New York surpassed Los Angeles to become the most popular city in North America for TV drama pilot filming in the 2013/2014 development cycle. The figures from FilmLA show that 24 drama pilots shot in New York, compared to 19 in Los Angeles, while Vancouver took third place.
Dubai Film and TV Commission has launched a new online location permitting system. Producers can now submit, track and pay for their filming permits through the commission’s website, while scripts can be submitted for approval in the same way.
The Louisiana-set spinoff to the long-running US crime drama NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) will film on location in New Orleans. A two-part pilot filmed scenes in the city earlier this year, but studio work was shot in Los Angeles.
Filmmaker Michael Bay chose to shoot action movie follow-up Transformers: Age of Extinction partly on location in China to chase a “new experience” as a director. The new movie shot partly in Hong Kong, but also built a Hong Kong set in Detroit for the more complex action scenes.
A new direct flight route launched by Etihad between Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi could help boost filming in the United Arab Emirates. The UAE hopes the ease of travel will encourage more US producers to make the journey from LA and film on location in Abu Dhabi.
[slideshow id=396]Milk & Honey Films is one of the premier production service companies for worldwide production of all types of media. In 2013, we opened our Shanghai branch and just this year we are proud to announce the addition of a New York office as well.
Location filming in New York in the first five months of the year has already surpassed production levels for the whole of 2013. Figures from Empire State Development show that New York has already hosted 23 TV pilot shoots, the same figure for the whole of last year.
California has moved closer towards boosting its filming incentive programme with a unanimous vote of approval in the state assembly. Labelled the California Film and Television Job Retention and Promotion Act of 2014, the bill still needs approval from the senate and the Governor.