With incentive programs ranging from rebates to tax credits sprouting up throughout the region, spot filming in the Southeast appears to be on the rise, most recently underscored by a particularly high profile project which made its way into Florida in late February/early March–the latest Sony Bravia LCD TV commercial out of Fallon, London.
Fallon’s efforts in past years for Sony Bravia include such tour de force spectacles as thousands of colored balls cascading down the hills of San Francisco, and “Playdoh” bunny rabbits filling the streets of Manhattan. Well, add Miami to the list of colorful Bravia lensing backdrops, this time playing host to foam which filled downtown city streets, just a stone’s throw away from the Miami/Dade County Office of Film and Entertainment. The director was Simon Ratigan of HLA, London.
From year to year the Sony Bravia commercial is among the most anticipated in the industry, meaning it’s quite a feather in Florida’s filmmaking cap to land the latest colorful installment.
Frank Budgen (of Gorgeous Enterprises, London, and bicoastal Anonymous Content), who directed “Playdoh”–which helped him earn a Directors Guild of America (DGA) nomination earlier this year–recently told SHOOT, “Every few years there’s a client who does one big commercial a year and that work is eagerly anticipated from one year to the next,” he observes. “In the past, it’s been a Stella Artois or Guinness. But in recent years, it’s been Sony [Bravia] from Fallon.”
For Jeff Peel, director of the Miami/Dade County Office of Film and Entertainment, the ambitious foam-filled project reflects what’s been a strong start in ’08 for commercial production in the Sunshine State. A preliminary report is that HLA spent some $1.4 million on the Sony Bravia production in Florida.
In 2004 and ’05, Peel notes that the hurricanes left an indelible imprint, hampering the production biz which was slow to recover in ’06. But in ’07 production roared back in Florida and while he didn’t have the full tally for ’08 thus far, Peel is confident that this year is at a pace which exceeds that of a strong performing ’07.
Also boding well is that this year marks the first that Florida’s incentives package applies to commercials. Still, though, it remains to be seen how much of a catalyst this will be for business as the minimum amount in Florida expenditures must be $500,000 in order to qualify for the incentives. While a production company can become eligible for the cumulative expenditures on spots within a year, there’s the question if incentive funds will have run out as the year progresses–after individual projects have met that minimum dollar threshold and already staked their claims.
Whatever the case, though, Florida through its incentives initiative is sending a message that it very much values and welcomes spot production business, affirms Peel.
Georgia
The Georgia Assembly and Senate recently passed a measure that significantly sweetens the state’s current filming incentives program, which has been in place since ’05. At press time, the industry was waiting to see if Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue would sign the bill into law, which he’s expected to do.
If indeed that initiative garners Gov. Perdue’s signature, the expanded incentives program would be retroactive to January 1, 2008.
Bill Thompson, director of the Georgia Film, Video & Music Office, doesn’t want to count his chickens before they’re hatched so he’s not assuming that the increased incentives bill is a fait accompli. He notes that the current measure has had a positive impact on filming in the state, estimating that on average Georgia hosts 200 to 300 commercials a year. An expanded incentives package could be an even greater catalyst. He says that Georgia has a track record of being a pro-business state and the powers that be recognize the importance of filming to the state job market and economy.
Tennessee For commercials shot in Tennessee by out-of-state companies, there’s a $500,000 minimum spend in order to become eligible for the Tennessee cash rebate program. That minimum amount of dollars spent for Tennessee labor and services has to be met by a single project so there’s no cumulative effect of multiple spot shoots for an out-of-state production house during the course of a year. The minimum threshold for spot shoots by in-state houses is $200,000.
The breakdown of incentives is as follows: a 13 percent rebate of total qualified production expenditures for a project shot in Tennessee (award shows and music videos do not qualify for the incentive); an additional two percent if at least 25 percent of the cast and/or crew are Tennessee residents (“day players and extras are not included in determining the 25 percent); and still another two percent (maximum of $100,000) if the production company spends at least $20,000 for music created by Tennessee residents or for recording music in Tennessee. Plus there’s an additional 15 percent rebate (on a minimum $1 million in-state spend) that can be received on qualified production expenditures by establishing or working through an established Tennessee-headquartered company.
