SCREEN SECTOR

STRATEGY
2015

Screen sector strategy

Executive summary

The screen sector is a key part of the Wellington

economy and contributes significantly to the regions
brand value. Grow Wellington works with the sector
to create a screen-friendly operating environment,
and to attract production, complementary
businesses, investment and talent to the region. It
also focuses on helping build the scale of the sector
and developing the capability of businesses to enable
continued growth.
This strategy outlines the state of the screen sector
in Wellington, opportunities for growth and the
activities and approach of Grow Wellington, one of
the agencies in the Wellington Regional Economic
Development Agency (WREDA).

This strategy focuses on issues specific to our

region including improving production capability,
infrastructure capacity and market connections.
Our vision is for Wellington to become a global
leader in film and television content creation and an
internationally renowned production hub.
Long term growth will come from focusing on
attracting and developing long running, mid-tier
projects whilst maintaining the pipeline of top tier
projects in the short to medium term.
Our strategy focuses on three key areas:
Deriving value from market connections

A number of national industry bodies have

complementary strategies in place to improve screen
industry performance.

Fostering IP and value creation

Optimising workforce, infrastructure and
industry collaboration.

VISION
Wellington is a global leader in film and television content creation
and an internationally renowned production hub

MARKET
CONNECTION
Market led growth

COMMERCIALISATION
Foster IP and value
creation

SCALE AND
CAPACITY
Optimise infrastructure

Connect with and attract

market opportunities

Champion new
generation business
and investment models

Target growth in
mid-market segment

Develop regional reputation

and brand value

Develop pathways for

internationally viable TV

Foster sustainable
workforce and infrastructure

Foster accessibility through

Film Wellington services

Develop skills and capability

to deliver growth

Foster strong industry

partnerships
2

The screen sector in

Wellington
Wellington
The screen sector is a key part of the regions
landscape, intersecting with other sectors
including technology, tourism, education
and creative industries. In recognition of the
growth potential and impact that the sector
has on other industries, as well as stimulating
FDI and growing careers and business, the New
Zealand government introduced the NZSPG
(New Zealand Screen Production Grant).
The Wellington screen sector generated
$712 million in 2014, predominantly driven by
feature films.

Rest of New Zealand

Key bodies based in Wellington working to

further grow the sector nationally include
the New Zealand Film Commission, Screen
Producers New Zealand (SPADA) and
New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. Grow
Wellington works in partnership with all of
these agencies to focus our activities and
deliver aligned outcomes.

Source: Statistics New Zealand Screen Industry Survey 2013/14

Germany
21%

The influence of The Hobbit

on tourism
Between 12 and 21% of holidaymakers
from the UK, US and Germany in 2013
stated The Hobbit was a consideration
in their visit to New Zealand.
UK
12%

Source: MBIE International Visitor Survey 2013

USA
19%

The value chain

NOW

FINANCE

PREPRODUCTION

PRODUCTION

POSTPRODUCTION

SALES

DISTRIBUTION

PROMOTION AND
ADVERTISING/VOD

FUTURE

FEE FOR SERVICE

IDEATION

$
FUTURE

IP CREATION

NOW

$
$

In 2014, we undertook research to identify the

areas of strength and scale in Wellingtons screen
industry value chain, to highlight core competencies
and pursue activities where we have a competitive
advantage.
The majority of industry activity in Wellington is in
pre-production, production and post-production.
The industry is highly geared toward a fee-for-service
orientation which limits the industrys ability to
optimise the full value from productions.
The value chain highlights where there are
opportunities for growth particularly in concept
development (ideation) and building intellectual

property from the beginning of the production

process. Not only is the New Zealand domestic
screen sector largely reliant on public funding
sources, there is also a gap in New Zealand
companies ability to identify and engage with global
finance sources and secure investment. Traditionally,
international sales and distribution relationships have
been held by national bodies. To maximise global
sales opportunities, it is important for production
companies to understand the sales and distribution
process so they have the ability to negotiate more
effective deals. There is an opportunity to help
producers access key off shore markets and develop
relationships that are both financial and creative.

