Sargent-Disc: Here to help in 2024

Emerging talent

The late John Sargent - who co-founded Sargent-Disc with his wife Marija more than 35 years ago - worked closely with National Film and Television School (NFTS) since its inception in 1971 and was instrumental in helping shape and establish the School’s world-renowned Production Management and Production Accounting curriculums.

Today, the Sargent-Disc Production Management Scholarship supports two students each year with financial assistance and mentoring. Since 2013, the Scholarship has assisted 20 students who may have been unable to take up their NFTS place otherwise.

“Feeling their support means I know there are people who believe in me and it’s only up to me to take things further to develop my career.”

Production Supervisor Alicja Kielbasa, NFTS Alumni and previous Sargent-Disc Scholar

In memory of John, who died in 2019, Sargent-Disc founded the John Sargent Production Accountant Scholarship in 2021, which supports one additional high calibre production accounting student each year. Through this legacy, the commitment to passing knowledge forward to the next generation that John consistently showed throughout his 50-year career, is continued.

“We’re extremely proud to have this longstanding relationship with Sargent-Disc. It’s unique to see such consistent support over a long period. It makes a real difference, helping to even the playing field and supporting students to achieve their goals.”

Jon Wardle, Director, NFTS

As a major BAFTA partner from 2011-2015, Sargent-Disc has helped bring many Academy events to life over the years, most notably the Sargent-Disc BAFTA Filmmakers Forum, a networking and skills development event for debut feature filmmakers which ran in 2014 and 2015 to great success, and went on to become known as BAFTA Guru.

Since 2022, Sargent-Disc with Final Draft have supported the London Film School Graduate Showcase, which this year takes place from 22-26^th January 2024 at BFI Southbank. The event is a valuable platform for around 150 graduates each year to share the incredible work produced during their studies, as they embark on their careers.

Championing success

As a Major Patron of RTS since 2015, Sargent-Disc’s support has helped deliver a range of RTS events over the years, as well as new entrant schemes including RTS Futures and RTS Bursaries. This year, its parent company Cast & Crew will be taking its relationship with world’s oldest TV society to the next level, by becoming the lead sponsor for the prestigious Royal Television Society Programme Awards taking place on 26 March 2024.

The company has a long track record of supporting leading UK film and TV awards that celebrate world-leading screen content in different fields. It has been official sponsor of The Edinburgh TV Awards since 2022 and also sponsors the Broadcast Awards, the biennial Production Guild of Great Britain Awards and the Grierson Awards.

Supporting sustainability

Sargent-Disc became an official albert partner in 2018 and was the first industry company to back the educational events programme that was played a vital role in spreading the organisation’s messaging to a wider audience. It has since thrown its weight behind BAFTA albert’s ongoing work to support the film and TV industry to reduce its carbon footprint, backing the launch of tools like the Planet Placement resource in 2019 and the revamped carbon calculator and certification toolkit in 2021.

As an independently verified carbon neutral company powered by 100% renewable energy, Sargent-Disc places sustainability at the heart of its operations and works hard to raise industry awareness of the carbon saving benefits of Digital Production Office® applications that replace paper processes with low-energy, paperless solutions.

Did you know?

- Using CrewStart™ for onboarding and contracting reduces the carbon footprint of the average HETV drama or large feature by 1 tonne

- Using Digital Purchase Order saves 49g of carbon per PO; equating to an overall carbon saving of between 0.5-1 tonne on an average HETV drama or feature production

Connecting and influencing

2024 will mark the ninth edition of Sargent-Disc’s International Producers Reception at Cannes Film Festival, which brings together producers with financiers from across the globe to meet in person, strengthen existing relationships and build new connections. Sargent-Disc has also been a long-standing sponsor of the annual Women in Film and Television (WFTV) Brunch at Cannes.

As a company with a more than 60% female workforce, Sargent-Disc boosted its support for WFTV in 2022 by becoming a Corporate Member of the network, with the aim of spreading further awareness about opportunities for women in entertainment industry finance.

As a member of Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television, a major patron of the Royal Television Society and a business partner of the Production Guild of Great Britain, Sargent-Disc continues to work closely with the UK’s leading networks to share knowledge about trends, challenges and opportunities in entertainment industry finance.

R&D

Since it was first founded more than 35 years ago, Sargent-Disc has been at the forefront of digital innovations that raise the bar for financial processes in the entertainment industry. The company’s focus on research and development ensures that its Digital Production Office suite of software applications and mobile apps continue to keep pace with technological advances.

In 2024 the company will launch its latest round of updates designed to make its products work even harder for clients, with cutting-edge AI technology offering new ways to improve efficiency and free up more valuable time for production teams.

“At every stage over the years, they always seem to have been at the forefront in terms of developing what they’ve got. There’s never been a sense of sitting back and being complacent, it’s always been looking at how can we evolve the company to be, frankly, of more help to the industry. And I think they’ve always got that right.”

Kevin Trehy, Executive Vice President Physical Production, Warner Bros