In 2021 NETFLIX released a first-of-its-kind diversity study of its movies and TV shows, looking at the representation of women, minority groups, and ethnicities on the screen and behind the camera in key roles like writer, producer, and director. At the same time, Netflix announced the creation of the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity, committing to invest $100 million over the next five years in organizations that help underrepresented communities find jobs on TV and film. Netflix’s programming over the past several years has demonstrated a strong commitment to making streaming content look a lot more like the real world, and other services like HBO Max and Apple TV are clearly thinking along the same lines. The Netflix Fund for Creative Equity threw down the gauntlet and is hoping it has created an inflection point in our industry’s openness and inclusiveness.
In late 2020, Peter Griese (Specialist, Strategy and Partnerships at Netflix) reached out to ESTA’s Production Equipment Rental Group (PERG). PERG collaborated previously with Netflix’s Michael Keegan (Program Manager, Strategy and Partnerships) when Netflix worked with PERG to generate discussion with the rental community regarding technical delivery requirements (which had raised questions about the types of cameras and lenses that could be used for Netflix shows). The conversation with Peter started with the question: how many PERG member companies are owned and led by people from underrepresented groups? When you think about it, the number is startlingly small. This opened the door to more conversation about workplace equity, about how companies are cultivating the next generation of equipment rental company owners and management, about opportunity and the workforce in general.
In early 2021, PERG formed the Equitable Workforce Initiative (EWI) Task Group, made up of four PERG Council members, Carly Barber (Illumination Dynamics, Los Angeles), John Cini (High Output, Boston), Stosh Durbacz (Fujifilm, Toronto), Sally Spaderna (Koerner Camera, Portland), plus ESTA board member, Mark Wofford (PC&E, Atlanta), plus myself and ESTA Executive Director, Erin Grabe. Working with Peter and the team at Netflix, the task group considered the challenges for rental companies and for the industry.
Rental companies are an important training ground for the industry. For an aspiring camera assistant or lighting technician there is simply no better place to learn the equipment while earning a paycheck—how equipment is properly handled and cared for, how it is safely used and maintained. As much as rental companies hate it when good employees leave to enter the production world, it is an acknowledged reality that rental companies seed the industry. A couple years working for a respected rental company gives a worker the professionalism and depth of knowledge that the industry relies on in gaffers, lighting technicians, focus pullers, camera operators, and directors of photography. It also gives them access to the working technicians who may hire them once they make the leap. The alternative (or concurrent) training ground for many young filmmakers is working on low budget productions, and while any kind of production experience is invaluable, technicians who gain experience solely from that background tend to come into the world of commercials, TV shows, and films with large gaps in their knowledge.
For the right people, working at a rental company is the perfect fit, but rental companies are a door marked “opportunity” that people entering the industry often look right past. They miss that rental companies are vibrant workplaces too. Perhaps, opening this door requires outreach and recruitment beyond the usual kinds of job-listing efforts, especially when it comes to welcoming people from underrepresented groups. For employees who make it their primary focus, rental companies offer opportunity for advancement; steady, good-paying long-term employment; benefits; and reasonable work hours. Historically, rental company leadership has evolved from rank-and-file employees, but rental companies don’t necessarily put special effort into providing rental business training to prepare employees for a career in equipment rental. What would happen if they did? What if it was expressly part of their training to get a broader industry perspective and mentorship that could inspire long-term interest and spark a career?
For the industry overall, the challenge is to create pipelines that improve equity and diversity in the workforce and develop properly trained workers. For rental companies, there is the additional challenge of finding and retaining a quality labor pool and seeding the next generation of rental company management. Could there be synergy here?
PERG’s Equitable Workforce Task Group will be making an exciting announcement at the PERG General Membership Meeting at NAB on April 25th