The global market

The United States (specifically Los Angeles), the
UK and Australia are key markets for Wellingtons
screen activities. Like other regions, Wellington has
existing relationships with US studios who continue
to bring work into New Zealand and Wellington. An
opportunity exists to create scale by supporting
producers to create their own intellectual property
and further attract mid-tier international projects,
particularly in long-form television. Wellington is well
placed to deliver on this given our pool of talented
writers and producers, our world-class facilities and
our stunning locations.

The US continues to be a key market for Wellington,

particularly given the strong connections Miramar
has into Hollywood. In addition, whilst there is
no official co-production treaty, the incentives
are competitive and there have been a number of
examples where the 5% Uplift has been achieved in
Wellington.
The UK has and continues to be a key co-production
partner and there are a number of opportunities
across film and television. Despite the considerable
distance, our cultures are aligned, and Wellington can
deliver quality stories/product to complement the UK
offering.

The NZSPG administered by the NZFC encourages

medium to large budget productions, both
domestic and international, to film in New Zealand.
International productions are eligible for a cash
grant of 20% of Qualifying New Zealand Production
Expenditure (QNZPE) with a 5% Uplift available for a
smaller number of productions that can demonstrate
significant economic benefits to New Zealand. New
Zealand productions are eligible for a cash grant of
40% of QNZPE. New Zealand productions must have
significant New Zealand content or be official coproductions.

Given its proximity, Australia offers untapped

opportunities, in addition to New Zealands emerging
talent (actors, writers and directors) we also bring to
the table an open labour market which makes doing
business easier.
There are other markets that we should look to
partner with in the future to maximise the scope of
co-production agreements already in place, however
core focus will remain on the US, UK and Australia.

Co-production agreements and key markets

Germany

Ireland

UK

Canada

Denmark
Poland

France
Spain
Italy
Republic of Korea
China
Chinese Taipei

USA

Israel
India
Singapore

Brazil
South Africa

Australia

Agreements currently
in negotiation

Key markets

Co-production
agreements

The Wellington region

Strengths

Weaknesses/threats

Wellington has world-class facilities for both

film and television, as well as a diverse range of
locations that are easily accessible throughout the
region.

New Zealand incentives for local productions have

high cultural content thresholds that create barriers to
creating commercially viable content for international
markets.

Wellington is one of the most cost-effective

filming locations in the world and is one of the
easiest places to do business within the New
Zealand screen industry.

New Zealand (and Wellington) is not competitive with

some countries due to factors such as time zone, relative
distance to key markets, seasonality, and location
options for filming.

Wellington has access to a diverse and highly

experienced talent pool. The region boasts one
of the top five visual effects (VFX) houses in
the world working predominantly on large scale
projects.

Our geographic location means that for productions

originating in New Zealand, access to international
finance, sales and distribution channels can be
challenging.

Wellington is home to some of the worlds top

talent, including internationally recognised film
directors.
Wellington based businesses are recognised as
leaders in developing cutting edge technology
applied in the industry.
Our government and financial incentives make
us internationally competitive and attractive to
international production companies.
New Zealands co-production agreements offer
strong incentives to collaborate internationally on
productions across television and film.

There is the possibility that competing markets increase

their incentives, meaning New Zealand and Wellington
are no longer internationally competitive for some
projects.
While we have high calibre talent, there is a limited pool
of talent in specific roles such as writing, directing and
producing to support growth in the industry and to
fully leverage co-production agreements and content
creation.
There is also a limited pool of experienced talent in other
areas such as production accountants, location scouts,
production designers and line producers.
The project based nature of the industry means it is
often challenging to retain key talent and crew, pay
for research and development and to bridge the gap
between production and non-production periods.
The Wellington industry is highly geared towards feefor-service projects which means the full value of a
production is not retained in the region.
Wellingtons reputation and focus on delivering large
budget feature films creates large peaks and troughs in
economic contribution as well as unsustainable capacity
challenges.
There is a lack of accurate industry data particularly in
areas such as crew numbers, gross domestic product,
export earnings and spill-over economic benefits.

Wellington focus
Opportunities

Screen projects
market segmentation

Top-tier $30m + Large budget feature films for

example Petes Dragon, Krampus, Light Between Oceans,
Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit trilogies, Avatar trilogy
Mid-tier $1m - $29m Large budget
television commercials, television series
such as Game of Thrones, and films such
as What we do in the Shadows, Girl vs Boy
and War News

Where we are now

Our goal

We have identified numerous areas where we can

focus to support growth in the screen industry.

