FilmL.A.: 1 in 4 Days of On-Location Shooting in L.A. Region Tied to CA Film Incentive
There was a significant report released last week by FilmL.A. First, I want to say a few things about FilmL.A. As far as I am concerned, they are the gold standard for how industry-community relations should be handled. The film production reports produced by FilmL.A. are an exquisite source of information, the accuracy of which is second to none. FilmL.A. is completely transparent (all of there audited financials are available online) and they are not afraid to call out the industry or the community if something is not on the up and up. In fact, the people at FilmL.A. were instrumental in getting the MPAA to respond to my recent data questions about their state statistics. In short, they do great, honest and exceedingly accurate work. My hat is off.
Speaking of excellent work, some of the findings in their recent quarterly report of on-location film activity in the Los Angeles region were remarkable. Specifically, in what should be a valuable aid to policy makers in evaluating the efficacy of California’s new film incentive, FilmL.A. reported that just over one-quarter (or one out of every four shooting days) of all feature film activity during the period could be attributed to the incentive, which was “wholly responsible” for the increase in production activity:
Between April and June 2010, FilmL.A. coordinated permits for 16 state incentivized Feature projects shooting on-location locally. These projects contributed 423 PPD to Feature category totals to make up 27 percent of the category’s overall yield.
On-location Feature production pulled ahead 11.5 percent in the second quarter, compared to the same period the prior year (1,542 PPD in 2010 vs. 1,383 in 2009). As was the case in the prior quarter, the California Film and Television Tax Credit, administered by the California Film Commission, was wholly responsible for driving the increase in Feature filming.
Amy Lemisch, the head of the California Film Commission, made me grin with her response to the news:
The incentive program is performing exactly as it was designed to, leveling the playing field and keeping us competitive,” said Amy Lemisch, executive director of the California Film Commission.
As readers of my exchange with the LA Times Columnist Michael Hiltzik last month may recall, the basis of my reaction concerned what I perceived to be a mischaracterization of the “level playing field”. Lemish, on the other hand, was right on the mark. In fact, let me also take this opportunity to call out Lemisch, who I have considerable respect for. I find her honesty and candor refreshing, considering the spin I often encounter from almost every film commission in the nation. Lemisch doesn’t need to employ spin or creative use of questionable statistics…she seems to intuitively know that such tactics are simply unnecessary. The benefit of having the motion picture industry, Hollywood, in California is something that is capable of selling itself if in the right hands. With Lemisch, Hollywood is in the right hands.
Other highlights from the FilmL.A. report included the following:
The second quarter of 2010 also saw a surge in the production of Commercials, with year-over-year totals jumping 34.5 percent (1,604 PPD in 2010 vs. 1,193 PPD in 2009). While the Commercials category has shown impressive quarterly and year-to date(YTD) gains over 2009, local production figures for Commercials are still well below levels seen prior to the economic downturn.
Television production managed a second quarter gain of just 1.4 percent (4,052 PPD in 2010 vs. 3,998 PPD in 2009), with TV Dramas dropping precipitously (down 38.2 percent to 755 PPD), while TV Reality surged (up 47.6 percent to 2,016 PPD). TV Sitcoms gained 48.2 percent, and TV Pilots dropped 42.7 percent, though neither category includes very many days of permitted production.
To read the entire report click HERE. The report is also available in the “Report Library” HERE.
