Work and employment in the Australian film industry: a research agenda.

Ingersoll, Louise

INTRODUCTION

For most of the twentieth century, the film industry was rarely examined by scholars of industrial relations and the sociology of work. Both internationally and domestically, there is limited research on this industry and the systems and stakeholders that create the political economy of work and employment for those involved in this area of cultural production. Paul and Kleingartner (1994:664) note that the industry was 'rediscovered' by industrial geographers in the late 1980s and early 1990s who became interested in the spatial dimension of work and employment within this industry and in particular the significance of 'location'. Understanding the roles of place and space in this industry has therefore become critical in ongoing debates and assessments of policy and practice in various geographical contexts. What began as policy discourse, soon became the focus of international research on creative industries from a variety of academic fields such as economics, urban geography and cultural studies.

In the United Kingdom, the emergence of debate and discussion on creative industries began in the late 1990s as a product of the Blair Labour Government's introduction of a Creative Industries Task Force (Flew & Cunningham 2010). In her detailed critique of this period of British politics, Oakley (2011) highlights a range of critical elements in policy making at this time. At the core of this debate is the premise of a knowledge economy that would ideally satisfy the dual goals of economic development and social inclusion. For Oakley, the popularity of the creative industries was magnified by the perception that this sector would be the natural source of entrepreneurship and new forms of specialised employment that allowed workers to meet their aspirations for work in the twenty-first century. This premise of 'democratic creativity' (p284) was however 'fatalistic' (p286) and she argues that the realities of creative labour markets are misunderstood in terms of structural factors, labour market conditions and the potential for exploitation and fragmentation. These criticisms are supported by a number of other critiques of UK policy during this period (see Garnham 2005; Oakley 2006; Hesmondhalgh 2010; Flew & Cunningham 2010) who all comment on the flawed nature of assumptions underpinning this policy directive.

In North America, the expansion in interest in creative industries from industrial geography to other areas of sociology was accelerated by the publication of Richard Florida's seminal work The rise of the creative class in 2002. This controversial publication established an hypothesis that 'the economic future of communities is heavily dependent on retaining and attracting members of the creative class' (Reese & Sands 2008:4). This argument has been widely critiqued in terms of economic and social consequences and has generated significant debate due to the inherent tensions between these goals (Oakley 2006:256). As Lawrence and Phillips (2002:433) note, 'the commercialization of culture is not without difficulties'. Peck (2005) is heavily critical of the Florida manifesto and suggests that 'elite-focused creativity strategies' lead to a 'creative trickledown' that is 'politically ambivalent'. Likewise, Leslie and Catungal (2012) question the ideological framework of Florida's book, suggesting that the idea of mobility is 'highly romanticised' (p.115) and that free agency does not negate the persistence of the nation-state. Even so, Florida's ideas helped create a 'new frontier' (Markusen et al 2008) for scholars of economic development and, as a result, a significant portion of research on creative industries is located at the macro level that seeks to examine shifts in trends for classic economic indicators in specific regions of industrial concentration.

This paper will commence with a consideration of relevant terms and definitions that underpin the proposed research program. Following on from this, the critical components of 'creative work' will be identified as a means of narrowing the focus of this research project. From this point, the connection between social systems and work will be examined though a consideration of the role of employment in the film industry and how this creates a context for interpretation and analysis of this social phenomenon in the Australian context.

TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

Within the relevant literature, terminology is unclear as to a consistent and precise use of words and labels. For instance, some scholars prefer to use creative industries over cultural industries and vice versa. While there is no absolute approach, creative industries is more broadly used in contemporary discussion and was defined by the UK Department of Culture, Media and Sport in 1998 as:

Those industries which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property(cited in Carr, 2009: 3).

In his analysis of the shift from 'cultural to creative' industries, Garnham (2005) argued that this shift was a deliberate attempt to avoid traditional thinking on how policy-makers should view the arts and its social contribution (supply side) and replace this with a more economically driven imperative to evaluate the worth of artistic production in political decision-making (demand side). Similarly, terminology for work and employment in the film industry utilises a range of descriptors from 'motion picture and television' (Paul & Kleingartner 1994), to 'entertainment media' (Christopherson 2008) and 'media production' (Conor 2014). For reasons of clarity, the sector will be referred to as 'creative industries' while the specific area of work and employment will be identified as the 'film industry'.

