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  5. What is the Production Support Initiative and How Do I Use It?

What is the Production Support Initiative and How Do I Use It?

After years of conversations across the HETV industry – with broadcasters, streamers, production companies, unions, agents and crew – one thing is clear: we’re all seeking to do more than just make great drama. We want our productions to reflect care and inclusion, and make meaningful strides forward. 

Many organisations already lead the way with their own policies and initiatives. This resource is designed to complement that work, offering a flexible, pick ‘n’ mix guide to further resources, connections and indicative costs across different HETV band levels. 

The Production Support Initiative is not about setting rules, it’s about sharing tools. Whether you’re a head of production, producer, crew member or commissioner, you have the ability to help shape the culture of your production – from the moment a new company is set up, everything that follows is a choice. 

This resource is far from final. The landscape is evolving quickly and so will this resource. We know it will be out of date the moment it's read, and that’s a good thing. There will be formal revisions annually, with more minor updates and corrections happening throughout the year, and your feedback will help this grow.

At this stage, the support has been broken down into five areas: 

  1. Accessibility 
  2. Career Development and Training 
  3. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 
  4. Sustainability  
  5. Welfare and Conduct

Within each of these areas there are some suggested foundations: 

  • Policy, Guidelines & Best Practice 
  • Training
  • Initiatives

This is followed by a bibliography of resources and indicative directory of companies who provide support. 

This hopefully makes it easier for the resource to evolve and be updated, but also actively avoids showing any allegiance or bias towards particular companies. It is for productions to take independent decisions on what support and which suppliers are appropriate for them.

While as a whole there is a lot to take in, most of it is made up of easy-to-use tables filled with actions, ideas, costs and contacts. You don’t need to read it all. You just need to use it. Its power lies in the doing.
 

Acknowledgements

Huge thanks to the broadcasters, streamers, heads of production, Pact, Bectu, ScreenSkills, the Film and TV Charity, The Production Guild, line producers, production managers, service providers, positive action advocates and the team at 60Forty Films. This resource truly reflects an industry effort — created by the industry, for the industry.

While focused on HETV productions that contribute to the ScreenSkills HETV Skills Fund, much of this guidance can also benefit teams across features, unscripted, children’s, commercials and corporate work.

Care has been taken with language throughout, but we recognise it’s an on-going journey. Language evolves, and so do personal preferences around pronouns, identity and cultural terms. Some wording may not align with your own choices, and we welcome your thoughts, corrections and contributions as this resource continues to grow.
 

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