Written by David Lewis on Apr 14, 2009. Posted in On Location

LA on-Location feature filming in freefall

Film L.A., the organisation that coordinates permits for filmed entertainment shot on-location in the City of Los Angeles and the surrounding areas, has announced that on-location feature film and commercial production experienced drastic first quarter declines in 2009.

On the heels of the feature category’s historic lows in 2008, feature film production plummeted even further in the first quarter of 2009. Logging only 903 permitted production days (PPD) which equates to a 56.3% drop from the same quarter in 2008 and the lowest quarterly tally since tracking began in 1993.

Paul Audley, FilmL.A. President, said: “Most big-budget feature films are not shot locally, and even independent filmmakers are shooting fewer days in our area."br>

Commercial production dropped by 34.2% in the first quarter of 2009, 1266 PPD, compared to the same period in 2008, 1,925 PPD.

Television production, however, continues to drive the local filmed entertainment industry, constituting more than half of all on-location production coordinated by FilmL.A. Overall on-location television production soared by 76.4% in the first quarter compared to 2008.