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Encouraging Signs for On-Location Filming

The first quarter of the year showed encouraging signs of increased on-location feature film and television production, according to figures released Wednesday by FilmLA. Overall on-location filming was up 17.6 percent to 13,361 permitted production days for the first three months of the year. All categories of production except for commercials showed increases, said FilmLA, the nonprofit agency that coordinates on-location filming in the city and county of Los Angeles and other jurisdictions. A permitted production day is a single crew’s permission to film a single project at a single location during any given 24-hour period. Film.A’s numbers do not include filming on studio lots or certified soundstages. “We’re viewing the latest numbers with caution and optimism,” said FilmLA President Paul Audley. “One quarter can’t undo all the troubling declines we’ve experienced, but we’re certainly encouraged to see things moving in an upward direction.” Feature film production increased by 25.5 percent to 1,279 permitted production days in the first quarter, historically the slowest period of the year. The state’s tax credit program contributed to feature films staying in the state to film, FilmLA said. On-location television production is beginning to bounce back after losses during 2012. Sitcoms, dramas, reality programming and web-based programming combined for 5,091 permitted production days in the first quarter, an increase of 19 percent. Still photography showed the biggest increase with 2,561 permitted production days, a 52 percent jump over the first quarter in 2012. “Not all production days are the same,” Audley said. “While we appreciate the work of L.A. area photographers, still photography as a category is considered ‘low-yield’ from an economic standpoint.” Commercial filming on location dropped by 0.6 percent to 2,295 permitted production days.

Mark Madler
Mark Madler
Mark R. Madler covers aviation & aerospace, manufacturing, technology, automotive & transportation, media & entertainment and the Antelope Valley. He joined the company in February 2006. Madler previously worked as a reporter for the Burbank Leader. Before that, he was a reporter for the City News Bureau of Chicago and several daily newspapers in the suburban Chicago area. He has a bachelor’s of science degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

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