Survey In some states, Southeast spot filming fortunes have risen as a result of incentive programs. Certiainly Louisiana was among the first to aggressively court producers in recent years with an ambitious package of economic incentives. And other states in the region have followed suit. For an in-the-field reading on that dynamic, SHOOT surveyed a cross-section of production and post executives in the region, posing the following query:
What impact have production incentives (rebates, tax credits, etcetera)–by their presence or absence–had on your state’s commercialmaking business and production infrastructure–and on your company?
Please briefly describe what commercial work your company is primarily involved in–regional television spots, national TV campaigns, broadband video/mobile content, sponsored web films, etcetera.
Here’s a sampling of the feedback we received:
Tamera Brooks, owner/executive producer, Stray Dog, Nashville, Tenn.
Stray Dog represents well-established, top level directors from N.Y., L.A. and Canada as well as emerging young directors of merit. Our company produces national and regional commercials, music videos, original programming, documentaries and new media. Stray Dog’s mission is to partner with our clients and deliver projects of the highest quality at all price points. Working with Stray Dog enables our clients to have that L.A. director without the L.A. price tag.
Like any Stray Dog we love to travel. We shoot all over the country, not just in the Southeast.
Tennessee’s Film Tax Incentive program has had a positive impact on the TV and movie production in state but to date, no one has taken advantage of the commercial incentive. Stray Dog would like to be the first company to pass these savings along to our clients!
Lesley Harris,AICP Southeast chapter president, and executive producer Pogo Pictures, Atlanta.
In the state of Georgia, new legislation is under way that would place Georgia among the top five states in the U.S. in terms of tax rebate competitiveness, and among the top three states in the Southeast. The Georgia production community is anxiously awaiting the Governor’s signature on House Bill 1100 that calls for a 20 percent base tax credit (commercials are included) with a minimum threshold of $500,000 (single project or aggregate). Films that place imbedded State of Georgia branding in their up-front credits will be eligible for an additional 10 percent tax credit. The new bill would do away with Georgia’s current complicated tax rebate structure, enacted in 2005.
The passage of the new bill is projected to triple the number of film and TV industry workers in Georgia in five years. The hope is to see the state further its position of prominence in the film, television and commercialmaking industries. The tax legislation is essential to achieving this goal.
Location driven shoots and a broad base of clients and agencies across the country lead Pogo to often shoot outside the state of Georgia. However, we were still able to take advantage of the current tax rebate the past few years by combining the jobs we did shoot in the state. It seems doubtful to me that many commercial production companies made the decision to come to Georgia because of the tax rebate but with the new legislation, it’s likely they will.
Pogo Pictures produces national and regional TV campaigns as well as interactive content for the web.
Marcelo Paez, owner, president, director and executive producer, America Filmworks, Miami
Production incentives such as rebates aren’t of the highest impact for medium size production companies as your benefits start rolling with high volume. Usually caps are high and not all the jobs apply. Rebates are mostly beneficial to larger scale productions or features where savings tend to pile. The presence of incentives had helped establish production-friendly locations and by this we all benefit and profit in the long term.
Tax exemptions and rebates certainly had proved to be more competitive in an already extremely competitive world. They are a great tool to help the states or cities to promote and position themselves in the hopes of bringing production dollars into their local economy, and to further benefit the production industry. In commercial production rebates or tax credits usually take a minor role in the decision making. Still when choosing where to shoot, if a state provides incentives, it certainly goes into our “favorites” automatically as we recognize that as a production-friendly location.
America Filmworks is primarily involved in producing national and regional TV campaigns, music videos, TV and web content, not only for the U.S. but for the Latin American region.
Cathy Wilson, executive producer, Red Truck Films, Raleigh, N.C.
Among other incentives, North Carolina offers a 15 percent tax credit for productions with in-state spending of at least $250,000. This, along with non-union talent and reasonable expenses for location shooting, allows Red Truck Films to offer clients production values for smaller budgets.
North Carolina appeals to clients who want to maintain quality but need to spend less. Because it attracts film and TV production, the state offers solid crews and SAG talent. This is how Red Truck has attracted talented directors from pricier markets like N.Y. and L.A. We continue to encourage the state to add incentives for postproduction. To augment this, Red Truck can partner with edit shop Serious Robots and Blazing Music + Sound for a package price. Red Truck produces spot work and content for integrated media, on-location anywhere or on one of its two sound stages.
