Hell and High Water: A Study on Project Development in the UK Screen Sectors

We are proud to publish today Hell and High Water: A Study on Project Development in the UK Screen Sectors. This new report, produced by Narval Media for British Screen Forum, and based on extended interviews with 74 experienced professionals working on different rungs of the development ladder, paints a picture of considerable variation in approach, not only between the three sectors, but also within them.

Hell and High Water: A Study on Project Development in the UK Screen Sectors is a major piece of original research into the business of project development for films, scripted television, and games in the UK Screen Sectors. In terms of research, project development has long been the UK screen industries’ Bermuda Triangle. Practitioners recognise the strategic importance of development but they also recognise that it is mostly treated as an informal activity, with little effort made to identify best practice.

This study was borne of British Screen Forum’s conviction that the dearth of research on development impairs efficiency across the screen industries, resulting in particular in poorer risk assessment and less effective public incentive policies. The present study – based on extended interviews with a wide range of leading industry practitioners – is intended to be a first step in improving our understanding of development as a key stage in the life cycle of screen production, with a view to initiating discussions on best practice and a fruitful exchange with the public sector agencies regarding their support for development.

This can be found on the Reports section of our website here