There is an undeniably large amount of labour involved in the film industry, from the actors, to the screen directors, to the prop makers. Creative labour is behind every creative industry, it is the risks, the work and the managing that goes before the product. This last blog on geographies of the creative economy, maintaining the theme of film, will discuss the creative labour of the film industry, looking at examples such as the film industry in Sweden to discuss how economic geographers can discuss creative labour in relation to place, to discuss how creative labour is linked and can be explored through geographical location.
When we imagine the term geography, most commonly we define and associate this as geographical location. Geographical location has been used to discuss economics, politics and relevant to this blog, the creative industries. Creative labour has connotations to place, due to the nature of social networks and the need for a local labour force to help creative industries to exist. For example, Clare (2012) conducted a study discussing the role that geographical location played in creative labour, concluding that it was an essential element. This was due to the skillsets that workers needed and the social networks that led to clustering.
For economic geographers, the actual site and geographical location is a key area of enquiry of the labour behind the film industries. In particular Dahlström and Hermelin (2007) discuss the film industries in Sweden, stating that film production extends past its original site, and relies on networks over geographical locations. In terms of geographical location, there are also issues surrounding workforce, and if there is sufficient workforce with skillsets needed in the film industry. There are many labourers involved in film production, as well as competition for low labour costs, therefore the geographical location being filled with a labour force that is skilled and able to contribute towards the film industry is key. In this way, through the lens of a creative industries geographer, we can begin to understand how creative labour is affected by geographical location.
The geographical place of the film industry is also affected by financial support. For example, Altaweel (2017) argues that because of financial support from states specifically can differ from location to location, this can dictate if film industries and labour can survive in certain areas and thrive or not. Therefore, looking at the geographical part of filmmaking can enlighten us to many different aspects of the labour of the film industry, and how this can be successful or not based on the locations they are based in.
Overall, this blog has explored how geographical location can have a significant effect on the creative labour of film, and that this can be explored through a geographical lens to offer a new insight into how location can affect the distribution of labour, its success, and why location is important to the labour of filmmakers in the creative industries.
References
Altaweel, M., 2017. Geography Of The Film Industry. [online] Geography Realm. Available at: <https://www.geographyrealm.com/geography-film-industry/> [Accessed 25 April 2020].
Clare, K., 2012. The essential role of place within the creative industries: Boundaries, networks and play. Cities, 34, pp.52-57.
Dahlström, M & Hermelin, B (2007) Creative industries, spatiality and flexibility: The example of film production, Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift – Norwegian Journal of Geography, 61:3, 111-121, DOI: 10.1080/00291950701553863
Figure three: Nofilmschool, 2020. Join Over 50K Filmmakers In The World’S Largest Online Cinematography Event…For Free!. [image] Available at: <https://nofilmschool.com/2015/06/join-over-50k-filmmakers-worlds-largest-cinematography-event-cinesummit> [Accessed 25 April 2020].
Figure one: RainDance, 2020. Three Stunning Filmmaking Tutorials Every Aspiring Filmmaker Needs. [image] Available at: <https://www.raindance.org/three-stunning-
filmmaking-tutorials-every-aspiring-filmmaker-needs/> [Accessed 25 April 2020].
Figure two: StudioBinder, 2020. 8 Production Hacks For A 2Nd AD Shooting On Location. [image] Available at: <https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/8-production-hacks-for-2nd-ads-on-a-film-set/> [Accessed 25 April 2020].
Geographies Of The Creative Industries 