“Denmark!” (CC BY 2.0) by Håkan Dahlström
The world of film and television is notoriously difficult to break into. Usually, it involves using all the contacts that you have, pulling strings, and starting out as a set runner, coffee-maker, or some other starting position. If you’re lucky you get a few breaks and slowly work your way up to becoming a director, producer, or lighting cameraman.
It’s the same for actors. With very few exceptions, it’s a case of getting a few bit-parts that you hope will get you on the radar of casting directors and agents. With luck and talent, you then start to land bigger roles and maybe even head towards star-billing.
But there’s one country that has been enjoying a real TV boom in the last few years where things have been turned on their head. In Denmark, there are too many roles, both behind and in front of the camera, without enough talent to film them all.
“Tv studio in use” (CC BY 2.0) by TechnicolourPirate
Arguably, it’s the streaming boom that has been largely responsible for this with services like Netflix devouring the content that has become known as Scandi Noir. It all began with shows like The Killing and The Bridge, focusing on crime before broadening out into wider topics like politics that are at the heart of shows like Borgen. While the relatively small output of the Danish TV industry could keep up with the domestic demand of the 5.6 million-strong population, once the shows began to gain an international following everything started to go out of sync.
Domestically, too, Danes’ increasing interest in other forms of online entertainment such as mobile gaming, music streaming, and even online casinos meant that the stakes were raised for those within the tv and film communities. With sites like Bonusfinder offering access to a wide number of online casinos, all of which offer generous welcome bonuses and other incentives, the TV output has to be better still if it wants to compete with these undoubtedly entertaining ways to spend time online.
In terms of home-grown talent, the Danish TV and film industries have always largely relied on the national film school to produce each generation of gifted and creative professionals. But with an intake of just 42 students every two years, it’s obvious that demand is always going to outstrip the supply of emerging talent. Responding to this, the Danish Government is proposing to double the number of students in future years. Even so, the industry is still likely to face a considerable skills shortage going forward.
Of course, the big question is what has made Scandi drama so very popular with the rest of the world, and it would seem that the countries in question are simply having something of a cultural “moment”. From the world’s obsession with the comforting concept of Hygge to a newfound interest in the natural and simple flavours of Scandinavian cuisine, this would seem to be the case.
So, for anyone wanting to break into the world of TV this would also seem to be their moment to get on the first plane to Denmark – where their career could really start to take off.
