OPPORTUNITY TO TENDER

West Midlands’ Creative Sector Infrastructure Mapping

Objective Create Central is a newly established, industry-led body that is working to make the West Midlands a key creative region in the UK, driving local production and creativity and attracting inward investment in film, TV, games and related creative industries.

Create Central has been awarded funding by the BFI’s National Clusters Growth Fund, through support from the National Lottery.

A key element of Create Central’s strategy revolves around seeking to attract investment into the region from film and productions – domestic and international.

Central to achieving this objective is the ability to provide high-end TV (HETV) and feature film producers and companies with access to the necessary infrastructure, both in terms of physical locations and buildings and in terms of access to an appropriately skilled workforce.

To this end, Create Central wishes to commission an analysis of the existing and potential production space in the region and an assessment of the availability of crew in the West Midlands. This tender sets out the detailed requirements for this work.

Part one - Production Space Mapping

The West Midlands region currently lacks designated dedicated studio space capable of hosting HETV drama and feature films, although initiatives are underway in the region to address this1. Delivery of such a facility in due course will be important if the region is to fulfil its long-term ambitions. However, there is still opportunity to attract productions in the short- term.

The particular nature of film and television production – global, mobile, project-based and highly adaptable – means that other facilities, such as stalled development sites, vacant industrial or underutilised retail or office sites, can be re-purposed in the short-term both for location shoots or to provide a semi-permanent home to productions. Several existing UK studios started life on this basis.

1 Peaky Blinders Creator to Bring Media Village to

This element of the research project should: (i) Identify potential sites across the West Midlands region2 and categorise those sites according to their potential uses for the purposes of HETV drama and film production, eg are they sites that can be used to accommodate long-running, large-scale shows, or more suited to one off, short-term location shoots?3 Does the site have reasonable accessibility to key third-party suppliers, eg camera hire, lighting, scaffolding? Might the site be able to accommodate emerging film production technologies, eg virtual production. (ii) Consider opportunities arising from the current Covid-19 crisis to identify sites that might be appropriate for short-term re-purposing, such as live performance venues or rehearsal spaces. (iii) Identify and assess existing, operational, film and TV production sites across the region, eg facilities such as BBC Drama Village in .

As well as undertaking original research, applicants will be expected to engage with existing resources, such as the British Film Commission, relevant local authorities, Film Birmingham, Crew Birmingham and Creative .

The project should deliver a credible assessment of the current regional resources and infrastructure that can be utilised by creative projects, mapped where possible, to demonstrate the scope for the development of clusters.

Part two – Crew Mapping

To achieve its overarching ambitions, the West Midlands must also have ready access to a highly skilled creative workforce (‘crew’ in terms of film and television), drawn from the diverse pool of talent that is available across the region, and employed in long-term and sustainable roles across film, television, video games and the wider sector.

The region already has a substantive crew base. In addition, being centrally located and, therefore, readily accessible, it can draw on crew from neighbouring regions.

This element of the research project is designed to identify areas where the region has strength in depth in crew, areas where local crew availability is currently limited (to enable training programmes to be better targeted) and options for meeting potential production demands for crew in the short-term.

Create Central is, therefore, seeking to commission an assessment of crew availability across the West Midlands to include: (i) A review of existing film and TV crew databases including those provided by Crew Birmingham, Film Birmingham, Creative England and any others. (ii) An assessment, where possible, of indigenous crew currently working outside the West Midlands region but with a permanent base in the region. (iii) An assessment of high-level crew (eg Heads of Department) working in neighbouring/proximate regions who are willing and able to work in the West Midlands without requiring overnight accommodation.

2 See map of region at Appendix One 3 Sites should be assessed against numerous criteria, including the British Film Commission’s stage space feasibility criteria

In light of the current Covid-19 crisis this work should also assess the major changes occurring in the labour market and consider where workers may be currently available and have appropriately transferable skills, eg are there workers currently unemployed because of impacts on live events such as theatre who may find employment opportunities in adjacent sectors such as film and television?

Timeline

Project to be completed by 31 March 2021.

Initial inquiries/proposals should be submitted by email by Friday 18 December to: [email protected]

Interviews with successful applicants will take place on Monday 11 January.

Tender Fee

Bids accepted up to £20k (ex VAT) for the whole project.

Requirements

Applicants must tender for the entire project. Applications from consortia (ie individuals or organisations working in partnership) will be considered.

In relation to Part one, applications would be welcome from individuals/teams with experience in location scouting, site assessments and commercial property search. Ability to demonstrate good local knowledge would also be ideal. Overall, applicants must have the necessary insight, understanding and experience of what various types of film and television production require in terms of production space and crew.

The project team/s must have a demonstrable track record of delivering to budget and on time.

This project will be contracted by West Midlands Combined Authority, the accountable body for Create Central.

WMCA is committed to developing an organisation that is representative of the diverse communities that it serves and welcome applications from all sections of the community. The following groups are currently underrepresented: young people, Black, Asian and ethnic minority groups and women at senior levels.

WMCA is a Disability Confident Employer and will make reasonable adjustments, in line with the Equality Act, for disabled applicants if these are needed. Wherever possible we will offer flexible working options which assist work-life balance and support service delivery for the customer.

ENDS

APPENDIX ONE – WEST MIDLANDS COMBINED AUTHORITY MAP

______

About the BFI The BFI is the UK’s lead organisation for film, television and the moving image. It is a distributor of National Lottery funding and a cultural charity that: • Curates and presents the greatest international public programme of world cinema for audiences; in cinemas, at festivals and online • Cares for the BFI National Archive – the most significant film and television archive in the world • Actively seeks out and supports the next generation of filmmakers • Works with Government and industry to make the UK the most creatively exciting and prosperous place to make film internationally

Founded in 1933, the BFI is a registered charity governed by Royal Charter. The BFI Board of Governors is chaired by Josh Berger CBE.

About the National Lottery Thanks to National Lottery players, up to £600 million of funding has been made available to support communities across the UK during the Coronavirus crisis.

The National Lottery is playing a critical role in supporting people, projects and communities during these challenging times. By playing The National Lottery, you are making an amazing contribution to the nationwide-response to combatting the impact of COVID-19 on local communities across the UK.