1. Capturing the
cultural value of film
AHRC Cultural Value Project Workshop
Birkbeck, 11 April 2013
Sean Perkins
BFI Research and Statistics Unit

2. Overview
• Context - previous work on the cultural value of film
2003-2007
• Stories we tell ourselves – the cultural impact of UK film
1946-2006
• Opening our eyes – how film contributes to the culture of
the UK
• Directions for future research

3. The economic contribution of film is well
documented..

4. Our first plan – to look at the economic value
of film culture…
• In 2003-2005, we scoped the idea of a study of the “cultural value of
UK film” to complement our previous studies into the economic
value of film in the UK
• How to place a monetary value on UK film culture, to assist
government resource allocation decisions?
• We looked at a variety of economic survey methods and the wider
valuation literature and consulted with various experts on valuation
methods (in the UK and overseas)
• Early thinking published in Cultural Trends (Dec 04)

5. In the end we didn‟t feel confident enough in
the economic valuation methods…
• How feasible is it, in principle, to place a monetary value on film
culture?
• The economic methods had a number of practical challenges that
would be difficult to address successfully (we felt)
• A good piece of research would probably be expensive – beyond
our budget – because of the need to reach a representative sample
of the population with a quite detailed and tricky questionnaire

6. So we moved from thinking about the
economic value of film to the cultural impact
of UK film..
• In 2007, the UK Film Council Board requested a study into the
cultural value of UK film, to complement the economic impact
studies that had helped convince government to extend and reform
UK film tax relief
• In writing the brief, and bearing in mind the path described in the
previous studies, we decided the best focus for the study would be
the cultural impact of UK film
• “Impact” is more qualitative than economic value (though it does not
exclude metrics) and it makes no assumption about positivity or
negativity, so we thought it a potentially more interesting question to
ask

7. The brief highlighted several dimensions of
potential cultural impact...
• Contribution to understanding and appreciation of the UK‟s history,
culture, diversity and values
• Knowledge and understanding of identity, community and the wider
world
• Cultural impact of UK film over an extended period of time, including
the part played by film in cultural change in the UK over the last
century
• “Culture” defined broadly, not only as artistic activity, but as “the way
we live shared traditions, beliefs and practices”

8. Stories we tell ourselves
• The approach taken was a mix of literature review,
interview, statistical analysis and case studies
• Population of 4,644 UK feature films, 1946-2006
• Statistical study of two samples – “intuitive” sample
of 200 significant UK films; random sample of 200
films
• 30 case studies of British films; 8 case studies of
National and Regional films; 8 case studies of films
involving black and Asian talent
• Interviews with industry professionals and a review
of the impact of film policy

9. The case studies – beginnings of a metric of
cultural impact
The researchers developed a set of metrics to look at how widely films
have circulated and the impact they have had:
• Original impact (box office, festivals)
• Extended impact (academy awards, DVDs, restorations, “best” listings)
• Wider impact:
• Citation in other media
• Evidence of esteem (commendation by cultural arbiters, prizes etc.)
• Evidence of impact on the behaviour of society
• IMDb user ratings and number of votes
• Number of YouTube clips

10. Findings – four key categories of cultural
impact:
• Censorship and notoriety (Sexy Beast,
Pressure, The Life and Death of Colonel
Blimp)
• Quotations in other media (Chariots of Fire,
A Clockwork Orange, The Crying Game)
• Zeitgeist moments (Jubilee, Four Weddings
and a Funeral, Saturday Night and Sunday
Morning, Henry V)
• Cumulative impact (Brief Encounter, Get
Carter, Local Hero, Bend it like Beckham)

11. ..but what next?
Findings debated with academics at Birkbeck seminar in 2009, then
presented to public and film professionals in
Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, and York
Also discussed at San Sebastian Film Festival and European
Parliament‟s Committee on Culture and Education in Brussels
Participants were positive about the report and enthusiastic in
discussing the ways in which cultural value or impact of film is
produced and communicated
But two persistent questions:
• What do the people think?
• What about films from other countries?

12. Phase two – Opening our eyes
• Commissioned by UK Film Council/BFI in
early 2011
• Survey of the attitudes and opinions of the
UK public on a range of questions related to
the cultural contribution of film in the UK
• The purpose was to find out how highly
people value film – whether UK or
internationally made – and how they express
the meaning film has for them

13. Methodology
• First, we had to discover how to talk to the
public about film and culture. Ipsos
conducted paired depth interviews around
the UK to explore key themes
• Then Ipsos conducted 2036 online surveys
with a representative sample of UK citizens
aged between 15 and 74
• The survey findings were used to develop a
series of seven case studies and twenty
follow-up telephone interviews were
conducted on issues of Britishness and the
artistic value of film.

14. Opening our eyes – some key findings
• Film has a far-reaching range of impacts on
individuals
• People see value and meaning in all kinds of films,
including blockbusters
• The films most often mentioned as „significant‟ and
those they consider represent the UK best, often do
not appear in box office, critical or industry rankings
• Film contributes to National and Regional identities
within the UK
• Two-thirds of respondents said they had seen films
which had given them new insights into other cultures
and ways of life
• The potential for film to make a cultural contribution is
further increased by the growth in digital access

15. Next steps
Do the proxy indicators suggested in Stories we tell ourselves
(YouTube views, IMDb ratings etc.) confirm the evidence from the
survey data in Opening our eyes?
In a digital multi-platform world of film consumption, would internet-
derived data provide a valid and robust source of information on the
cultural contribution of film in the UK?
In comparison with conventional survey data – which take months to
commission and gather – internet-derived data could provide an instant
measure of cultural contribution and provide a means of tracking impact
over time.

16. Thank you – questions?
www.bfi.org.uk/publications/openingoureyes
www.bfi.org.uk/statistics
rsu@bfi.org.uk