Prospero Productions celebrates the growth of WA’s screen industry and reveals its upcoming projects.
![Local priorities drive screen success](/sites/default/files/2024-11/Julia_Redwood_resized.jpg)
The state’s largest screen production company is enjoying its busiest period in more than 30 years, built to a large extent, it says, on a commitment to its people.
Award-winning Fremantle-based Prospero Productions has made Western Australian documentaries and television series since 1991 and is currently the only player nationally to have multiple television series simultaneously in production and on air.
Prospero managing director Julia Redwood said it was a record-breaking time in the organisation’s history.
“We’ve never had this kind of period ourselves and I would say it’s arguable whether anyone in Australia has had this [production level],” Ms Redwood told Business News.
“[I]n a three-month period, we’ve had fifty-five hours of television aired.
“Those five productions are Outback Crystal Hunters, Junior Doctors Down Under, Outback Opal Hunters season seven, Red Dirt Road Trip season two, and Outback Truckers season ten.”
Ms Redwood, who was recognised at the Western Australian of the Year Awards 2021 in the business category, said prioritising the needs of employees was the key to a successful business.
“It’s about people being happy,” she said.
“It’s very important to me, always has been, that Prospero isn’t just a production company that makes television programs.
“It’s about its people. The people who come here have opportunities to progress, train, and find a pathway to success.
“It’s important to me, in a business sense, that I keep my people, but I keep them here in WA.”
Ms Redwood said this commitment improved staff retention in the face of workforce challenges.
“Many people leave [WA] thinking the grass is greener, whether they go to Sydney or LA or London,” she said.
“It’s in my best interest to keep them here and engaged and give them the best possible opportunities. And there are enormous opportunities in WA, especially in the factual area.
“There are lots of transferable skills in our industry [and] I’m really keen on nurturing my people.”
According to Ms Redwood, the five Prospero-produced series aired on television during the past three months created a total 134 jobs and provided $7.3 million in wages.
Of that total, 27 were in-house staff, who were paid a combined $3.2 million.
“Wage bills are a good indicator of the quality of people, because this is a high-skill industry,” Ms Redwood said.
“That’s the money out the door to pay people’s wages. I’m very proud … because that means there are 134 people with jobs, and the majority of those are Western Australians.
“[Companies] such as Screenwest, Discovery Channel, SBS, Channel 5 (UK), and 7mate are all contributing. They’re our partners and help create that sustainability because they’re buying into those shows.
“When you don’t have sustainability, you don’t have ongoing production. You lose people.”
In a nod to Prospero’s history, Ms Redwood said it was a major accomplishment to make a film at all.
“Our very first film was No Survivors: The Mysterious Loss of the HMAS Sydney in 1993,” she said.
“That was a massive achievement because it was our first.”
Since then, Prospero has committed to investing in long-running returnable series.
“All the long-running shows have built up the business with that sustainable model,” Ms Redwood said.
“I don’t look for one-offs. One-offs are not an economic, reliable model.”
This strategy has provided security for Prospero amid rising costs and a decline in advertising spending across the sector.
“That contraction we’ve seen across the board, where budgets have reduced, opportunities have reduced, and the amount of content being commissioned has reduced quite dramatically,” Ms Redwood told Business News.
“This is a global issue for networks that rely on advertising.
“People are hurting in this industry. There are few opportunities, so people are having to really tighten their belts.
“We’re fortunate we have these long-running series that’ll hopefully buoy us until we pass that horrible period.”
What’s ahead
In terms of the sector’s prospects for the next few years, Ms Redwood said the Perth Film Studios, due for completion in 2026, presented both an opportunity and a challenge.
“If there isn’t proper continued investment in the local industry, local production, then we will wither on the vine,” she said.
“It’s happened in other states. That’s the danger if you don’t protect or invest in local producers. [Y]our producers are key to gaining production.
“We’re the one role you need to have because we raise the money, we put the teams together.”
While enthusiastic about the opening of the film studios, Ms Redwood said the development was not a panacea.
“It’s not going to be the cure to everybody’s woes … because it will be inbound production, largely,” she said.
“There will be a lack of availability, our wages and fees will go up, rates will go up, guaranteed.
“We have to be prepared for that and we have to ensure we invest in our local industry.
“Otherwise we’ll become a back lot for Hollywood and the eastern states.”
Ms Redwood said the state government was setting strong foundations to support the local industry, describing the WA Screen Industry Strategy 2024-2034 as game changer.
“It’s a fantastic move by government, a very smart move [despite being] a long time coming,” she said.
“I think that’s going to transform this industry in WA. It won’t just be arts and culture; it’ll be jobs, innovation, technology, whatever will advance screen.”
Prospero has a diverse range of projects lined up, including a collaboration with the WA Police Force.
West Coast Cops, or Brit Cops Down Under as it will be known in the UK, is a TV series following British police recruits who have relocated to WA and is slated to air early 2025 on Channel Nine and UKTV.
Prospero is also developing a video game based on its Outback Truckers television show, which is expected to be officially announced next year and available for download in 2026.
A children’s animation series was also in the early development stages at Prospero, in what will be the company’s first animated production.