The winter 2020 Journal of Media and Diversity included an important study (p12) produced by our good friend Emma Butt, illustrating the current state of diversity in the film sound industry in the UK.
The study had some pretty stark findings:
Of the 36 shows there were 60 roles that fell into the categories of Dialogue Editor, sound Effects Editor or Re-Recording Mixer. In terms of racial diversity this research found that across all channels, only one mixed race person was involved in the post-production sound teams for the highest rated shows in the sample and they identified as male. In this instance this person made one show for Channel 4.
No other sound team from within the sample included someone from a Black or ethnic minority background of any gender. In terms of gender diversity, the highest rated shows produced for BBC1 and BBC2 included only three white women.
For ITV shows included in the sample, the same individual white woman worked across two separate productions. Channel 4 had no women in their post-production sound teams across any productions. For Channel 5 shows included in the sample there was one white woman who worked on one production.
This particular show also represented the only instance where a woman held the role of Re-Recording mixer. Sky One shows indicated only one white woman on a team which worked on two separate productions. In total six women were included out of the 60 available roles.
All other members of the teams identified as white men.
In this interview, we go into the origins and methodology of the study, the implications, and some potential solutions.
It take a lot of courage to raise these kinds of issues in the industry, and a lot of effort to do the legwork that proves the premise. Kudos to Emma for this effort!