The immense number of potential locations in New England that appeal to directors and producers remains the same, from the historic towns and mountain ranges, to rolling farmland, beaches and quaint villages–but the landscape of commercial production is changing. The majority of New England companies participating in SHOOT’s recent survey reported that they have experienced an uptrend in new media projects in 2006. This year marks an emerging opportunity to produce integrated campaigns that supplement traditional spots with viral marketing and online games, creating excitement in the marketplace.
One example is the work New England-based Pod Digital Design did for the launch of the Crime & Investigation Network in the U.K. Working with a U.K. production company, Pod created a completely integrated on-air to online campaign. For five weeks, viewers received clues on-air followed by weekly installments online to help them solve a murder mystery. Visitors to the site become sleuths as they search for evidence at the crime scene, conduct an autopsy of the victim who was found drowned in her bathtub, interview suspects–her jealous husband and a disgruntled coworker–and immerse themselves in other investigative work. The company is also currently working on its first branded mobile game.
But thinking out of the box of traditional advertising and aesthetics are not the only things New England has to offer, the survey revealed. New economic incentives are also making the region more viable. For instance, this spring, Maine Gov. John Baldacci signed the Maine Attraction Film Incentive Plan, which specifically mentions commercials. The plan offers a tax rebate for projects that spend at least $250,000 during a 12-month period in Maine. Many in the industry are hoping such incentives will have a positive impact on commercial and video production in an already desirable location like New England.
Below, ad agencies, production and post companies and film commissions in the region give their perspectives on production in the region right now:
Film Commission Responses
The Maine Film Office
Vermont Film Commission
New Hampshire Film and Television Office
Do you have an economic incentive program for filming in place?
Maine: Yes. This spring, Gov. John Baldacci signed the Maine Attraction Film Incentive plan. It offers a tax rebate (based on wages) for a project or projects that spend at least $250,000 during a 12-month period in Maine. Projects receive a rebate equal to 12 percent on wages paid to Maine residents and 10 percent on wages paid to non-Maine residents who work on a registered production or productions.
New Hampshire: New Hampshire is unique in that it has no sales, income or capital gains taxes on the books. New Hampshire has an 8 percent rooms/meals and rental tax that it cannot exempt or rebate to filmmakers. So, what we’ve done in the last year is start a film-friendly lodging and rental program in which participating vendors will automatically provide filmmakers with an 8 percent discount (on top of any additional discounts that many of them tend to provide to productions). But, since incentives are the hot topic these days, our office is, in fact, taking a closer look at what other incentives New Hampshire can offer to filmmakers with the help of our legislative officials. We’re looking to see what we can get on the docket for the fall session.
Vermont: Vermont recently passed film production incentives for productions that spend $1 million or more in the state. The new incentives provide for a grant of 10 percent of in-state expenses, not to exceed $1 million. Productions must spend $1 million or more to qualify. The incentives are limited mostly to film and television productions, and not available to producers of advertising, political or industrial productions. The Vermont Film Production Grant Program, as it is called, joins two other incentives that have been in place for years. One exempts hotel stays of 30 or more days from the state’s room and meals tax. The other ensures that performers in Vermont pay no more income tax than they would in their home state (including none if their home state has no income tax.) Vermont also exempts moviemakers from the state sales and use tax for many items.
Does the incentive apply to commercials? If so, how do spot producers qualify?
Maine: Maine has long been a favorite location of commercial filmmakers and we wanted to acknowledge that through our new incentives. First, commercial productions (including still photographic productions such as catalogs) are mentioned specifically in our incentives. In addition, we make it easy for a commercial company to be eligible for incentives even if they don’t initially meet our financial requirements. If a commercial company shoots several projects in Maine during a 12-month period, they can add the total production spending together and reach the $250,000 threshold needed for the incentives.
What is the economic impact of commercials on your state? What commercials have recently been shot in there? Roughly, what is the ratio of commercial production to feature film & other types of production in your state?
