Edinburgh Napier University

  This Discussion Paper investigates freelance working in the Scottish film and television sector. The Industrial Strategy and the Bazalgette Report into the Creative Industries (2017) have identified the need to support the development of creative clusters in other regions outside London and the south east of England in order that the creative industries grow more equally across the UK. This paper examines how a nascent cluster of freelancers was vital to the establishment of this regional hub for film and television production. It goes on to examine the barriers and challenges freelancers face in order to sustain lasting careers. We assess how these have impacted in the past and how these challenges and barriers currently limit growth. Drawing on the historical case study of the Film Bang directory of freelancers in Scotland this paper investigates evidence from the bottom up identifying strategies for resilience and longevity for this workforce