It is also critical to establish the significance of the term employment in the context of this research program. An employment relationship is created:

Whenever one person sells his/her labour to another person or organisation and thereby works on behalf of that other person or organisation. (Bray, Waring & Cooper 2009:11).

This relationship has a number of critical elements that require a brief explanation. Firstly, work is fundamental to this dynamic as it is the essence of labour and the purpose of employment. Secondly, an employment relationship as defined above infers a market transaction that creates a contract between the parties. However, this contract is open-ended and indeterminate and requires a production process to ensure completion. This may create a source of conflict and a reliance on rules and systems to manage the relationship. Therefore, an emphasis on employment necessitates an examination of both the labour market and the production process and values the roles of a variety of stakeholders including institutions, agencies, organisations and individuals.

NATURE OF 'CREATIVE WORK'

In terms of establishing a concrete definition of 'creative work', there are two broad approaches in current literature. One approach seeks to consider all types of work in any sector and considers creative work to be defined by the type of work undertaken (Mirowsky & Ross 2007; Schieman & Young 2010). For example, a school teacher may engage in 'creative work' if they construct a new maths exercise for their students. In this manner, it is possible for any worker in any industry to be viewed as a creative worker. An alternate view is to focus on those workers responsible for creative output in the areas of design, media and the arts whereby the production process is reliant on creativity both as an individual skill and as an organisational source of competitive advantage (Florida 2002). In this style, creative work refers to employment in arts and entertainment or in occupations and industries categorised as creative. As this research program is centred on analysis of the Australian film industry, the latter approach will be taken to allow a deeper analysis on the actual nature of 'creative work'.

In her 2009 report for the Scottish Government, Julie Carr concludes that 'the creative industries are characterised by small businesses, self-employment, informal hiring and project-based work with social networks playing a key role in the process' (p20). One argument suggests that this context has the potential to provide creative workers with 'autonomy, sociality and enhanced possibilities for self-realisation' (Hesmondhalgh 2010:234). However, Hesmondhalgh (2010) rejects this notion in favour of one that allows for a more critical view of creative labour and the opportunity for exploitation that he describes as barely disguised 'bad work' (p234). Using their study of labour conditions in the Milan fashion industry, Arvidsson, Malossi and Naro (2010) argue that 'creativity' is used to legitimise a labour process that is marked by high levels of fragmentation and insecurity (p.305). This idea is supported by a longitudinal study of workers in the Canadian arts community by Bain and McLean (2013), who establish the entrenched nature of precarious employment and insecurity for these workers by describing them collectively as 'the artistic precariat'. In Australia, a recent analysis of vocational expectations and labour market conditions by Morgan, Wood and Nelligan (2013) argues that ideas of precariousness and insecurity that permeate the contemporary labour market are magnified for those undertaking creative work and suggest that their experiences can be described as a form of 'flexploitation'.

More specifically, in connection with the film industry, a range of studies highlight critical fragments of what is arguably a complex and multi-faceted component of creative work. Blair (2001) challenges the notion of a dual labour market whereby workers exist in either a secure, permanent mode of employment or are precariously employed on an ad hoc basis in her analysis of the labour process in the UK film industry. The ongoing nature of networks and clusters of production indicate that creative workers have some capacity for security in work and employment that is contingent on the broader viability of the industry and the need for continued mechanisms for film production. This form of typecasting is symptomatic of the industry (Zuckerman 2003) and offers a unique source of labour market entry that is prevalent in all aspects of film production. This labour market entry is dependent heavily on work sampling and social capital that, once established, can lead to rewarding careers.

