Commercial production at studios and stages was hit hard by the SAG/AFTRA strike of 2000. Shortly after the dispute was settled, a nationwide economic downturn swung production into even lower gear. This production slump was then compounded by the uncertain business climate that prevailed following the Sept. 11 tragedy. Add the continuing specter of runaway production to these damaging developments, and even modestly good news might seem improbable.
However, studio heads from both New York and Los Angeles that SHOOT spoke to offered welcome indications that commercial production has been making a steady—if less than resounding—comeback at studios and stages across the country. Mark A. Rosenthal, president/ COO of Raleigh Enterprises, the parent to stage facilities such as Raleigh Studios, Hollywood and Manhattan Beach, says his company has seen "a bit of a ramp-up from what were fairly depressed levels, but not anything approaching pre-strike business.
"We’ve been around since 1979, and we’ve been involved with commercials from the start," continues Rosenthal, who notes that in a mix including film, TV and music video projects, commercials have traditionally accounted for around 30 percent of Raleigh’s business.
Rosenthal also remarks that runaway production has inflicted heavier damage on commercial production at Raleigh than on television and feature production. When asked if his studio has taken any specific action to reach out to the commercial production community, Rosenthal remarked, "We’re very much involved with the AICP [Association of Independent Commercial Producers]. We have their offices on our lot, we attend their meetings, and we try to support them any way we can."
In the last few months, Raleigh has hosted a number of automobile commercial shoots—for Ford, Toyota and Nissan—in addition to shoots for Maytag, Jack in the Box, McDonald’s and Foster’s beer. "We’ll be fairly busy with TV in the latter half of 2002, but we have a number of stages open for commercial activity," relates Rosenthal. "We’re obviously looking for a pick-up there."
Also anticipating a pick-up in commercial shoots is Stuart Match Suna, president of Silvercup Studios and Silvercup Studios East, both located in Long Island City, N.Y. "We launched our first stage in 1983 with a Cool Whip commercial," remembers Suna, who says that initially his studio accommodated mainly film and commercial projects.
"In the last two years though, the bulk of our work has been for television—mainly [HBO series] Sex And The City and The Sopranos," said Suna. "And we’ve been happy to have them [after] the SAG strike and then the advertising recession."
However, Suna indicated he’s seen a pickup in commercial jobs in the last few months—a trend he hopes to see sustained through the end of the year and beyond. Silvercup has hosted spot shoots recently for Olive Garden restaurants, Champion Mortgage, Unilever, Revlon and Aquafina.
"Spot production here has definitely picked up from what it was pre-September eleventh," relates Suna, who also mentioned that last winter, Silvercup hosted shoots for several spots that—prior to the attacks—were scheduled to be shot in Canada. Two such projects were an ad for Colgate, out of Young & Rubicam, New York, and a Johnson & Johnson spot via McCann-Erickson, New York.
Another New York optimist on studio commercial production—indeed studio production in general—is Richard Benowitz, the managing principal for the Picket-Benowitz Group (PB Group). The PB group—with investing partners Lehman Bros., Pacifica Ventures and Hines—has committed $375 million to erect a 15-story production studio/office complex in midtown Manhattan known as Studio City New York (SCNY). The complex, as drawn by Meridian Design Associates, New York, is slated to contain 140,000 square feet of studio space, 400,000 square feet of office space and 80,000 square feet of support space.
Benowitz notes that his group spent nearly two-and-a-half years purchasing the proposed construction site (the square block between 44th and 45th streets between 10th and 11th avenues) and obtaining the necessary zoning and environmental permits. (Spot.com.mentary, 3/15, p. 4.)"We dealt with the mayor’s office, the city council, the [Manhattan] borough president and the landmarks commission," explains Benowitz, "We did an environmental check, a traffic check, and we met with the community board three times. We did everything by the book, and now we’re through with that phase and ready to proceed."
Benowitz, who hatched the SCNY concept five years ago, indicates that construction on the facility awaits the signing of an anchor tenant, who would receive naming and branding rights to the complex as well as first pick of planned penthouse executive office suites. Along with the right to choose specifications on its dedicated studio space, the anchor tenant would also receive the option of adding Jumbotron or LCD screens, or marquees, to the SCNY building’s façade.
"Obviously we’re talking to people, and as soon as we know [who the anchor tenant’s going to be], trust me, we’ll make it public," states Benowitz, who offered no general timetable as to when an anchor tenant would be finalized. Once an anchor tenant is secured, construction on SCNY is projected to last around two years.
Though Studio City is looking for a long-term commitment from an anchor tenant, Benowitz says this isn’t the case with other prospective customers—particularly commercial producers. "All our stages are going to be leased mostly on a short-term basis for the simple reason that that’s the way the industry works," says Benowitz. "One interesting thing we have is a ‘media flex space’ on the fourth floor. It’ll have twenty-foot high ceilings and approximately fifty-thousand square feet of column-free space—so everyone can basically do what they want in there.
"If people don’t want ten-thousand square feet," Benowitz continues, "then they can put together a four-or five-thousand square foot stage and do commercial shoots [in the flex space]. Obviously some of the commercial folks are going to want large stages, and we certainly can accommodate that as well—basically anything from a four thousand square foot stage to a thirty thousand square foot stage. And when you lease a stage, you’re leasing approximately ten-thousand feet of support space immediately surrounding the stage."
Benowitz bills SCNY as a potential one-stop shopping venue for commercial producers. "You’ll be able to go from preproduction, through production and postproduction, and you’ll be able to do it all in one building," Benowitz states. "We believe the economy of scale will save money. … We’ll be able to do 24p, normal video, film—and we can move from one to the other very quickly."
