By Michael Kahn

PRAGUE, Reuters – Hollywood flocked into central Europe in the pandemic. Film producers were permitted to continue filming. This made the region a magnet for streamers who are enticed by tax breaks and castles.

However, there are some producers who may have taken on too much as New York, the biggest region in the globe, saw a huge jump in U.S. TV and film business, to approximately $1 billion.

As many of their peers worldwide, they struggle to hire enough skilled staff to match the demand from clients like Netflix (NASDAQ) and Amazon (NASDAQ).

Even Hungary’s Korda Studios (a state-of-the art studio with the largest soundstage in the world), said to Reuters that they are focusing less on shows and movies, which is a way for quality to be maintained. It has also had to find creative ways to achieve more from less.

Gyorgy Rajnai, Chief Executive said that set directors and designers need to learn more about how to shoot angles. Now we can build houses on three sides rather than four. It saves us time, resources and personnel.

Korda also imports camera- and set-construction crews, from Slovakia, Romania, Croatia, said he.

According to industry professionals and workers interviewed, other production companies may be hiring less skilled staff or refusing new work in certain cases.

We can either pick up the crew, or say no to this project. Rajnai stated that either the green or red light has been given. It is the bottleneck of the industry.

The difficulties in this region that has hosted such sci-fi movies as Dune, and Amazon (NASDAQ) fantasy series The Wheel of Time reflect the shortage of talented production workers around the world from Hollywood to Queensland.

Jonathan Olsberg (executive chairman) of Olsberg SPI London’s film industry consultancy expects the global production budget for feature films, TV series, and documentaries will race back to their pre-pandemic level in 2022.

He stated, “This is an important global problem. We will experience these shortages in the years ahead.”

There have been skills shortages in many areas of Central Europe for a long time. Companies find it hard to recruit workers and specialists because of the tight labor market in Central Europe. The Czech unemployment rate is 2.8%, the lowest among European countries.

Pavlina Zipkova (head of Czech Film Commission) stated that there was a severe shortage of skills in Czech film production industries, although no estimates are available.

Zipkova said that national film institutions, commissions and boards are under pressure as is local studios.

Netflix, Amazon, and Apple have declined to comment about the shortages of production staff in the region or the potential consequences.

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Over the last decade, film producers have been attracted to Hungary and Czech Republic by their skilled crews and lower labor costs. With its rolling landscape and castles, the region is now Europe’s largest international film production center.

National industry officials claim that investments made in the Czech Republic and Hungary for filming are expected to exceed the 2019 record of $405 and $512 millions, respectively.

According to industry insiders, one problem that smaller production companies face is the fact that big projects like Gray Man, the $200 million Netflix thriller action thriller, have sucked up much of their local talent.

This has led to a competition for the limited amount of knowledge.

Geoffrey Case is the managing director of Prague’s Dazzle Pictures. His credits include international film and video content work.

He said that this has led to a situation in which the work available is far more than what companies are capable of handling, particularly as rivals seek employees.

Case stated that many of the artists within our company had been approached by rival companies. He is a member of a team that focuses on creating high-end visual effects.

They are receiving offers every day. Competitors were respected in the past. People weren’t simply poached. It is a constant because people are in desperate need.”

Vojta Ruzicka has been working as a logistic specialist for productions in Prague for almost 20 years. She said that this has created opportunities for those looking to get into the business or move up faster.

He said, “If people are open-minded and willing to do work in the movie industry, this is an excellent time.”

($1 = 22.2460 Czech crowns; $1 = 321.3100 forints)