The role of social capital defined as 'resources created and accessed through relationships '(Grugulis & Stoyanova 2012:32) is prevalent in the literature on work and employment in film. Rowlands and Handy (2012) label this type of employment as 'addictive' in the sense that the highs of working in film productions overcome or balance out the lows of insecurity and periods of unemployment. The challenge then becomes in understanding how people gain entry into these networks when classic paths of vocational education and training barely exist. As an example, Percival and Hesmondhalgh (2014) explore how the desire to work in film can lead to a prevalence of unpaid work, particularly for younger workers. This reliance on 'who you know' can potentially lead to a limited and exclusive labour market that restricts access to many elements of the labour market that have been traditionally thought of as disadvantaged (lower socio-economic group, migrants, women as examples) (see Grugulis & Stoyanova 2012).

However, from a critical realist perspective, Hesmondhalgh (2010) challenges his own notion of 'bad work' by suggesting that in reality, 'good work' does exist and it is more important to consider the access and legitimacy of creative work. Critical realism is a research approach that acknowledges the role of process in sociology and that evidence is essential but open to fluctuation and individual interpretation, this values the mechanics of systems and structures in conjunction with the potential for human intervention and change. In a broad sense, Andrew Sayer (1997:479) (a leading figure in critical realism) argues that social life is dilemmatic in terms of either structures which have both desirable and undesirable mechanisms, which tend to produce both desirable and undesirable effects. This allows for research that is not predicated on a presumed outcome and can allow for the 'real world to break through' (Easton 2010:120) through a detailed examination of entities, powers, events, necessities, contingencies and context.

ROLE OF EMPLOYMENT IN THE ANALYSIS OF CREATIVE WORK

A number of studies have been conducted that highlight specific organisational and workplace issues in areas of employment that are included in the creative industries debate. Recent examples include a qualitative analysis on the role of place and creativity for small enterprises in the craft metalwork and digital design sectors in the UK (Drake 2003); a case study on knowledge creation and the management of creativity in a Canadian video game firm (Cohendet & Simon 2007); a debate on the role of organisational structure and the complexity of corporate alliances in the recorded music industry (Gander et al 2007); a survey of small businesses in the creative industries in the UK on the significance of receiving training and support for business development (Chaston 2008); and a framework for analysing the role of networks and the generation of new ideas in creative industries (Staber 2008). While these studies are relevant to the broad topic of employment within the creative industries, a lack of emphasis on the film industry specifically is clearly apparent.

These issues raise important questions not just about the nature of creative work but the systems and structures that create an industrial context within which work can exist. In the context of the film industry, two major studies seek to bridge this gap between the 'art-commerce contradiction' highlighted earlier and the 'democracy-employment contradiction' that requires a consideration of a broader set of problems faced by working people (Stahl 2010:272). The first study is by Helen Blair who deconstructs the UK film industry in terms of the history of film production (Blair & Rainnie 2000), the features of employment in terms of patterns, forms, sources and access (Blair, Gray & Randle 2001) and the nature of labour process and market manifestation (Blair 2001). This comprehensive research explores many facets of work and employment in the UK film industry and sets a benchmark for future film industry research. The second study is by Susan Christopherson (2008) whose study of the US film industry stresses the importance of understanding employment systems and structures for adequate research in this field:

The analysis of temporal change and industrial context has been neglected in creative work. This neglect can be explained, in part, by a disconnect between creative work and the broader economic institutions that govern labour, capital and product markets. (Christopherson 2008:91-92).

In this context, the author identifies three critical themes for understanding this type of creative work: (1) the deepening of the core-periphery divide; (2) the decline of professional and craft identities and the rise of the hybrid, crossover workforce; and (3) the continued significance of exclusionary networks. Beyond these findings, the clear purpose of the research is to highlight the role of integrating the political and economic context, with the goals and experiences of creative workers by examining organisational strategy and decision-making at a variety of analytical levels.