Market Connection
Attract more overseas productions that leverage
New Zealands co-production agreements and
international mid-tier productions.
Strengthen our regional reputation and brand
value to help differentiate our offering. Wellington
is a collaborative, innovative environment and
has world-class facilities. Our locations and
incentive structure make us globally competitive.
The industry has seen exponential advancement
in technology solutions and New Zealand is
recognised as a world leader.

Commercialisation
Champion new generation business and
investment models that provide a more robust
platform for getting productions off the ground
and potentially reduce the level of dependency
on government funding. A recent example is the
partnership between ITV and Wellingtons Pukeko
Pictures for the production of Thunderbirds are Go!
Create pathways to develop internationally viable
content that can be made available across a variety

Lower-tier $1k - $1m Television

commercials, short films, music videos,
web based series, digital content, low
budget television and film

of platforms/devices and channels to market.

Long-form TV is growing in popularity with many
shows gaining a cult following.
Develop skills and capability to ensure that industry
can leverage the entire value chain either through
collaboration or specialisation. Ideally Wellington
companies will be capable of delivering on (or
collaborating to deliver on) all aspects of a project
(including ideation/IP development and sales
and distribution) which potentially means greater
economic return.

Sector Scale
Research and target mid-market opportunities,
particularly around long form TV content, which
will provide ongoing employment and stability for
the sector.
Educate a workforce and develop infrastructure to
ensure that we can meet growth in the production
pipeline.
Collaborate with industry bodies to maximise
growth of the sector.
Develop a writers programme to upskill Wellington
talent.

How Grow Wellington

can help
Grow Wellingtons programme of work in the screen sector is focused on three key areas.

MARKET
CONNECTION
Market led growth
Promote the screen sector incentives
and the benefits of filming in
Wellington in our key markets.
Leverage our international networks to
actively drive awareness of Wellington
with key producers/studios.

COMMERCIALISATION
Foster IP and value
creation
Encourage clustering models across
specific niches, for example Visual FX
and post-production companies, in
an effort to pool resources to target
larger offshore opportunities.
Work with industry investors to
increase understanding about the
benefits of investing in Wellington
screen companies and potential
opportunities. For example developing
an investment prospectus.
Support and partner with existing (or
develop new) programmes to nurture
local writing, directing and producing
talent. E.g. SPADA (Screen Producers
New Zealand) Masterclass series and
Screen Writing programme.
Support individual businesses to refine
their commercial orientation through
access to our network of commercial
expertise.

SCALE AND
CAPACITY
Optimise infrastructure
Facilitate strong partnerships between
business and industry bodies.
Continue to support the delivery of
events, connecting with world-leading
thinkers and developing capability of
industry professionals. E.g. AnimfxNZ
conference for visual effects,
animation and game development
professionals.
Internships for aspiring location and
production managers.
Support industry to develop a
framework to better measure sector
growth and outputs.
Encourage businesses to leverage
co-production agreements to
increase production opportunities in
Wellington and New Zealand.

FILM OFFICE
On behalf of the regions councils, Grow Wellington
operates Wellingtons film office.
Film Wellington:
hosts international production companies and
familiarisation tours in the region
provides location advice
connects filmmakers to services
issues film permits on behalf of councils
The film office also works to maintain the regions
film-friendly reputation.
8

Get in touch

For sector development

and business growth enquiries

For film office enquiries

Meredith Elley
Screen Sector Development Manager

Katie Frost
Film Wellington Executive

Phone +64 4 382 0084

Mobile +64 27 899 6456
Email meredith.elley@growwellington.co.nz

Phone +64 4 382 0066

Mobile +64 21 575 595
Email katie.frost@growwellington.co.nz

Level 5, 50 Manners Street, Wellington 6011 PO Box 10-347, Wellington 6143, New Zealand
Disclaimer: The information in this document and any attachments does not constitute professional advice and we are not liable if you act on it. Please seek
independent advice before acting on any such information. The information is correct to our knowledge at the time of publishing, September 2015.