Drama Report Production of feature films and TV drama in Australia 2013/14 Highlights $837 million total production expenditure Up 11 per cent on last year 35 Australian features $297 million Up 18 per cent on last year 49 Australian TV dramas $343 million Down 8 per cent on last year 26 foreign projects $197 million Up 50 per cent on last year Producer Offset total value $137 million © Screen Australia 2014 ISBN: 978-1-920998-29-5 The text in this report is released subject to a Creative Commons BY licence (Licence). This means, in summary, that you may reproduce, transmit and distribute the text, provided that you do not do so for commercial purposes, and provided that you attribute the text as extracted from Screen Australia’s Drama Report 2013/14. You must not alter, transform or build upon the text in this report. Your rights under the Licence are in addition to any fair dealing rights which you have under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cwlth). 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Cover image: The Code Contents Key terms 4 OVERVIEW 5 ALL DRAMA PRODUCTION 6 AUSTRALIAN FEATURE SLATE – DOMESTIC AND CO-PRODUCTION TITLES 8 Feature budget ranges 8 Sources of finance for Australian features 9 AUSTRALIAN TV DRAMA SLATE – DOMESTIC AND CO-PRODUCTION TITLES 10 Programs for adults 12 Programs for children 13 Sources of finance for Australian TV drama 14 FOREIGN PRODUCTION 15 Features 15 TV drama 15 DRAMA PRODUCTION BY LOCATION 16 Expenditure by state 16 Location of production company 17 TITLES IN THE 2013/14 SLATE 18 PDV SERVICES – FOR FEATURES AND TV DRAMA PRODUCTION 21 METHODOLOGY 25 ABOUT THE REPORT activity in Australia and the Offset’s Australia. Other areas of activity include contribution to the annual slate. Data is documentaries, light entertainment, The Drama Report covers the production presented for the past five years, 2009/10 to commercials, music videos, corporate videos of feature films and TV drama programs 2013/14. Foreign titles are included if they and TV productions such as sport, news and (mini-series, telemovies and series/serials) by are shot (or substantially shot) in Australia, or current affairs. See the statistics section financial year. have post, digital or visual effects (PDV) work of the Screen Australia website for details, It reports on the operation of the Producer carried out in Australia without shooting here. www.screenaustralia.gov.au/research/ Offset tax rebate for domestic Australian See page 4 for definitions of ‘Australian’, prod_industry.aspx, and the relevant archives projects and official co-productions, ‘domestic’, ‘co-production’ and ‘foreign’. for pre-2009/10 data. incorporating data gathered through surveys and publicly available sources to give a Feature films and TV dramas represent about comprehensive view of drama production 20 per cent of all audiovisual production in The Drama Report 2013/14 | Screen Australia 3 The Water Diviner KEY TERMS Analysis of ‘total budgets’ includes Certificate.) An Offset project may be as ‘Australian’ for the purposes during the earlier stages of a project’s all projects that started shooting either an eligible domestic production of Australian content regulations overall production. during the financial year, with the full or an official co-production. See applying to broadcasters, in most budget allocated to the date principal definition below. cases the report discusses domestic ‘Location Offset’ is a 16.5 per cent photography started; budgets are and co-production projects as a rebate which supports the production not apportioned across the duration ‘Non-Offset projects’ are domestic combined ‘Australian’ slate. of large-budget film and television of the project. This indicator is productions which for reasons such as projects shot in Australia. not reported for foreign PDV-only format, level of production expenditure ‘Foreign productions’ are defined productions as the Australian or use of previous tax incentives are as those under foreign creative ‘PDV Offset’ is a 30 per cent rebate work may represent only a small not eligible for the Producer Offset. control, originated and developed which supports work on post, digital proportion of the overall budget. This also includes those projects by non-Australians. This includes and visual effects production (PDV) accessing the PDV Offset. foreign projects with an Australian in Australia, regardless of where a As a subset of ‘total budgets’, the production company operating in a project is shot. ‘amount spent in Australia’ is also ‘Domestic productions’ include: service capacity. analysed; this is particularly relevant – Offset projects other than ‘Producer Offset’ is a 40 per cent for co-productions and foreign co-productions ‘In-house productions’ are projects rebate on the qualifying spend of productions. Again, all expenditure – non-Offset projects under by Australian TV stations, where no qualifying Australian films