In Australia, little is published on the employment systems, structures and institutions that operate within the film industry. A recent study on film and TV by Kaino (2007) within Australia and New Zealand is comprehensive but is focussed at policy from a macro-economic perspective. It lacks insight into issues prevalent at the workplace and organisational level. Likewise, a discussion on the evolution of Australian film industry policy by Parker and Parenta (2009) offers historical insight and multi-level analysis into the 'frictions and tensions resulting from the contradictory agendas of commercialism and national culturalism' (p.102) but lacks a connection between policy and practice in the operations of film production and the labour process for workers in this industry. The role of actors, such as trade unions and employer associations, the operations of institutions for wage-setting and bargaining processes, and an awareness of labour mobility and employment opportunity, are under-explored. Yet, the industry employs thousands of workers from animators to cinematographers, producers and actors and so on. As a source of creative work and a critical component of our cultural heritage, those engaged in this industry should have a voice and allow for an open and transparent analysis of employment in this context.

The creative industries in Australia cover a broad spectrum of work and employment, from actors and recording artists to photographers and graphic designers. Economically, these industries make a significant contribution to the Australian GDP and internationally it is acknowledged that creative industries are 'a leading component of economic growth, employment, trade, innovation and social cohesion in most advanced economies' (Carr 2009:12). Culturally, the contribution of artists and other creative workers is arguably the hallmark of a modern and civilised society and adds intrinsic value to the quality of life and the creation of community. Understanding the links between creativity, work and employment systems within the Australian film industry is of national significance and the lack of contemporary knowledge on the topic is both unfortunate and undesirable.

AN AGENDA FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

This review of existing research in the field has highlighted a number of gaps which suggest an agenda for future research. This proposed research agenda would aim to provide insights that are not available elsewhere and to expand the depth of knowledge within this industry to allow for a greater understanding of the challenges, issues and barriers that stakeholders face in a contemporary setting. Additionally, leading scholars of work and the labour process have suggested the need for more widespread research of this topic to be undertaken in specific organisational and social contexts: 'The central problem in such literatures is that they frequently move from conception to consumption, leaving a gap where concrete analysis of management, work, and employment relations should be' (Thompson, Jones & Warhurst 2007:625). By focusing on film production firms, the research program will seek to address this gap and offer a significant contribution to the body of knowledge on work and employment in the Australian film industry.

To allow for an exploration of stakeholder issues in the Australian film industry, this proposed research should utilise a qualitative approach to social research. Qualitative research relies predominantly on soft data that takes the form of impressions, perceptions and personal experiences from a range of reliable and valid sources. According to Neuman (2006:151), this type of research paradigm allows for 'logic in practice' whereby researchers conduct nonlinear research that allows for a detailed examination of cases that arise in the natural flow of social life and are sensitive to specific social-historical contexts. This combination of cases and context is highly appropriate for the objectives of this approach.

In particular, a key part of this proposed research would be the use of comparative case study methodology. Case study methodology allows the researcher to understand the dynamics and complexity of human behaviour and deal with values and perceptions in making sense of the subjective elements of social and economic life, and is identified as most appropriate. Film production firms should be the primary unit of analysis with an anticipated four to six case studies. Participants in this research should include both managerial and non-managerial employees. The data for this research should utilise semi-structured face-to-face interviews and organisational documentation. As a starting point for developing interview questions, it is suggested that this process should focus on the themes identified by Christopherson (2008) as essential for understanding creative work: (1) the deepening of the core-periphery divide; (2) the decline of professional and craft identities and the rise of the hybrid, crossover workforce; and (3) the continued significance of exclusionary networks.

CONCLUSION

Internationally, a number of authors have addressed labour market issues within the global film industry. In particular, the film industry in Britain has undergone significant analysis (Blair & Rainnie 2000; Blair 2001; Blair, Grey & Randle 2001; Turok 2003). Likewise, major studies of work and labour market concerns within the United States have been published in recent times (Zuckerman et al 2003; Perretti & Negro 2007; Christopherson 2008). However, a void of similar research appears in the Australian context. A comprehensive and empirical exploration of the Australian film industry in terms of the macro political economy, the meso employment systems and the micro labour process will add to the body of knowledge for anyone interested in the sustainability, viability and survival of film production in this country and our ongoing contribution to the global sphere of cinematic arts.

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Louise Ingersoll

University of Western Sydney