC dramas made in Ireland - BBC Drama has been accused of neglecting the corporation’s target to spend 17% of its network TV budget in the nations, after it emerged that three new shows are being made in the Republic of Ireland.
The first thing to be said is that no actors are quoted in the story. The charge is led by Equity assistant general secretary Stephen Spence who is particularly focused on the fact that none of the productions cited - Loving Miss Hatto, Vexed and Ripper Street - are being filmed in Northern Ireland.
The second thing is that many British actors are employed on these shows.
The third thing is that as they are citizens of a member state of the EU, British personnel, including actors, employed on these shows qualify as 'Irish' spend under the Section 481 regulations. The money to pay them may not be coming from BBC or other British sources. I'm not sure that the same applies to Irish personnel working on film projects in the UK (including Northern Ireland) that utilise British incentives.
We do need more transparency and research data around the employment spend on projects using the tax break and Film Board funding, particularly employment numbers and levels of pay broken down by Irish resident and non-resident personnel.
The first thing to be said is that no actors are quoted in the story. The charge is led by Equity assistant general secretary Stephen Spence who is particularly focused on the fact that none of the productions cited - Loving Miss Hatto, Vexed and Ripper Street - are being filmed in Northern Ireland.
The second thing is that many British actors are employed on these shows.
The third thing is that as they are citizens of a member state of the EU, British personnel, including actors, employed on these shows qualify as 'Irish' spend under the Section 481 regulations. The money to pay them may not be coming from BBC or other British sources. I'm not sure that the same applies to Irish personnel working on film projects in the UK (including Northern Ireland) that utilise British incentives.
We do need more transparency and research data around the employment spend on projects using the tax break and Film Board funding, particularly employment numbers and levels of pay broken down by Irish resident and non-resident personnel.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Meanwhile, somewhere in France...
Thus the whole circle of travellers may be reduced to the following Heads. Idle Travellers, Inquisitive Travellers, Lying Travellers, Proud Travellers, Vain Travellers, Splenetic Travellers. Then follow the Travellers of Necessity. The delinquent and felonious Traveller, The unfortunate and innocent Traveller, The simple Traveller, And last of all (if you please) The Sentimental Traveller (meaning thereby myself) who have travell'd, and of which I am now sitting down to give an account—as much out of Necessity, and the besoin de Voyager, as any one in the class. — Laurence Sterne, 'A Sentimental Journey Through France & Italy', 1768.
Sterne, born in Clonmel in 1713, was perhaps the first 'modern' writer and said nearly everything that may be said about travel as it is experienced by the traveller, especially on journeys in continental Europe. I imagine the perennially peripatetic folks down in Cannes might agree.
Some 150 Irish delegates are making the trip this year, working for 80+ businesses, agencies, festivals, organisations and representative bodies.
Minister Deenihan will also be putting in an appearance to 'ink' a new co-production agreement with South Africa. [update - rescheduled as follows]
Initial news emerging from the PR mill includes talk that Pierce Brosnan's Irish DreamTime is setting up the first project, November Man, in what is hoped will become a new franchise starring the actor based on a series of spy novels. And apparently Scarlett Johanson is out and Kiera Knightley is in the next John Carney project, Can a Song Save Your Life?
There'll be footage of Byzantium being flogged, along with a non-Irish film starring Ronan Keating, John Michael McDonagh's Calvary project, Terry George's post-Oscar feature Whole Lotta Sole, North-South co-productions developed in Northern Ireland - Jump and Good Vibrations, Katrine Boorman's doc about her father John - Me and Me Dad, Chris O'Dowd's next big outing The Sapphires.
Fionnula Flanagan turns up with a chorus of (mostly) country music stars in a Christmas movie called When Angels Sing. Cillian Murphy turns up in a new British debut feature and I'm sure projects with Gabriel Byrne, Brendan Gleeson, Colin Farrell and Michael Fassbender are all being hawked somewhere along the Croisette.
The Film Board will be formally setting out its stall with the following although I'm sure plenty of other recent titles will turn up in sales agent catalogues. I wonder if there'll be even more pricing than usual denominated in US dollars and Sterling, rather than the Euro?
Sterne, born in Clonmel in 1713, was perhaps the first 'modern' writer and said nearly everything that may be said about travel as it is experienced by the traveller, especially on journeys in continental Europe. I imagine the perennially peripatetic folks down in Cannes might agree.
Some 150 Irish delegates are making the trip this year, working for 80+ businesses, agencies, festivals, organisations and representative bodies.
