Hi Motion Designers, have you been busy lately? In the last 5 years, it has been much less work, cancellations, with inhouse replacements..
Has it been the same in the industry for everyone??
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- Sadly, I think we're seeing a similar, but in some ways worse pattern than emerged prior to the last major UK recession. While there are conflicting messages in the UK press and media, the overall data is clear - the UK economy is in a bad way. I've heard from peers across several creative sectors that they are finding their new business pipeline fall through, and through projects either being dropped or stalled.The feedback from peers that are finding their business pipeline decline is that their clients are cutting back and spending more frugally. The picture on inhouse recruting is a mixed one. On the on hand, some sectors have been hit extremely hard by the economic pressures on the UK, together with impact from Brexit, and particularly all sectors that used to freely move people and equipment between the UK and continental Europe. Peers in sectors that fall into this category have reported that in some cases they've had to restructure their business models to accomodate for the pressures caused by Brexit, and in all instances that's occured it's been to the detriment of the UK creative industries. For example, friends in the music industry have report that, whereas they used to tour large amounts of kit and crew across Europe, now they only tour with a core crew and limited kit, because of issues including the vast amounts of paperwork to import their kit to Europe, and likewise crews. Hence, they have switched to using EU based crews and kit for the majority share of touring, and though this works well enough in some respects, i.e. regarding audio, it doesn't tend to work well for other areas, and particularly visual, because they can no longer design and build expense staging etc., because they effectively have to treat their UK and their European tours as different enterties.It's not just the likes of rock and pop tours that are being hit. Friends in the classical music sector are also reporting that the impacts of Brexit have been devastating, particularly in tandem with the pandemic, and with the wider state of the UK economy. Though, as in all sectors, they are trying to adapt, whereas before many classical musicians could earn a living solely from performing, the general trend now is that more are having to take on side-hustles and part-time work.Friends in the film industry have reported a similar issue. Whereas, pre-Brexit, they'd send fairly large amounts of kit and crew to Europe for filming, they too now send skeletal crews and kit and work with local partners to try to overcome the barriers Brexit has created. This, again, has led to systemic changes in the way the film industry is running, and though that's partially combatted by the large investment into UK film production facilities, among other things, it's still problematic regarding films that involve cross-continent filming.Friends in the event business in the UK are reporting they too are generally finding the UK a hard market. Those that have seen their business pipeline fall through are reporting that their clients are expressing that, times as economically tough as this, they don't want to be seen to be spending high budgets on event production. This is particualrly true of corporate events that are centred on staff and client entertaining. Added to that, the now many strikes have led to events being cancelled, and particularly transport and ambulance worker, fire crew, and NHS strikes. Usually, the new year brings new bookings, but that doesn't seem to be the general trend in the UK event business of present. Hence, event suppliers of all kinds - fire work companies, audio visual and set designers, those creating the promo for events, etc. are being hit.Friends in theatre are likewise reporting that it's a very tough market. In particular, the hit of inflation and the high costs incurred in running shows and venues, in tandem with the fact that ticket sales are stoachstic due to the wider impact of the UK economic crisis, and many experiencing a drop in funding from the likes of the Arts Council, is putting even established theatre companies at risk and causing havoc with their forward planning.Are any UK creative sectors thriving? Digital is still doing relatively well in the UK, but that comes with a caveat. If we look at investing trends, other EU nations, such as France, are picking up investment that, but for Brexit, would have come to the UK. Whereas France wasn't performing very well in sectors including film, gaming, and wider digital, there's been a shift of late. We're also seeing several EU nations offer digital creatives and companies some very compelling opportunities, and this is likely to continue. To what extent will this drain the UK of opportunities? It's not clear yet. But, if we look to what's going on with respect to awards, it's clear that Britain's premier place in the creative industries is in the balance - the gap between what UK companies can offer up, and overseas ones can is closing. Though we may well see more attemps by the UK treasury to address investing issues, currently, the outlook doesn't imbue confidence that things will get better before they get worse.Reverting to recruting... on the one hand, those entering and just getting started out in their careers are reporting that, in some cases, they are being renumerated at a rate that, inflation factored, means their pay is significantly lower than the rate their equivalents were being paid in the 1990s and early 2000s. The line that companies are giving for this is that they 'can't afford to pay more'. This pattern echoes patterns in other markets, where those in the more junior roles are struggling to cope with inflation as their pay isn't tracking it. At the other extreme, talent shortages in mid-level to senior, some of which are chronic, are seeing some roles in this sector being paid better than pre-Brexit, and this is a product of the ratio of supply of talent meets demand - Britain simply doesn't have enough skill in some sectors, and this is partly due to Brexit causing an exodus of some talent back to the EU. It's also because, in the case of multinationals, the most forward-thinking are headhunting globally, and because they are doing this they are having to offer salaries and benefits that can compete with places where the economies are in a better state than in the UK. However, more generally, we're seeing an utter dirth of creativity by most companies that are recruiting, wherein we're seeing them revert to what is, in effect, an out-dated recruting and staffing model, wherein they want staff that are full-time, in-house, and increasingly, in the office/studio, rather than working remotely and relatively autonomously. This archaic approach means that they are ruling out many talented creatives working with and for them, and we're already seeing adverse impacts from this in terms of the quality of the creative works being produced by some companies. Presently, fashion in-particular appears to be in crisis, as many houses and brands struggle to remain relevant at a time of rapid change, both in Britain, and around the world.I'm running a series of livestreams called 'Creative Futures' on Instagram IG every Sunday evening at 9.30pm GMT for 30-mins, in which I deal with one question a week from a creative that's seeking advice on a particular issue. Some sessions I'll host alone, and others I'll bring in highly experienced friends from particular creative sectors, including theatre, music, and more. The questions answered so far include, how to find a job/get started in industry; how to stop AI nicking your job; and what the future of the advertising industry might be. You can find the recording on my Instagram page in the reels section. If it would be helpful, I can dedicate a future session to how to keep your creative business going in a downturn. I have created this series specifically because I am very concerned about the challenges facing UK creatives, given not one, but many warning flares are firing up, in tandem with the statistical data that's showing some very concerning trends.As a woman that's persisted through not one, but two major UK economic downturns of past, my primary advice is this - know that if your new business pipeline is drying up, and things are getting tough, above all, know you are not alone, others will be in the same boat, don't take it personally, it's a market issue, and be confident that, however hard it gets you can get out the other end, and there will come a time when it gets easier. Unfortunately, freelancers and micro businesess are always the first to get hit - literally the canaries in the creative coal mine. When freelancers find their client work is stalling, you know the economy is taking a dive. It's a product of the fact that, when multinationals tighten their belts they usually let go of externals first, then they bring in redundancies, then the start flogging assets - like property, then, if all that doesn't bring their overheads in-line with their incomings and/or capacity for negotiating debt, they issue profit warnings and some go under. We know that many major UK companies are showing signs of distress. They might not issue statements to that effect, but, when you look at their activity it becomes clear. It may not help much, but, many senior and established figures in the UK creative industries share my concern, and some are speaking out. Will governmnet listen? Who knows. But, we can try.
- In the last year for sure (I'm a Visual Designer): I think more people have gone freelance during Covid and didn't go back to full time/on site employment (who can blame them :)) so it's just more competition.
- For graphic design in general, I have noticed more in-house positions! It's been difficult for freelancers and creative studios. I'm glad other people have noticed this change too. That said, I feel after COVID, many people have left their jobs to adopt more flexible opportunities! So, it's a funny situation.
- It’s been awfully quiet, I’ve had a few bookings. But the ‘recession’, and IR35 changes have made things extra quiet.
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