Abstract:

The spatial division of labor in the motion picture industry has become apparent with the decentralization of production from Hollywood to more cost-effective satellite production centers. The social division of labor is defined in the industry as those workers that are classified as "above-the-line" (with more creative inputs) and "below-the-line" (with more technical inputs). As satellite production centers develop and grow by serving foreign production needs, their internal social divisions of labor also change and local skills upgrading occurs. We thus observe a dynamic articulation of the social and spatial divisions of labor as reflected in changing local labor market conditions and changing global structures of production.

The top satellite production locations, Australia and Canada, are studied to examine the effects of foreign productions from Hollywood on the local labor pool. The methods include: (1) a survey of the local labor pool in Australia and Canada that have worked on foreign productions, (2) a survey of location managers in Hollywood, and (3) in-person interviews in Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, and New Zealand.

Evidence shows that the local labor in the satellite production centers are experiencing a deepening of the social division of labor through skill specialization. By working on foreign productions the local labor gain technical skills and access new technologies, yet they are able to be more creative when working on domestic productions. Occupations that are more technically-oriented follow a path of career advancement that is vertically structured, whereas the more creative occupations have career paths that are horizontally structured. The ratio of the technical and creative division of labor changes as individuals advance their career by entering occupations where they have more control and creative input. Local labor in Australia found career advancement difficult, whereas in Canada the local labor found career advancement to be easy. Strategies for developing an occupationally diverse local labor pool resilient to the fluctuations of foreign production activity are drawn from examples in Hollywood and the Czech Republic. By developing the local labor pool the satellite production centers may stimulate innovation in the regional economy as technical and creative skills spillover to related industries such as video game development, multimedia, and digital design.