Minister Deenihan will also be putting in an appearance to 'ink' a new co-production agreement with South Africa. [update - rescheduled as follows]
Initial news emerging from the PR mill includes talk that Pierce Brosnan's Irish DreamTime is setting up the first project, November Man, in what is hoped will become a new franchise starring the actor based on a series of spy novels. And apparently Scarlett Johanson is out and Kiera Knightley is in the next John Carney project, Can a Song Save Your Life?
There'll be footage of Byzantium being flogged, along with a non-Irish film starring Ronan Keating, John Michael McDonagh's Calvary project, Terry George's post-Oscar feature Whole Lotta Sole, North-South co-productions developed in Northern Ireland - Jump and Good Vibrations, Katrine Boorman's doc about her father John - Me and Me Dad, Chris O'Dowd's next big outing The Sapphires.
Fionnula Flanagan turns up with a chorus of (mostly) country music stars in a Christmas movie called When Angels Sing. Cillian Murphy turns up in a new British debut feature and I'm sure projects with Gabriel Byrne, Brendan Gleeson, Colin Farrell and Michael Fassbender are all being hawked somewhere along the Croisette.
The Film Board will be formally setting out its stall with the following although I'm sure plenty of other recent titles will turn up in sales agent catalogues. I wonder if there'll be even more pricing than usual denominated in US dollars and Sterling, rather than the Euro?
The people on the bus...
It's a mark, surely, of how small the Irish audiovisual sector is that the two people selected to participate in the 'Inside Pictures' training programme advertised by the Irish Film Board on March 2 are a serving and a former member of staff at the agency.
Both Alan Maher and Rebecca O'Flanagan undoubtedly meet the criteria of being executives and producers who display determination to succeed and.. have at least five years' experience in film or an associated creative industry such as television. Maher is due to leave the Film Board in July while O'Flanagan was Ireland's EFP 'Producer on the Move' in 2011, having developed and produced the feature 'My Brothers'.
While FÁS Screen Training Ireland and the Irish Film Board were collaborating with Inside Pictures to offer support for up to two eligible and experienced Irish applicants the nature of the support was not detailed.
The registration fee for a Full Participant place is €6,000. The fee covers programme participation, documentation, return economy travel allowance to and accommodation in Los Angeles, certain meals and transport from the module base to and from venues. For non- UK participants it also covers return economy travel allowance to and accommodation allowance in London.
The 'Inside Pictures' programme has been running for nine years and has offered 16 places on the current programme from more than 100 applications which had been selected by a panel. It is not known how many Irish applications were received, or whether the two places to be offered to Irish participants were guaranteed. The programme consists of three full-time, one-week sessions taking place in London and LA over the latter half of the year.
The extensive list of industry practitioner speakers lined up this year include Ed Guiney of Element Films and Teresa McGrane, Deputy CEO of the IFB.
The Programme is funded by the MEDIA Programme of the European Union and by the UK film industry through the Skillset Film Fund which is supported by the UK National Lottery through the UK Film Council (sic) and the film industry through the Skills Investment Fund.
[Irish Participants last year were - John McDonnell, (Fantastic Films) and Audrey Sheils, (Element Pictures). Irish 'Associated Observers' who attended the 2011 London sessions were Katie Holly (Blinder Films), Stephen McDonogh (BBC Worldwide), and Martha O’Neill (Wildfire Film & Television Productions).]
Both Alan Maher and Rebecca O'Flanagan undoubtedly meet the criteria of being executives and producers who display determination to succeed and.. have at least five years' experience in film or an associated creative industry such as television. Maher is due to leave the Film Board in July while O'Flanagan was Ireland's EFP 'Producer on the Move' in 2011, having developed and produced the feature 'My Brothers'.
While FÁS Screen Training Ireland and the Irish Film Board were collaborating with Inside Pictures to offer support for up to two eligible and experienced Irish applicants the nature of the support was not detailed.
The registration fee for a Full Participant place is €6,000. The fee covers programme participation, documentation, return economy travel allowance to and accommodation in Los Angeles, certain meals and transport from the module base to and from venues. For non- UK participants it also covers return economy travel allowance to and accommodation allowance in London.
The 'Inside Pictures' programme has been running for nine years and has offered 16 places on the current programme from more than 100 applications which had been selected by a panel. It is not known how many Irish applications were received, or whether the two places to be offered to Irish participants were guaranteed. The programme consists of three full-time, one-week sessions taking place in London and LA over the latter half of the year.
The extensive list of industry practitioner speakers lined up this year include Ed Guiney of Element Films and Teresa McGrane, Deputy CEO of the IFB.
The Programme is funded by the MEDIA Programme of the European Union and by the UK film industry through the Skillset Film Fund which is supported by the UK National Lottery through the UK Film Council (sic) and the film industry through the Skills Investment Fund.
