Industry briefings: July/August 2025
Posted on Jul 30, 2025 by Admin
Loneliness in film, XR lighting tech and Eli Roth’s new horror venture – key stories from across the industry
Words Zanna Buckland
FTVC releases report with Centre for Loneliness Studies
New research by the Film and TV Charity (FTVC), in collaboration with Sheffield Hallam University’s Centre for Loneliness Studies, has exposed that disproportionately high levels of loneliness are driving poor mental health among people working in film and TV, and particularly freelancers. The findings draw on five years of data from FTVC’s Looking Glass surveys, identifying variables such as long and irregular working hours, workplace harassment and discrimination stigma around speaking out about mental health as factors contributing to loneliness, among others.
Deloitte and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport have estimated that poor mental health, including loneliness, costs the film and TV industry as much as £400 million a year. But now, people in the industry can take inspiration from FTVC’s findings and report to address loneliness among the workforce by deploying strategies such as wellbeing surveys, maintaining relationships and peer support and destigmatising mental health issues. Lucy Maxwell, the charity’s community development manager, urges that, “given the compelling evidence to suggest loneliness is the key driver of poor mental health in film and TV, we must all do more to tackle the root causes of loneliness.”
Alfalite illuminates VP XR ceilings with SKYPIX
The only European manufacturer of LED displays, Alfalite is introducing its SKYPIX RGBW & IM series. Designed for VP XR environments, the ceiling-mounted LED panels offer up to 9000 nits of RGB brightness, a 7680Hz refresh rate and colour temperature range of 3200-6504K. “With SKYPIX,” shares Luis Garrido, executive director of Alfalite, “we listened to studios and lighting technicians to create a panel that not only displays content, but also lights the scene with unmatched realism and communicates with the broader production system. It eliminates the maintenance and synchronisation issues associated with traditional tracking markers.”
SKYPIX is also a more energy-efficient option, averaging just 35W of power consumption (with a maximum of 90W), ideal for reducing the carbon footprint of long studio sessions. The lights are app-controlled, allowing real-time adjustment of colour and intensity, plus user-defined presets tailored to production needs. The SKYPIX Invisible Marker (IM) system – using virtual, invisible stickers rather than physical tracking markers – is compatible with existing technologies and allows real-time synchronisation and customisable IM configurations for recording metadata, a game changer for anyone working in VP XR environments.
Eli Roth’s jump-start for horror content
Capitalising on the ongoing success of the horror genre, filmmaker Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Thanksgiving) has started a new independent media company called The Horror Section. Having met its investment goal of $5.5 million on 17 June – with shares of up to 10% offered for investors – the studio is looking to enter markets outside film and TV, such as gaming, podcasts and live events.
ScreenSkills’ piloted Training Passport gives you wings across the industry
After a successful ten-month pilot period, the ScreenSkills Training Passport is moving into the second phase of its rollout, with new partners such as BBC Public Service joining original collaborators BBC Studios, ITV Studios and Sky. The Passport serves as a pan-industry certification for professionals in production to demonstrate their proficiency in areas including basic safeguarding techniques. Pact – trade body for the UK screen sector – has provided consultation for the project
Tailored to the screen industries, the two e-learning modules offered by ScreenSkills are estimated to take 30 minutes each, comprising teaching sections followed by a test and survey. The Tackling Harassment and Bullying at Work module is based on principles and zero tolerance guidelines set by the British Film Institute (BFI) and BAFTA, while Safeguarding For All was created with support from Taye Training and funding from BFI Future Film Skills (National Lottery) and ScreenSkills’ own High-end, Unscripted and Children’s TV Skills Funds. Those who complete the training modules receive certificates that can be used in their role, as well as for future applications, recognising their understanding of appropriate workplace behaviour. The progress of crew members can be tracked and managed by production or HR teams on the bespoke ScreenSkills management system, and a particular studio or production can even set additional training tasks.
The Training Passport is being expanded to incorporate the new partners, plus a wider range of courses, including ScreenSkills’ modules for health and safety on set in the Production Safety Passport. The programme pilot has already seen 1215 freelancers on 172 productions across its studio partners – including Strictly Come Dancing and Dragon’s Den – using the service. Meanwhile, another 6500 have completed the training independently, offering both employee and employer benefits for the production industry.
BAFTA’s Green Light Season
BAFTA is accelerating climate change and sustainability awareness with its Green Light Season, launched 19 June in partnership with albert. The season brings a roster of talks, screenings, panels and more across the UK, opening with a screening of Ocean with David Attenborough. The documentary’s co-director Keith Scholey joins other participating names like Tom Beck, head of live events and commissioning editor for reality and entertainment on Channel 4, and Emily Hudd, executive producer on several of Joe Lycett’s sustainability-focused programmes, in helping BAFTA albert to promote climate-positive production.
Short takes
Cineflares Lens Lab hits milestone
Cinematographer Markus Förderer’s interactive online lens testing tool has completed profiling 100 top cine lens families (vintage and modern), allowing users to compare lens flare attributes at different T-stops in a controlled environment. The site has also launched new features, including a Scene Preview Tool, enabling virtual tests in daylight, interior and night scenes.
New CEO for Zero Density
Virtual production and on-air graphics specialist Zero Density has appointed Baris Zavaroglu as its new CEO. Zavaroglu brings more than two decades of experience at the intersection of media, technology and innovation through managerial positions in HBO Max, Fox, The Walt Disney Company and more.
Chaos brings V‑Ray to Blender
Chaos has released V‑Ray for Blender, natively integrating its Emmy‑ and Academy Award‑winning renderer into the 3D suite. Blender artists gain full access to photoreal GI lighting, 5600‑plus Cosmos assets, CPU/GPU/hybrid and cloud rendering, with standalone licences priced at $33/month or $199/year (free for existing V‑Ray licence holders).
Want to hear about more news from this year? Read last month’s industry briefings.
This article appears in the July/August 2025 issue of Definition
