The myriad production types we cater for.
Animation
The art and science of animation has advanced so that the practice is unrecognisable from what it was just twenty years ago.
Technology has evolved, bringing about a convergence of separate disciplines. The media channels in which animation is used are no longer just traditional entertainment channels but also include areas such as gaming and simulations.
Equipment, travel, and operational requirements are different to live action projects, but an animation studio is a highly technical creative space, now with portable equipment and software. Cloud based processing means that creative spaces can be taken to wherever.
Production Insurance by Charles Milnes & Company is an ideal platform to insure all types of animation business. Every part of our insurance is flexible and adaptable.
Insuring essentials
Animation studios tend to have high levels of technical equipment and will need high levels of equipment cover as part of any insurance package.
Animation studios should consider insuring themselves against the legal consequences of intellectual property infringement. Legal action arising over copyright and infringement is immediate and expensive to resolve.
Marketing / Advertising Commercials
Many television commercials in the UK are commissioned by advertising agencies and delivered by production companies. We are at a time now where traditional relationships are being challenged and disrupted; where production companies work directly with brands to produce commercials and branded content.
There is a well-established and successful contractual landscape (the IPA/APA/ISBA contract and PIBS) which deals with insuring this type of work. We have long established and good relationships with the Advertising Producer’s Association (APA) and often liaise with them on more complex productions.
For global advertising campaigns budgets can be significant, quality thresholds high and timescales extremely tight. We are accustomed to turning around complex challenges very quickly and liaising with the various parties involved when needed.
Our packages forms the basis of insuring this type of work but we can add additional types of insurance as necessary (e.g. weather insurance and commercial producer’s indemnity).
Insuring essentials
Where the standard IPA/APA UK contract is being used, Production Insurance needs to be considerably enhanced with a commercial producer’s indemnity (CPI) policy, alongside the standard production package.
There are often specific additional requirements, for example weather insurance.
Online Content
Using platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Vimeo, professional standard online content is now fundamental to business communications, be it for marketing purposes, providing information, or internal company communications.
Cultural and arts organisations use freelance and independent producers to make live action streaming (for example via Facebook Live Video, Periscope and Instagram) and recorded content as part of their communication and outreach.
Social media influencers and vloggers can exploit huge commercial potential in their online content through tie ups with brands and enhanced with personal appearance and publishing activities.
Insuring essentials
Aside from the main production coverage, online content is often delivered within the terms of a commercial contract. This is likely to require professional indemnity/media liability.
We have considerable experience of working with social media influencers/vloggers and their agents and representatives. Through Production Insurance by Charles Milnes & Company, we can offer personal media profile insurance packages to cover the full spectrum of potential legal issues which can face individuals working in this sector.
CGI/VFX/SFX/VR
Production insurance covers CGI/VFX/SFX/VR studios working across a range of media, from feature films and broadcast TV, to games and applications. Aside from the regular applications, CGI is used in art, video games, and simulators.
Virtual reality (VR) is still finding its commercial identity but engages with futuristic concepts like force feedback, providing additional exploitable opportunities beyond the confines of audio visual content.
Architectural CGI modelling and visualisation provide walk through experiences for developers, architects, and engineers – this is another area we are familiar with and may require specialist knowledge and minor tailoring of our set packages.
Insuring essentials
CGI/VFX/SFX/VR tend to have high levels of highly valuable, specialist technical equipment, which need to be properly protected and replaced when necessary.
Content producers may sign onerous contracts and need to balance this risk by insuring themselves from legal consequences of intellectual property infringement.
In SFX there are potentially more complex risks where untried procedures, often at the very edge of technical and physical extremes, need careful handling and risk management. We can help with Risk Assessments and legal compliance.
Music Video Production
Music videos are highly creative and often extremely formally innovative, producing effects and techniques which have gone on to influence the whole industry. In recent years, artists have increasingly moved into creating “visual albums”, containing non-linear short films to accompany their music. This development demonstrates the ever-increasing importance of video media to the music industry.
Video production has always played a key part in an artists work but where it has been used largely as a promotional media, it is now becoming a more central part of the storytelling process and a more integral part of the musicians artistic output.
Production Insurance is fully equipped to cater for a range of production needs in this area.
Insuring essentials
Celebrity talent or high-risk location production need to be risk managed and specifically insured. Contracts around the use of celebrity talent and the acquisition and exploitation of ancillary intellectual property rights need careful and professional handling. E&O or media liability insurance is an important element in managing contractual risks.
Trailers, Promos & Distribution
The UK has a reputation for producing ground breaking trailers and promos and is one of the world’s centres for experimentation. Hollywood studios have used the UK to produce some of the most famous and big budget trailers and promos.
Distributors and production networks rely on market leading trailers, promos, and titles, to sell their content in hugely competitive global film and television markets.
Many of our clients work to produce this type of content and Production Insurance by Charles Milnes & Company supports them at every stage of production.
Insuring essentials
Cutting edge technology and an intensive media/IT knowledge base mean that valuable people and equipment need to be protected.
Because of its importance as a centre of production excellence and the distribution of global English speaking content, the UK has a highly advanced and sophisticated insurance market to support this important industry.
Documentaries
The emergence of feature length documentaries has been an exciting development in the film industry, especially in their distribution to cinemas.
Production Insurance by Charles Milnes & Company is used as an insurance template for a wide range of documentary production from large scale cinema broadcast docs, to fly on the wall observation and news/current affairs.
Insuring essentials
The Production Insurance platform can automatically cover smaller documentaries and we are able to tailor the optimum insurance package for longer and higher productions.
Feature length documentaries may involve intensive use of archival materials or specialist technical equipment for example in the case of wildlife observation or very high definition presentation of important artworks. This equipment needs to be properly insured.
Global travel with expensive equipment and celebrity presenters has implications, as does rights acquisition in archival material and other third party acquired content.
Annual insurance would not provide adequate or appropriate cover but Charles Milnes and Company are in an ideal position to manage these insurance projects.
Feature Films & TV Series
The UK promotes film and TV production as a centre of excellence thanks largely to the existence of organisations such as the BFI, BAFTA, British Film Commission, and BECTU.
Feature films and TV series may be one-off projects and can be run through a special purpose company. We have been involved from the earliest stages of production to underlying rights acquisition, financing distribution and through to broadcast.
Insuring essentials
The low cost fixed annual packages from Production Insurance by Charles Milnes & Company would not provide adequate or appropriate cover for feature films or TV series, but we can easily arrange specialist insurance for this area. These types of policies are designed to be project specific to cover the pre-production, production, and post-production phases, each with their own specific insurance needs. Policies in this area must be highly personalised and tailored to the needs of each client and/or project.
Live Action Streaming
The emergence of live action streaming in the world of film, theatre, music, culture and art have created whole new production, presentation and distribution opportunities. These new viewing experiences have expanded the possibilities of production. Organisations not usually involved in audio visual production are now producing this content as an essential part of their modernisation and audience engagement programmes to keep them engaged and relevant.
Insuring essentials
Live action streaming will usually involve highly valuable equipment which requires adequate coverage and with locations tending to have special and specific requirements, integrating smoothly with these partner organisations/institutions and high public liability cover will usually be required.
There are technical challenges with large scale national and international distribution of live cultural and arts events, which are not dissimilar to sporting events, and face similar risks to those posed by other major outside broadcast undertakings.
Annual insurance would not provide adequate or appropriate cover but Charles Milnes and Company are in an ideal position to manage these insurance projects.