Written by new-contact on Oct 22, 2014. Posted in On Location

Television location filming in Los Angeles surges in third quarter

Location filming for television productions in Los Angeles surged in the third quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2013, according to FilmLA. The city had a big success with television drama shoots, which rose 43%, while filming for drama pilots increased by 41%.

In contrast, feature production dropped slightly and just 8% of permitted production days for features were supported by California’s filming incentive programme. Due to the limitations of the filming incentive, just 26 productions were selected for support this year, from almost 500 applicants.

“While we are still trying to reclaim our share of television production, we’re encouraged by dramatic television producers’ interest in filming in Los Angeles,” said Paul Audley, President of FilmLA: “With the new tax credit taking effect next July, we see strong potential for growth in local TV work ahead.”

Television location filming also showed a sharp increase in the second quarter of this year, but FilmLA warned that the short-term figures should not distract from the city’s longer-term runaway production problem. Location filming has moved steadily eastward in recent years, with big-budget shoots drawn to better filming incentive deals in cities like New York, New Orleans, Atlanta and Toronto.

However, California’s production landscape has shifted dramatically in the last few months as the state has decided to boost its filming incentive programme from 2015. The annual film fund will be more than tripled to USD 330 million and support will be expanded to big-budget feature productions and high-end television.