L.A.’s New Film Commission
Film production in California has declined in 10 of the last 12 years. In 2003, 66% of American films were produced in California, most of them in Los Angeles; last year, it was 31%. Six years ago, 81% of the country’s television pilots were made here; in 2009, the figure was 57%. With the decline in production it makes sense to create a commission whose purpose is to bring back production, and in turn will bring back the production jobs.
Shooting in some NYC locations will cost you
Gone are the days of sending a production assistant down to the Mayor’s office the day before a shoot to obtain a free permit. Not if you want to shoot in certain municipal buildings. There’s a new charge 3,200.00 charge and you’ve got to obtain the permit four days in advance. If you’re shooting in NYC plan ahead.
ESPN in 3-D
I’m not sure if I’m ready to see baseball player’s spit in 3-D but that’s really not the point. With the launch of ESPN’s new 3-D channel, sports fans will be able to feel as though there right on the field. ESPN promises 85 sporting events in 3-D this year, including the Summer X Games.
With 3-D production comes 3-D TV sets
You’ll be able to see the latest in 3-D TV sets displayed at this years Consumer Electronics Show on January 7th. And to think, just a few decades ago we didn’t even have cable. My entertainment options are growing daily.
So glad to see a new blog post! You’ve been missed!
In other news, I would be curious to know if the drop in production percentages (let’s say films, 66% down to 31%) in California are because there are way less films being shot in CA, or because there are so many more films being shot in other places (independents). I would wager a guess that it’s both. But I’ve been wrong before.
Hi Phil! New Year’s resolution – more blog posts. It can be difficult when I’m in production to keep up, but I’m learning to translate my multi-tasking production skills to my social media – I feel I’ll get the hang of it any minute now.
I think financing for films in general was down this past year. However, with CA creating a film commission, I believe their top priority will be to bring films back to that state. As I said, this would be great for production jobs in USA.