Written by new-contact on Jul 17, 2015. Posted in On Location

Santa Clarita again defies California trend as filming figures increase

Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles, has continued to defy the overall California trend by again posting a year-on-year increase in location filming days. The city is popular for both film and TV, and has been boosted in the past year by the likes of American Sniper and crime drama NCIS.

In fact the year-on-year increase in the local economic impact of location filming was only marginally higher than in 2013-14, but the number of film permits issued and the number of actual film days logged each rose by around 5%.

“With the increase in numbers year after year from the City’s Film Office, we are certainly living up to our ‘Hollywood North’ nickname,” said Mayor Marsha McLean.

“The City is committed to keeping Santa Clarita as one of California’s best places for filming.”

Santa Clarita sits comfortably within the so-called ‘30 Mile Zone’ from Los Angeles. Hollywood productions can shoot there without having to buy overnight accommodation for their crew.

The city has several movie ranches with standing sets that are very popular for LA-based productions. American Sniper used a set at the Blue Cloud Movie Ranch for scenes set in Iraq. Most productions spend just a few days in Santa Clarita, but there have still been enough of them to increase annual location filming figures for five consecutive years.

California is broadening its state-wide appeal by more than tripling its annual film fund. Lawmakers are focussing on bringing TV productions back to the west coast and by offering incentive support to big-budget features for the first time.