Creative Industries
In today's fast-paced knowledge economy, it
is people, their creativity, skills and talents that are a region's
biggest asset. The South West of England is home to some of the
most innovative and successful media companies in the UK. The
region has the second largest Creative Industries sector outside
London and was named as a Creative Industries National Exemplar in
the UK government's Creative Britain plan, published in February
2008.
Centre of Excellence
The South West is a centre of excellence in
animation, natural history production and digital media. Bristol
has the strongest digital media supply chain outside London, with a
diverse client base working alongside leading international brands.
BBC Bristol is a centre of excellence in High-Definition
production, both for TV and theatrical distribution. It is home to
the acclaimed Natural History Unit, which has been making wildlife
films for more than 50 years and produces a quarter of the entire
global output. The unit is acknowledged as the world's centre of
excellence in wildlife programme-making.
Content development
Two of the largest names in content development
for web and mobile have also chosen to locate in Bristol. Nokia is
involved in developing technology for its short form content
download strategy (for music and visual media content) here. Nearby
is HP's largest innovation lab outside the US. The Lab is focused
on technical innovation in the media industries and collaborates
with the Watershed, the University of the West of England and
Pervasive Media Studios, all based within the region. Not only is
Bristol a magnet for international business, it is also, according
to Lonely Planet, the "coolest city in Britain."
Conservation
ARKive, the global archive of endangered species,
is another South West success story. The organisation, which has
world class expertise in conservation, has now teamed up with
Google to bring this information to a global audience in a format
that is both entertaining and relevant.
Animation
Animation is a hugely successful sector in the
region. Aardman Animations, creator of the Oscar-winning Wallace
and Gromit films, is one of the world's leading animation companies
and the only one in Europe to be involved in full-time feature film
production. It is based in the region alongside Bolex Brothers and
A Productions. The University of Bournemouth is home to The
National Centre for Computer Animation - the UK's leading centre
for computer animation research and study.
Festivals
The South West is also host to some of the
world's best-loved festivals. Glastonbury is now the largest
greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world and
Wildscreen is the largest wildlife film festival. The International
Screenwriters Festival takes place here and so, too, does
Encounters, the UK's leading short film festival.
Inspiring environment
The Creative Industries sector is broad with 13
different sub-sectors. Some 89,000 people work in it in the UK,
with a further 55,000 working in related creative occupations.
Nationally, the whole sector contributes 8% of the UK's GVA and is
growing faster than the rest of the economy. The South West's
amazing environment inspires creative minds to produce some truly
inspirational work and we are proud to have one of the strongest
and most exciting creative sectors in Europe.