[Irish Participants last year were - John McDonnell, (Fantastic Films) and Audrey Sheils, (Element Pictures). Irish 'Associated Observers' who attended the 2011 London sessions were Katie Holly (Blinder Films), Stephen McDonogh (BBC Worldwide), and Martha O’Neill (Wildfire Film & Television Productions).]
Monday, May 14, 2012
The wheels on the bus...
The announcement a couple of days ago by the Film Board of the departure in July of Production Executive Alan Maher suggested that there might be other changes on the way. It is not a time in the public service to be losing staff, given the embargo on recruitment, unless their replacement has prior approval, perhaps as part of a 're-structuring' process.
So it was not too surprising to see the following announcement on the IFB website today:
Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board (BSÉ/IFB) today announced changes to the organisation of the creative decision making structures in the Agency.
The current roles of two Production Executives and a Development Executive are to cease once the current contracts expire on a phased basis from now to the beginning of next year. In their place, three Project Managers will be retained to manage projects across all genres from the initial concept stage right through to the project launch onto the market. The new structure will provide multiple access points for applicants who will have the option to approach any one of the three Project Managers with a development or production application for their project.
One of the Project Managers will be based in Galway and two will be based in Dublin.
The new arrangements will also ensure an enhanced rigour to the development and production of projects supported by BSÉ/IFB and a greater focus from the start on consistent support for the creative talent in each project and a renewed focus on the audience throughout the whole process.
James Hickey, Chief Executive of Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board said "I believe that the new structure will provide applicants with access to a broadly experienced creative team. A member of the team will assist applicants in taking their project from the first stage of development to full scale production and distribution of the film with a focus on delivering high quality projects with strong Irish creative talent behind them and a focus on audiences both local and international".
The changes will come into effect on a phased basis but will be fully operational by the beginning of 2013.
This means that the positions now occupied by Alan Maher, Emma Scott and Andrew Meehan will cease to exist by the end of this year. It will be interesting to see if the Board will employ people or seek tenders in order to 'retain' the three new Project Managers.
The change mirrors that which took place some years ago when a number of positions were dispensed with and a new, supposedly 'flatter' structure was put in place. One sensed at the time that part of the (unspoken) reasoning was that people in such positions should not hold them sufficiently long, or have their contracts renewed so often, that they could claim permanancy under employment legislation.
Of course there is nothing to stop the Board instituting the process changes mentioned in today's release while using their existing staff in their existing positions.
One also senses, particularly in the area of 'Creative' Co-Production, that these staff may have been under-utilised when the previous CEO was in charge. It is difficult to see how, for instance, the Development Executive's input could have been required on the many productions which were originated in other countries. Perhaps I'm wrong.
So it was not too surprising to see the following announcement on the IFB website today:
Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board (BSÉ/IFB) today announced changes to the organisation of the creative decision making structures in the Agency.
The current roles of two Production Executives and a Development Executive are to cease once the current contracts expire on a phased basis from now to the beginning of next year. In their place, three Project Managers will be retained to manage projects across all genres from the initial concept stage right through to the project launch onto the market. The new structure will provide multiple access points for applicants who will have the option to approach any one of the three Project Managers with a development or production application for their project.
One of the Project Managers will be based in Galway and two will be based in Dublin.
The new arrangements will also ensure an enhanced rigour to the development and production of projects supported by BSÉ/IFB and a greater focus from the start on consistent support for the creative talent in each project and a renewed focus on the audience throughout the whole process.
James Hickey, Chief Executive of Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board said "I believe that the new structure will provide applicants with access to a broadly experienced creative team. A member of the team will assist applicants in taking their project from the first stage of development to full scale production and distribution of the film with a focus on delivering high quality projects with strong Irish creative talent behind them and a focus on audiences both local and international".
The changes will come into effect on a phased basis but will be fully operational by the beginning of 2013.
This means that the positions now occupied by Alan Maher, Emma Scott and Andrew Meehan will cease to exist by the end of this year. It will be interesting to see if the Board will employ people or seek tenders in order to 'retain' the three new Project Managers.
The change mirrors that which took place some years ago when a number of positions were dispensed with and a new, supposedly 'flatter' structure was put in place. One sensed at the time that part of the (unspoken) reasoning was that people in such positions should not hold them sufficiently long, or have their contracts renewed so often, that they could claim permanancy under employment legislation.
Of course there is nothing to stop the Board instituting the process changes mentioned in today's release while using their existing staff in their existing positions.
One also senses, particularly in the area of 'Creative' Co-Production, that these staff may have been under-utilised when the previous CEO was in charge. It is difficult to see how, for instance, the Development Executive's input could have been required on the many productions which were originated in other countries. Perhaps I'm wrong.
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