United Kingdoms: from Hogwarts to Gotham, all roads lead to Britain

Over the past few decades, many countries have introduced measures to position themselves as attractive destinations for international film and television productions. In this article, TM BROADCAST speaks with the British Film Commission to explore how the UK has established itself as one of the world’s leading audiovisual production hubs and the challenges it faces in maintaining that position.

*This content is included in the July issue of TM BROADCAST. You can access the full magazine here.

There are viewers who have walked the streets of Gotham, studied at Hogwarts or travelled to a galaxy far, far away without ever actually leaving the United Kingdom.

In the early 20th century, it was common for major film productions to be concentrated in Hollywood, favoured by its production conditions and the development of a powerful audiovisual infrastructure. However, the industry has changed, and productions have shifted along with it: tax incentives, infrastructure and the availability of technical crews have become decisive factors when deciding where to produce a film or series.

The United Kingdom is one of the most representative examples of this transformation. In the 1990s, pressure from the industry led successive British governments to introduce tax incentive models that evolved into the current tax credit system. This mechanism has served as a solid foundation for protecting British cinema while at the same time attracting international investment on a scale not seen since the 1960s.

As explained to TM BROADCAST by the British Film Commission (BFC): “This was a catalyst to encourage Warner Bros. to base the Harry Potter films here and build their permanent base at Leavesden. It has seen Disney, Paramount and Universal (also through its ownership of Working Title) make numerous large-scale productions here in the UK”.

This momentum was also reinforced by the rise of high-end television (HETV), attracted by the expanded infrastructure, talent development and the additional HETV tax credit introduced in 2013.

“There will always be the element of friendly competition but we also view creative collaborations with new territories as an exciting prospect”

From tax incentives to a global production hub

As a result of these measures, the United Kingdom has steadily built an environment designed to attract international productions. Alongside tax incentives — including those aimed at visual effects (VFX), animation and the new 40% tax credit for low-budget films of up to £23.5 million — there is a wide network of studios and facilities spread across the country, a well-established industry of artistic and technical talent, and a great diversity of filming locations. This commitment is also reflected in the international recognition of the visual effects sector: British teams have won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in 11 of the last 15 years.

Among all these factors, one of the most notable achievements of the British Film Commission has been the development of production hubs across the country. “We now have seven, soon to be eight, established studio hubs in the UK, from Wales to the West Midlands, Glasgow to Belfast to Bristol to Liverpool. Each has its own unique selling points – and often includes regional funds to support a Production’s financing – as well as an established crew base with a range of skills and a depth of experience from which the Production can draw”, details the organisation.

These settings can be seen in productions such as “Game of Thrones”, which chose Northern Ireland, “Outlander” in Scotland or “Hamnet”, filmed on the border between Herefordshire and Wales. One landscape they don’t offer is ice, tundra or desert, “but we maintain collaboration agreements with several European film commissions — including Norway, Malta and Austria — that allow productions to film smoothly across multiple European locations”, the organisation adds.

“We currently offer a complete supply chain spanning hardware, software, technology and creative service”

Technology, collaboration and the future of filmmaking

Even when they can’t offer certain ecosystems themselves, they can create them. The “Harry Potter” saga was also significant for the visual effects sector. Since the 2000s, companies such as DNEG and Framestore, along with smaller studios, have worked alongside these teams during filming to achieve greater realism or to develop emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and graphics engines to support production processes.

The organisation has also kept a close eye on the increasingly talked-about field of virtual production, expanding its capacity with the intention of meeting growing industry demand: “We offer a full-service supply chain to cover hardware, software, technology and creative services”, states the BFC.

In line with this commitment, the British Film Commission has also created a directory bringing together suppliers, companies and studios across the United Kingdom capable of providing this technology, visualisation and in-camera visual effects services for feature films and high-end television productions.

Given this landscape and the industry’s constant evolution, the country has fostered new international collaborations, the most recent being with India. This cooperation is complemented by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Film France-CNC and the renewal of the one previously held with the Italy Film Commission, whose earlier agreement had expired after two years.

“We now have seven, soon to be eight, established studio hubs in the UK, from Wales to the West Midlands, Glasgow to Belfast to Bristol to Liverpool”

“There will always be the element of friendly competition but we also view creative collaborations with new territories as an exciting prospect, not least since the UK introduced our new tax credit for limited budget feature films up to £23.5m, which, we believe, opens up a whole new set of possibilities at a new price point for a range of different production partners”, the commission explains.

However, these partnerships are not limited to production development — they also extend to the care of the territory. “Through our day to day production support, as well as our work on screen tourism alongside partners such as Visit Britain, Visit Scotland and the National Trust, we know that a huge amount of effort and consideration goes into balancing for example the filming needs of a production with the sustainability challenges that come with bringing a huge production crew to an area”.

Caring for the heritage and the territories where filming takes place aims to ensure these locations continue to host both fictional stories and stories inspired by real events. Demand continues to grow, although consumption habits are also evolving and, with them, so is content. “I think the industry is in a really interesting space at the moment, with a huge range of opportunities arising”, the British Film Commission continues.

“It’s also fair to say that there have been major disruptions to the traditional model and markets, from which we have not yet stabilised… Despite ‘steady as she goes’ growth through 2025 we are still to reach our ‘new normal’’”, notes.

Despite this context, optimism remains. The British Film Commission believes the United Kingdom continues to hold significant competitive strengths and keeps reinforcing them through new investment in research, tax incentives and European co-productions. “We are aware that we cannot become complacent in the face of growing global competition. Audiovisual industries in other countries will continue to mature, adjust their tax incentives and establish themselves as new international players. That is why the United Kingdom continues to invest decisively in research and development”, the BFC concludes.

“There have been major disruptions to the traditional model and markets, from which we have not yet stabilised… Despite ‘steady as she goes’ growth through 2025 we are still to reach our ‘new normal’”