Film crews seem to be a regular sighting on Scottish streets in recent times – and the good news for our economy is that there’s no sign of sign of it letting up.
A fresh report has revealed that the big and small screen combined has brought £15 million to the economy of Glasgow in 2017 alone.
It’s a statistic that we should be proud of and not surprised by – we boast such a brilliant backdrop for an array of productions as well as being home to some of the industry’s top talent.
The new figure adds to the startling £300 million that the Glasgow Film Office has brought to the city’s economy over the past few decades.
Some of the blockbuster films and popular TV productions shot last year included Sky Atlantic’s Patrick Melrose with Benedict Cumberbatch, Country Music starring Julie Walters, and BBC hospital drama Trust Me starring the latest Doctor Who, Jodie Whittaker. We also have the Chris Pine-starring Netflix drama Outlaw King – a take on the Robert the Bruce legend – set to hit screens in the near future.
As this list amply demonstrates, the productions are a real mixed bag of styles and genres and not necessarily obviously shot with a Scottish backdrop.
Don’t get me wrong, dramas such as Outlander, Shetland, and One of Us have shown the locations off in a great light, but it’s also interesting to see the ease with which transformations of Scottish sites are effected through clever props, set design, and studio wizardry.
Ultimately if production teams choose Scotland as a filming location and faithfully capture the location or completely transform it, our economy still benefits in numerous ways. It’s a win-win.
The Glasgow Film Office really is the secret to the success of the thriving Scottish production scene and continued growth for the economy in this field.
It diligently showcases Scottish services to local and international audiences and coordinates with local authorities and production companies to prevent any potential disturbance to residents. Glasgow Film Office makes the whole process seamless and clearly the premier service it offers has entertainment moguls coming back time and time again.
Nevertheless, some critics still say that, as great as Scotland is for offering a superb range of diverse location shoots, we continue to lack an all-encompassing film studio.
Here’s hoping that Creative Scotland can play its part to boost our film and TV sector too. It’s had a bit of a roller coaster time of it lately, from criticism over its 2018-21 strategy, to its figurehead Natalie Usher resigning in January after just four years in the role.
That being said, Creative Scotland has now secured £2.6 million in additional funds which should benefit 116 organisations – 19 of which are new additions to the Creative Scotland pot.
These newly backed plans aim to position the Scottish screen sector as internationally competitive and ultimately more ‘vibrant, strong and resilient’.
Here’s hoping that this is all a sign of more to come for our economy and the film industry in Scotland.
With the internet so important to people’s lives, whether for business or social use, having access to a fast internet connection is up there when choosing where to live.
In the past it came down to how close your home was to transport links or good schools, but high speed internet is becoming an increasing factor in that all-important life choice of where to set up home.
So it was no surprise to see that poor broadband and phone coverage is putting young professionals off working in the north of Scotland, according to Scottish Rural Action.
The influential parliamentary committee believes there is a real correlation between communities across the north and north-east suffering from the lowest levels of superfast broadband access, whilst struggling to attract the likes of doctors and teachers from working in those areas.
For young people, broadband and mobile phone coverage is seen to be absolutely essential, and I certainly agree.
Whether it’s SMEs trying to promote their services and secure business or entrepreneurs speaking to potential customers or investors, internet and mobile signal or a lack of, is really concerning.
The UK Government announced at the turn of the year that high speed broadband will be made a legal right for everyone in the UK.
Yet, with six per cent of premises in Scotland struggling to even reach 10 Mbps download speeds and only 40 per cent of Scotland’s landmass covered by all mobile phone operators, there is a lot of work to be done.
I really hope the Scottish government can pull this out of the bag for areas across Scotland who struggle, otherwise we will see once thriving rural communities decimated.
It Made Me Laugh
I don’t usually associate big cats roaming free with Aberdeenshire, so I’m sure when Police Scotland took the call last week that there was a tiger loose on a farm near Peterhead they had to ask the caller to repeat themselves.
Fair play to the boys in blue though, they donned their safari jackets and headed to the farm in Hatton to investigate.
Luckily for all concerned, the furry beast who took up residence in the farmer’s cowshed was of the cuddly variety, rather than a man-eating wild animal.
I’m sure there was a big sigh of relief all round when the animal was found to be stuffed rather than a danger, with the firearms officers seeing the funny side of the matter.
It Made Me Weep
We often pride ourselves on having the best higher education in the world, with Scottish universities providing cutting edge courses and placing highly within university league tables.
Providing everyone with access to our stellar higher education system is hugely important, so it was sad to see that the number of 18-year-olds applying to university from the poorest parts of Scotland has dropped for the first time in a decade.
The report released by UCAS showed applications from the most disadvantaged parts of Scotland fell from 1,970 last year to 1,900 this year.
Widening access to universities is a priority for the Scottish government, so the data will have caused a stir within the corridors of power.
Let’s hope that they can keep their promises.
