FilmL.A.–the not-for-profit community benefit organization that coordinates permits for filmed entertainment shot on-location in the City of Los Angeles, unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County and other local jurisdictions — today announced that overall on-location production slipped slightly last quarter compared to the same period last year (11,209 permitted production days or PPD in 2012 vs. 11,260 PPD in 2011, for a difference of 0.4 percent).
The performance would have been much worse if not for commercialmaking and feature activity. Production in the commercials category increased 28.1 percent for the quarter (1,901 PPD in 2012 vs. 1,484 PPD in 2011), continuing its strong performance seen throughout 2011. Commercial producers cited the upcoming Summer Olympic Games as a significant driver of the commercial production increase.
Meanwhile, on-location feature production increased 9.1 percent for the quarter (1,750 PPD in 2012 vs. 1,604 PPD in 2011). The California Film & Television Tax Credit Program delivered a predictable boost to the category; from April through June, state-qualified feature projects generated 160 PPD for the region, representing 9.1 percent of the quarterly total. In effect, the state’s incentive was wholly responsible for the feature category’s second-quarter growth. Incentivized feature projects included The Bling Ring, Look of Love, and Stand Up Guys.
TV losses
Continuing a months-long trend, the television category suffered double-digit losses due to changes in the local production landscape. The Television category slipped 15.4 percent for the period (3,405 PPD in 2012 vs. 4,024 in 2011), led by lackluster numbers in the subcategories of TV drama (down 39.2 percent to 581 PPD) and TV reality (down 16.8 percent to 1,461 PPD). The TV sitcoms category was up considerably (up 35.6 percent to 274 PPD), reflecting L.A.’s reaffirmed dominance in this production segment. Production for TV pilots was also up in the second quarter (up 36.8 percent to 253 PPD), thanks to pilot season’s slow start this year.
The latest production figures for television are best understood in the context of industry changes. As indicated in FilmL.A.’s 2012 Television Pilot Production Report, the Los Angeles region continues to lose TV drama production share to other North American jurisdictions. Additionally, although L.A. is home to almost all of television’s new and continuing comedy series, many of these shows are soundstage-bound, and therefore not counted in FilmL.A.’s quarterly surveys of local on-location production.
“For many years, we’ve relied on television to backfill the hole left by the flight of feature film production from the L.A. region. Television has been our bread and butter, but with Sacramento’s inaction to stem our losses, other states and countries are eating off our plate,” said Paul Audley, president of FilmL.A.
The California Film & Television Tax Credit Program, which brought five state-qualified television projects to Los Angeles last quarter, did little to prop up the ailing category. State-qualified projects, including Major Crimes, Pretty Little Liars, Rizzoli and Isles and Switched at Birth, contributed 61 PPD across various television subcategories, representing 1.8 percent of total TV days logged during the quarter.
