ABSTRACT
So freelancers tend to be contracted by larger more structured firms to carry out the
more creative parts of their operation. Smaller firms, in terms of full-time employees,
are less likely to do so. Part of this may result from the fact that particular projects,
such as a motion picture, television programme, theatre production, a computer game or
even construction of a building requires a large number of different skilled individuals.
The operating and administrative duties may also be more frequent hence the need for
large numbers of in-house full-time staff. And it is the larger firms that tend to be involved
in these projects, mainly by funding them. Within the survey, some of the largest firms (in
terms of number of staff and turnover) to respond to the survey were London-based tele-
vision and feature film companies and while they are involved in multiple projects hiring a
myriad of freelancers (from runners to directors), they also have a large administrative
team that deals with the financial, legal and bureaucratic nature of television and film-
making. And more often than not, due to the intense social networking of freelancers,
they will need to be hired as a team hence further increasing the costs. This is in contrast
to, for example, some publishing companies who will hire a single photographer for a
small fee to provide an image to accompany an article or the front cover of a publication.
