Residence Pictures co-founder Cara Kotschy on the state of UK VFX

Residence Pictures' co-founder and managing director Cara Kotschy tells Screen Global Production about the state of VFX in the UK.

From a post perspective, how has the shift away from a single "big commission" impacted the pipeline of your work?

Right now, most projects don’t get off the ground thanks to one big commission.  Like features, securing financing for series is a delicate house of cards, pieced together through co-production agreements, presales, soft money, tax breaks and even funding from brands.

Strategically  working with a post partner in pre-production can also help secure finance.  For a long time we’ve done away with the ‘fix it in post’ mentality and heralded ‘fix it in pre’ instead, but if you  bring post in even earlier – at development stage – it can open up new routes to funding and help the creative process land better through stronger collaboration. As a result robust packages around IP can be generated, economies of time and spend are revealed and ultimately projects can be greenlit quicker. It should become reflex for production companies anywhere in the world to build in a strategic post partner at a development stage to help unlock the right creative and financing, like a production company would.

How does international co-productions becoming the go-to model for films and series impact Residence Pictures’ work? 

We’ve been working on internationally co-funded content for some time; a huge chunk of the projects we work on are financed in this way. Ahead of launching Residence Pictures, we could see that a major requirement of successful modern day post production is agility with the ability to efficiently deliver to multiple territories, in multiple formats, for use in varying disciplines with the least impact on budget, timeline and creative vision. 

So, working in this way compliments our model and mindset meaning the impact can only be positive. In fact, we’re working on how we can go further by developing our infrastructure and remote working capabilities to enhance partner experience in global locations and see significant growth from a small physical footprint. 

Why do you think post-production often an overlooked part of the creative and financial puzzle?

The globalisation of content creation and audiences alongside huge technological developments in cameras, monitors and post production tools have all forced production values in TV to significantly increase.  To me it makes sense for the other aspects of content creation, such as securing finance and greenlights, to also evolve. For example, why wouldn’t a producer that’s creating a series with big ideas and a small budget, a unique look in the grade or a VFX heavy show that’s hard to visualise, secure a post partner at development stage to help sell in the idea and support in devising the best route forward in terms of money, budget, timeline and vision? Everyboy wins if you succeed and you’re more likely to succeed if you have a specialist post partner onboard before you’ve even shot a frame. They will be instrumental in enabling the vision to come to life.

How can bringing post-production in earlier, specifically at the development stage, help with project funding and greenlighting? 

As touched on above, we work with development teams to support selling in or visualising an idea when other HoD’s haven’t yet been on boarded. At a time when development is likely to have just a concept and a script, post production studios are likely to have either previously created content for the era, genre, tone or mood or have an interest in the artists, photographers and film makers that have. Furthermore, we have the tools at our finger tips to create reference stills and images to support the vision. For Producers to then go to financiers, commissioners and distributors armed with a set of visuals from a partner that’s already working on the look can only help to increase excitement for an idea and help secure funding and a greenlight. 

Finally, while freelancer HoD’s might move on series to series post houses are likely to be a longstanding part of development going forward. 

How does the AVEC UK tax impact the above and how do you see it impacting Residence Pictures’ work?

It massively impacts this as its more money on the table; it makes budgets go further. With the newly boosted UK tax credit, post can bring soft money into a project without needing to shoot in that territory. Coupled with using cloud and remote technology, this is huge for both our UK producers and our international producers wanting to work with the UK and those who are territory agnostic and are looking anywhere outside of their domestic markets – it makes us a lot more competitive on a global stage.

How does involving creative post-production talent, like a colourist, at the development stage contribute to the overall creative viability of a project?

Any creative in post or VFX can work with development teams to contribute to an idea. We are already used to reading scripts without having seen any shot footage and estimating how much time and budget is required for post and VFX but this is often after development. But if a development team bought us in earlier to discuss the vision, we could not only provide invaluable advice on how best to achieve this but we can also shoot or even build scenes using AI which can obviously have a real positive impact on bringing a script or a concept to life and securing funding. 

In what ways does early planning with a post-production partner lead to greater efficiency?

To me, it makes most sense to decide on your post partner in development, with clarity of thought prior to pre-production busyness when minds are polluted with signing HoDs, securing locations, on screen talent, hair and make up etc. 

Aside from supporting securing finance through visualisation,  a specialist post resource in place from development to delivery can advise on the right tools such as camera choice and lenses, we can generate what we call ‘budgeting quotes’ so that the right timeframe and cost allowances are considered from the outset, we can provide open and honest guidance on what can be achieved in post, what would be better to shoot and considerations to be made on the shoot.

All of this provides both efficiencies in terms of time and budget, sets production in good stead with a solid knowledge base and streamlines mindsets by forcing consideration about the final stage of delivey from the earliest moment of development.  

What are the key considerations when choosing an international post-production partner to help package IP more commercially?

A major consideration for this to work with success is that producers would need to make a call on their post partner way before HoDs like Directors and DoPs are onboarded. With Directors and DoPs often used to having input in this decision making when choosing a post studio, it may cause upset downstream or could even encourage a way of working much like the US where final post is handed over to Execs and ‘Showrunners’ with creatives having less involvement. In some cases this would be quite an overhaul.

What are some examples of projects Residence Pictures has worked on that address the above points?

We’re currently working with a handful of production partners providing visualisation, guidance on tools, and budgeting, as well as on films currently in development. None of this can be discussed in the public domain yet but watch this space. 

What is your take on the over-all downturn in VFX/Post work in the UK? 

It’s an incredibly hard market to operate within, one that requires a new mindset for continued success. We can’t keep utilising muscle memory and doing things the way they’ve always been done otherwise we’ll all rot. Businesses like ours are in the fortunate position of coming to the market with fresh ideas and agility for longevity. We do things differently, prioritise relationships with talent and other creative businesses, and work collectively to get the most out of the industry. 

We believe the future belongs to those who adapt fastest, truly collaborate, and stay genuinely connected to the creative community. There’s still huge demand for great work, it just needs to be delivered in smarter, more sustainable ways that protect both talent and the craft. Those who evolve will thrive and those who don’t will naturally fall away. This moment isn’t the end of anything, it’s a reset, and an opportunity to build something healthier and more resilient for the long term.