and a 20 is allocated to the date principal Australian creative control independent production company is per cent rebate for other qualifying photography or PDV work in Australia (ie where the key elements are credited as producer or co-producer. media. began rather than to the actual predominantly Australian and date of spending. Note: this is not the project was originated and ‘PDV’ (post, digital and visual effects) Please note: This report has been the same as ‘qualifying Australian developed by Australians). This refers to those activities that create compiled by Screen Australia’s production expenditure’ (QAPE) for includes projects under Australian audio and visual elements for film Producer Offset & Co-production Unit, the purpose of the Producer Offset. creative control that are 100 per or TV drama other than by principal incorporating data gathered from Some expenditure in Australia is not cent foreign financed. photography, pick ups or physical administration of the Offset as well as QAPE, and QAPE can include some elements such as sets and props, data gathered by Screen Australia’s expenditure on Australian elements ‘Co-productions’ are official and includes animation. It also Strategy & Research Unit through outside of Australia. QAPE is not co-productions (ie projects made refers to the manipulation of those contact with production companies or reported here. pursuant to an agreement between elements and includes sound and from publicly available sources. PDV the Australian Government and the visual editing, digital effects, creation data is gathered through surveying ‘Offset projects’ are projects which government of another country). of computer-generated images (CGI), PDV companies. have accessed the Producer Offset Because official co-productions don’t film laboratory work and duplication or, if not completed, will access it See also Methodology on page 25. have to pass the ‘significant Australian services. As such, it includes a once completed. (They have generally variety of activities that not only been issued with a Provisional content’ test for eligibility for the Producer Offset, and may be classified take place after the shoot but also 4 Overview The annual slate of feature films and TV drama productions consists of Australian titles (including official co-productions) and foreign titles that start production or post, digital and visual effects (PDV) during a given year. DRAMA EXPENDITURE IN AUSTRALIA Parer’s War y Total expenditure in Australia by the y Australian feature production increased 2013/14 drama slate was $837 million, on last year and was above the five-year an 11 per cent increase on the previous average, boosted by the high-budget titles, year, and the highest on record. Australian Gods of Egypt and The Water Diviner. This TV drama accounted for 41 per cent of year’s slate comprised three co-production expenditure, Australian feature films 35 per titles, compared to none last year. cent and foreign activity (primarily feature y Foreign activity accounted for expenditure production) 24 per cent. in Australia of $197 million in 2013/14, up y Expenditure by the Australian slate from $131 million last year, primarily due – domestic productions and official to the high-budget US features Unbroken co-productions – totalled $640 million, and San Andreas. Nine foreign features and comprising 595 hours of TV drama (49 two foreign TV dramas started shooting titles) spending $343 million, and 35 in Australia during the year, and 15 foreign features spending $297 million. projects (all features) undertook PDV in y Australian TV drama expenditure Australia without shooting here. decreased by 8 per cent from last year’s record high. Expenditure by the adult TV EXPENDITURE BY LOCATION slate was above the five-year average, y Of total 2013/14 drama expenditure, while children’s TV drama expenditure was 42 per cent occurred in NSW, 31 per cent in on par with the average. Victoria and 15 per cent in Queensland. Foreign and Australian feature and TV drama expenditure 900 $837m 800 $745m $756m $694m 700 600 $561m Foreign Features 500 TV drama 400 Australian 300 Features Spend in Australia ($m) TV drama – Children’s 200 TV drama – Adult 100 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 The Drama Report 2013/14 | Screen Australia 5 All drama production Total expenditure in Australia by the 2013/14 drama slate was $837 million, comprising $640 million by Australian projects and $197 million by foreign productions. Five-year summary, 2009/10–2013/14 Australian1 Total Offset1 Non-offset1 Domestic1 Co-production1 Australian Foreign2 Total No. Spend No. Spend No. Spend No. Spend No. Spend No. Spend No. Spend Year titles $m titles $m titles $m titles $m titles $m titles $m titles $m Annual feature slate 2009/10 30 265 12 8 37 242 5 31 42 273 11 180 53 452 2010/11 17 92 5 1 18 56 4 37 22 93 15 77 37 170 2011/12 31 302 3 1 30 272 4 32 34 303 20 90 54 393 2012/13 n.p.