Maine: Commercial production has a huge impact on Maine. Almost everyone who works in film and TV production here works on commercial projects. During the past year, Maine has hosted commercial crews shooting for companies as diverse as Red Lobster, BMW and L.L. Bean. We estimate that we get at least four commercial projects for every feature film shot here.
New Hampshire: Our office has moved to a new home and has taken on new management, and we’ve just begun to really track the production New Hampshire is seeing come into the state. I can say that we’ve have seen very little commercial production over the last year as opposed to the numbers of independent films we’ve been seeing. But, in all honesty, having no filming permits in the state can be a blessing and a curse.
On the one hand, we’re offering free access to filmmakers looking to shoot their productions here, while at the same time, those that do film here are not necessarily required to contact us prior to filming–thus, we lose that tracking capability.
Vermont: Vermont hosts a variety of commercial productions, including for the local and national market. For example, recent local-market commercials have included spots for Vermont’s own King Arthur Flour, Fletcher Allen Healthcare, political ads and others. Nationally marketed Vermont products, such as Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, have also filmed commercials in the state. Other companies, including banks, niche-marked cable networks and automobile makers have also shot in Vermont. In addition, many independent films and several nationally distributed feature films have used Vermont as a backdrop.
What other factors besides a financial incentive program (if applicable) make your state attractive to commercial producers? (i.e. industry infrastructure, diverse locations, film commission services).
Maine: Commercial producers have discovered that Maine is friendly, diverse and close. Mainers genuinely like film and media production and are anxious to help. As New England’s largest state, Maine has an immense number of potential locations, from oceans to mountains to historic towns, and Maine is less than an hour away by air from New York airports.
New Hampshire: The state does not require any filming permits. Sure, we ask that filmmakers involve us in their pre-production. Our office provides extensive assistance when it comes to working with town officials and local authorities. Our film commission consists of representatives from 15 different state agencies as well as members of the state’s film industry and members of the House and Senate. All regularly come to our meetings and are kept informed of what’s happening with film and television production in the state. All it takes now is a phone call to that representative and the wheel is in motion. We routinely receive requests for road closures that require the help of our Department of Transportation and the Department of Safety, both of which have members that sit on our board. They are well versed in production and know that things need to happen quickly. We’ve also heard from many filmmakers that they simply come to New Hampshire for the “quality of life.” We see a good deal of production from New York–producers looking to get out of the city for a short while.
Vermont: The state is beautiful and easily accessible from major east coast production centers such as New York, Boston and Montreal. Vermont welcomes thousands of visitors each year–many are tourists–but the state extends the same hospitality to visiting filmmakers. State agencies, including the Vermont Film Commission, are nimble, and willing to do what it takes to help visitors enjoy local support and have a productive stay.
Overall, the business climate is beneficial to production; no filming permits are required. Other permits such as for road closures for filming are often easily obtained from state and local government.
The commission is available to assist in location scouting, obtaining necessary permits, making contact with experienced crew, liaising with other state agencies and providing general information about the state.
Visit the commissions at www.filminmaine.com; www.vermontfilm.com and www.nh.gov/film.
Advertising & Design Responses
Bruce Winterton, executive VP, director of client service, Hill Holliday, Boston
Steve Curran, founder/creative director, Pod Digital Design, Lexington, MA
Reflect on how business has been this year in your market. This can touch upon any or all of the following–or anything else you deem relevant. For example, how would you assess the current creative climate? Do any creative and/or business trends stand out for you in 2006? Has there been a shift in client attitudes, particularly related to forms beyond traditional commercials?
Winterton: Our business has been surprisingly robust so far this year. We have launched two significant campaigns, one for Dunkin’ Donuts and another for Liberty Mutual. Interestingly, both campaigns appear on the surface to be very conventional: a big :60s TV spot followed by :30s product spots. The campaigns are, however, based on a simple long-term compelling idea and are easily expressed across the entire marketing mix. This is what clients are really looking for.
