The Current State of Things

Fair warning! This post has a lot of data in it. Not everyone is interested in that.

TL;DR – People are struggling – despite perceptions, the data shows most of the US production and post work such as it is, is still in California – some roles are getting paid less on average than they were – the future may not be as gloomy as some fear – more information on trends is coming.

The old ways of entering the business, such as writing spec scripts, or crewing on indie projects for low but still actual wages, seem to be fading away, while people who have been working for years are struggling. I’m seeing a lot of distress from folks on social media, in the press, and from people I know personally who are having a hard time finding work since the strikes ended.

It’s not just a perception. According to the WGA West, employment and earnings for writers in 2023 declined across all fields by which they mean film, television, radio and online media (not books or journalism). 5,501 writers reported employment in 2023, a 19.5% decline from 2022. This is the lowest number of working writers since 2014. Total writer earnings reported for dues purposes declined 31.8% to $1.29 billion in 2023, which is the lowest level since the 2007-08 writers’ strike when adjusted for inflation. Earnings for television and digital platform writers declined 35.0% to $916.6 million, with 4,441 writers reporting income. * 

So, 1/5 fewer writers earning overall 1/3 less income. This suggests that not only are fewer writers being employed, but also that the writers who are working are being paid less. However, correlation is not necessarily causation. This is a snapshot of the current situation. What it does NOT address is how much of the downward trend existed prior to the strikes (and the pandemic), or whether this would have happened even without the strikes or been even more pronounced in the absence of the strikes or is the result of the strikes. Either way, there is less work for writers – and by inference everyone – across fewer projects in the US.

[*It’s tempting to average those numbers and say well that’s an annual salary of over $206-234K. Woohoo! But please remember that, just like with actors, there are a few star writers earning a much larger proportion of that total including deals of $8 million for a single feature or a hundred million dollars over five years of series development. And those superstar numbers are still only a small fraction of the total budgets for these blockbuster films and prestige series.]

The conventional wisdom has always been if there isn’t any work, try generating your own projects. People who do this have something to demonstrate that they know how to write, direct, produce, or create. At least you will be building your skills and networks. That was the spirit that led me to start my business. That is the spirit that keeps me writing.

If you have read about my services, you know that part of my policy is to share the risk with a payment plan. Clients pay half of my fee as a deposit and then the balance is due only once they find paid work. This has been largely successful. Most of my clients have paid the balance either quickly or in due course. Some don’t even wait to be hired. However, recently I have noticed that increasingly the time between payments is longer. A few clients have left the business after a period of unemployment, or never made the final payment. I’m not angry about this, just concerned that my dear talented and hardworking clients are finding it ever more challenging to find work in film and television. I’m worried that they are leaving before a recovery – if they can just hold on…

I’ve brought along some current predictions from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Some are pretty optimistic.

  • Employment of producers and directors is projected to grow 7 percent from 2022 to 2032, faster than the average for all occupations.
    • About 16,000 openings for producers and directors are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire. (This makes me chuckle – filmmakers retire??)
  • Employment of set designers is also projected to grow at just over 7 percent in the same time period, with art directors growing at 6 percent.
  • Employment of special effects artists and animators is projected to grow over 8 percent, so that’s nice.

On a bleaker note:

  • Employment of actors will only grow by 3 percent.
  • Employment of writers and authors will grow by just under 4 percent.

But realize that even these are still growth statistics. They do not project “negative growth” or fewer people employed overall.  

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Entertainment and Sports at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/entertainment-and-sports/home.htm  (visited August 23, 2024).

Here are some statistics (from the same source) about wages for NAICS 512110 Motion picture and video production in the fourth quarter of 2023 (the most recent for which stats are available now)

California – total quarterly wages for production $3,922,447,392; Postproduction services $324,649,016

New York – total quarterly wages prod. $1,168,689,007; post $82,733,481

Georgia – total quarterly wages prod. $143,613,001; post – No Data

There are separate figures for “NAICS 51621 Media streaming distribution services, social networks, and other media networks and content providers” but I’m not sure if that includes people working in production of original streaming series (rather than it being included elsewhere). Looking at the numbers of workers, I’m inclined to say it may. It surely includes influencers making YouTube and Tik Tok content.

California – total quarterly wages in this classification – $6,144,195,846

New York – $2,372,480,556

Number three is Washington – $1,722,092,909 (who knew?)

FYI Georgia – $124,376,756 (less than many States including small ones and bigger ones)

These show me that despite the perception that “all the work is going to Atlanta”, that is not true, at least not yet. California is still the hub of filmmaking and content production in the US.

However this again is a snapshot, and it will take more time than I can give it today to look at the trends in detail. I do notice this: in CA production more individuals were employed in January 2023 (118,676) than in December (92,411) – a drop of 22%, BUT there are fluctuations each month by more than 13,000 employees either way. The numbers feel rather like a waveform.

Where the industry is now – who appears to be actually hiring

I still like visiting EntertainmentCareers.net and clicking around to see what’s happening. I was startled the other day to see over 500 jobs newly posted in the last week all around the country. So many are gigs in live entertainment (mostly concerts) within one hiring group, and jobs in sports broadcasting. I guess that reflects the time of the year. I’m also seeing jobs in local networks especially news production including local sports.

The question about industry trends is do you fight them, wait them out, or embrace them and pivot? There is no single answer. Production workers might consider the Creative department. This is marketing – where the promotions, impact, publicity, and advertising campaigns are devised – and executed. Where once it was desirable to get into Development, now Creative seems to be where the hiring action is.

Here is a neat article that despite the downbeat grumbling tone, demonstrates the brilliant creativity and smart business sense of a bunch of people from the art department with their pivots to industry adjacent occupations. (If you subscribe to Apple News or the LA Times you can read it.)

The other film industry areas where I see jobs being listed are in finance and analysis, and digital and business operations. I will investigate the Game industry another time.

Another strategy (and Entertainment Careers can help with this) is to look at what departments are looking for interns. I’m not suggesting that you necessarily offer yourself as an intern, unless you are in college. What I mean is that it is one way to see what departments at studios, networks and production companies are busy, and might be hiring soon. Even when we see reports of major layoffs – like Paramount recently laying off 15% of its workforce – other departments might still be hiring.

It is still worth making a schedule to check the careers pages and LinkedIn profiles of your target companies, getting on their mailing lists, and joining their private social networks if they have them, with a regularly updated profile.

Inspiration and Information

Meg Ryan – “I just love being in the environment of storytelling. And I discovered midway through my career the value of the community in it — not just of the filmmakers, but the community with the audience. And just what a lucky way to make a living,” she said. “I’m just trying to tee up things like that. You just throw all kinds of things at the wall until you see what sticks.”  – Variety interview by Christopher Vourlias, August 20, 2024. https://variety.com/2024/film/global/meg-ryan-what-happens-later-life-in-hollywood-after-60-1236112038/ Accessed 8/22/2024

Financial help – there are links in this article https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2024-06-13/financial-help-for-film-and-tv-workers

If you need help with your resume please email me directly at RobynLCoburn@gmail.com