Curran: Pod has seen a surge in entertainment marketing clients and projects seeking alternative methods of promoting entertainment products (films, television) such as online promotional games and viral campaigns. We feel there has been a big push for entertainment clients to break out of the traditional, cluttered environments of advertising and to be open for more creative, edgier and engaging solutions that will create buzz and chatter in the marketplace.
Have you diversified beyond traditional commercialmaking? If so, tell us the nature of those projects and cite some recent examples. (Internet, mobile phone, VOD, etc.) If your agency is an interactive ad agency, tell us about some of your recent projects.
Winterton: We certainly are, but not simply because it’s the “in” thing to do. We recognize that what’s important is to develop the idea first and then determine where it’s best expressed. If that’s on the Web, great. If that’s on a mobile phone, great. If it’s all points of consumer contact, great. We are fortunate to still have media planning and buying in house; this allows us to more easily align the brand content with the appropriate context.
Our recent Liberty Mutual campaign, for example, uses TV and print to drive people to a Web site that provokes a discussion about responsibility. The final intent is to provoke conversations about responsibility between friends, co-workers, fathers and sons. Liberty Mutual acts as the facilitator and the brand benefits from the association. Is this diversification? I guess so. The “center-point” of the campaign is not TV but word of mouth.
Curran: We have been expanding the range of interactive entertainment-based marketing solutions to incorporate more video and animation, and have been working on our first branded mobile game. In recent months we’ve created a broadband video demo for National Geographic, an interactive video-based game for Boston’s Hillman morning show, numerous promotional games for Warner Brothers (online and mobile) and are working on a video mash-up tool for FUSETV that allows site visitors to remix videos found on the Fuse Web site.
What have been your most notable TV spot endeavors this year?
Winterton: We launched America Runs on Dunkin’ in the spring. The campaign celebrates the Dunkin’ tribe: the people who make this country run everyday. The first set of TV ads feature original tracks from They Might Be Giants and were shot by Jake Scott–very fun, and, more importantly, very successful for the client.
Curran: Our most noteworthy project this year is a campaign we worked on for the launch of the Crime & Investigation Network in the UK, for AETN (A&E International). We worked with UK production company Brothers and Sisters to create a completely integrated on-air to online campaign, a five-week mystery with clues provided in the on-air in teasers, followed by more complete weekly installments online that allow visitors to play the game over five weeks (if they started from the beginning of the campaign) or play through the game to get caught up. http://www.crackthecase.co.uk
Production Responses
Kristen Agrell, head of production, Element Productions, Boston
Mark Hankey, executive producer, Picture Park, Boston
John Courtmanche, executive producer, Sonalysts, Waterford, CT
Are there state and/or city filming incentives in your market that have had or you feel will have a positive impact on your business? If so, what are they?
Agrell: Element’s Eran Lobel was one of the founding members of the Massachusetts Production Coalition that helped push the signing of a bill to provide tax credits for filmmakers. There has been a big impact on our town with the influx of movies that now want to shoot in Boston, but still commercial work is being shot outside of our region.
Hankey: Massachusetts passed a very aggressive film incentive that includes commercials. It should have a great impact on bringing more commercial work into the state once the word gets out as well as help us be more competitive locally. It also helped tremendously in making our independent film financially possible.
Courtmanche: We’re currently the only major sound stage facility in Connecticut, and we hope Connecticut’s new 30 percent tax credit, applicable to commercial, film and TV production expenses over $50k, will have a direct positive impact on our business in 2006 in the form of more production.
Have you noticed any new business and/or creative trends thus far in 2006? An increase in new media projects? Client-direct business? More collaborative relationships with agency creatives?
Agrell: The industry has been going through a lot of changes lately. The emergence of the Web as a primary source of original content has sparked a new area of expertise for our company. We have been heavily involved with interactive ad agencies to help them create great video content for the Web. We have also worked with ad agencies to work on branded content such as a product-sponsored show for Meow Mix, which is currently airing on Animal Planet. We have definitely had to diversify our company since commercial production alone can’t support our business as it once could.
Hankey: We have noticed more new media content opportunities in the market and are pursuing ways to be involved in creating the content for our clients. The next five years will tell us a lot about how our business is going to change, and we’ll have to adjust the way we produce to best meet the clients needs.
Courtmanche: We’ve definitely seen an increase in new media projects–our clients are asking about podcasts, enhanced TV, interactive media, streaming video, Flash animation and other new media projects.
Post/Editing Responses
Dave Waller, co-owner/artist, Brickyard VFX Atlantic, Boston
Andrea Papazoglou, executive producer, Finish Editorial, Boston
Kathy O’ Toole, general manager, National Boston (which also includes the National Ministry of Design, Rumblestrip Audio), Brookline, MA
Paul Gattuso, president/editor, Paul’s Place, Boston
Barbara Bowen, executive producer, Spot, Inc., Boston
Has HD work become more prominent in your business mix in 2006? For commercials?
Waller: HD work here at Brickyard has been expanding steadily in the past couple of years. All our compositing suites are HD suites, and we have Sony HDcam SR decks with 4:4:4 boards on both coasts. We are very satisfied with the picture quality of the SR series decks as more and more clients ask for HD finishing.
Papazoglou: HD work has steadily increased over the past few years and continues to be a growing part of our business. Most of our HD work has been in commercials with more and more projects needing to actually deliver in HD. However, we have also been working on some longer, documentary style projects in HD for large format projection.
O’Toole: We have been involved in high definition since the year 2000. In 2006, we have seen an increase in requests for us to educate others on the subject. We have presented and run HD workshops for National Geographic, Discovery Communications, Discovery HD Theatre and ABC and all of their affiliates. Editorial for agency commercials has not increased in the HD area. We are seeing more independent producers and small budget features using HD.
Gattuso: We have been editing a little more work originated in HD. However, very little of it is posted and finished in HD. I think a lot of people still view HD as a way to save costs in production. We all know HD will eventually be a standard, but I’m not sure why commercial production seems to be lagging behind.
Bowen: We have seen spot packages shot on HD this year instead of film, but so far we have not been asked to deliver on HD.
From what sectors (commercials, features, new media, TV) and from where (ad agencies in your market, New York agencies, etc.) have you drawn your business thus far in ’06?
Waller: Agency commercial work has always been the mainstay here. It’s a healthy mix of local (for each coast) and New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, Miami, San Francisco, Seattle, London and Mexico City. Our new media clients are closely tied to our broadcast work–often the new media work is a component to a larger campaign. Brickyard has also completed a variety of projects for independent filmmakers and we are gearing up for Hollywood film projects by year’s end.
Papazoglou: The biggest change to our business in 2006 has been the opportunity to produce several integrated campaigns for our agency clients. The editors love supplementing their traditional 30 and 60 second cuts with viral cuts for the Web and all the portable formats including Video iPod and Playstation Portable. In 2006, Finish has also had the opportunity to color correct and conform independent feature films with local and national directors and producers. Most of our clients in 2006 are from New England area. However, our colorist draws both an east and west coast client base.
O’Toole: National Boston and Rumblestrip’s work is primarily Boston advertising agencies. National Ministry of Design doesn’t have any Boston clients. The bulk of the work comes out of New York and Los Angeles.
Gattuso: The bulk of the work is from local ad agencies, marketing and PR agencies. Although we primarily edit commercials, more and more clients need final products that can also be used for Internet platforms, so we have begun to do more new media and Web-based projects.
Bowen: All local work comes from the major broadcast agencies in town, and we have seen more requests for Web spots, which we have shot and edited this year for clients, including Radio Shack and monster.com.
