One year after the strengthened postproduction tax credit took effect, Kenneth Adams, president/CEO and commissioner of Empire State Development, today released new data showing that post business is booming in New York State. The data, compiled by the Post New York Alliance, shows postproduction hiring is up (by 25 percent, on average) with 173 new hires since this time last year. It is estimated that the uptick in new postproduction business will generate nearly $70 million in new spending in the state. In the last year alone, postproduction companies reported spending nearly $18 million to expand and purchase new equipment to accommodate the increase in business demand.
Yana Collins Lehman, managing director of Trevanna Post and executive board member of the Post New York Alliance, said, “In the last twelve months, the Post New York Alliance has witnessed an expansion of the film and television postproduction industry that has surpassed our greatest expectations. All of our members, and the entire industry, owe a huge debt of gratitude to Governor Cuomo and his administration for removing barriers to job creation in the state and supporting our efforts to grow our industry. We have seen consistent hiring and revenue increases across the board since the post incentive was improved last July. So much so that a new visual effects company, Empire Visual Effects, is now doing business in Buffalo: the first of many partnerships between upstate and downstate-private business and public education.”
The strengthened legislation was designed to help the State compete for postproduction business and jobs, a fast-growing segment of the motion picture and television industry. The law boosted the available postproduction tax credit from 10 percent to 30 percent (for postproduction work in the New York metropolitan commuter region), and from 10 percent to 35 percent (for post work done Upstate.)
Since the legislation took effect, additional results include:
* 61 productions have applied for postproduction work in New York–more than triple the number of applications received during a two-year period under the previous tax credit;
* Seven postproduction companies have established new operations, including three Upstate; at least two New York postproduction companies have significantly expanded their operations.
* And revenue has increased, on average, by 31 percent for participating post-production companies in New York.
Productions consistently cite the enhanced credit as key to their decision to bring their postproduction work to New York, instead of another state. Pam Williams, producer of the soon-to-be-released Lee Daniels’ film The Butler, said the enhanced credit made it possible for her to finish the film in New York State instead of Louisiana.
“We always knew we wanted to do our postproduction in New York because of the great people and facilities here, but we weren’t sure we could make the numbers work,” Williams said. “So when Gov. Cuomo signed the law increasing the postproduction tax credit to 30 percent last July, it made it possible for us to be where we really wanted to be. Being in New York for our postproduction has been a terrific help to the film; we have everything we need, every kind of facility and all the most skilled people together, all right around the corner from one another. Only in New York do you get that kind of close community of top notch talent and resources.”
Post house feedback
Postproduction companies say the enhanced credit means big business and new jobs for New York. Dominic Rom, general manager of Deluxe NY, said, “Deluxe/Company 3 is experiencing a remarkable increase in business and it is a direct result of the tax incentives championed by Governor Cuomo. We anticipate further growth as news of the incentive spreads and New York becomes the destination for postproduction.”
Alex Halperin, founder and CEO of Post Factory, said, “The credit has enabled Post FactoryNY to accelerate its growth by attracting new film and television clients that have come to New York because of the credit. We have grown our staff, expanded our facility and improved our technology.”
Eric Robertson, co-founder of Mr. X Gotham, said, “Our plans for creating local jobs during the first year were modest. We wanted to create a full service studio with 3D and 2D capabilities, but on a boutique scale so that our overhead was minimal during the start up. We didn’t anticipate the enormous demand that came immediately. Instead of creating 15 to 20 jobs over the first 12 months, we skyrocketed to over 30 artists in under nine months–and we’re still hiring.”
Christina Graff, co-founder and CFO of Crazy Horse, said, “We considered opening our company in New York City, but we also scouted the Hudson Valley and are happy we chose New Paltz. It’s a very pleasant environment to work in–the scenery is gorgeous, the townspeople have been supportive, the restaurants are great, there are universities nearby full of students who would like internships, and it is a bonus for the studios to get the extra 5 percent tax incentive on top of the 30 percent.”
Postproduction includes all of the editing after filming is complete and includes visual effects, color correction, sound editing and mixing. The industry also includes thousands of other jobs, from engineers and messengers to creative and support staff. The strengthened law was designed to expand state support by specifically focusing on attracting postproduction work to communities in all corners of the state. At a time when other states are experiencing production flight, New York’s strengthened credit supports a robust industry cluster which has become a major source of direct and indirect employment and economic opportunity for hundreds of thousands of people.
Donald Rosenfeld, producer of the upcoming film Effie Gray, said, “My work has greatly benefited from the creative and business communities of New York City for the past 26 years. Through these current incentives, it is now possible for me to shoot in locations throughout the world and do post-production in New York–back to the place I have always most liked to call home. Effie Gray, my latest film, was shot in London, Paris, the Western Isles of Scotland and Venice, Italy–yet, the entire postproduction of the film took place between Hudson Street and West 57th Street in New York City. This great opportunity for me and my postproduction crew based in New York City would never have been possible without Governor Cuomo’s embrace of the film business.”
Paul Moore, Eastern executive director, Motion Picture Editors Guild, Local 700, IATSE, said, “Motion Picture Editors Guild initiated an effort seven years ago with our New York State legislative and executive branches to capture postproduction work on films being produced outside of New York State. It was not until Governor Cuomo’s vision and his expansion of benefits to employers by improving the postproduction tax credit last July did we see an increase in jobs with excellent health and pension benefits.”
Faith In The Power of Holy Horror To Connect With Moviegoers–From “The Exorcist” To “Heretic”
In the new horror movie, "Heretic," Hugh Grant plays a diabolical religious skeptic who traps two scared missionaries in his house and tries to violently shake their faith.
What starts more as a religious studies lecture slowly morphs into a gory escape room for the two door-knocking members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, underscoring just how well-suited religion can be for terrifying and entertaining thrill-seeking moviegoers.
"I think it is a fascinating religion-related horror as it raises questions about the institution of religion, the patriarchy of religion," said Stacey Abbott, a film professor at Northumbria University in Newcastle, England, whose research interests include horror, vampires and zombies.
"But it also questions the nature of faith and confronts the audience with a debate about choice, faith and free will."
Horror has had a decades-long attraction to religion, Christianity especially in the U.S., with the 1970s "The Exorcist" and "The Omen" being prime examples. Beyond the jump scares, the supernatural elements of horror and its sublime nature pair easily with belief and spirituality — and religion's exploration of big existential questions, Abbott said. Horror is subversive. Real-life taboo topics and cultural anxieties are fair game.
"It is a rich canvas for social critique and it can also be a space to reassert traditional values," Abbott said in an email.
Death, demons and other tough topics religion and horror address
Religions and horror tackle similar questions about what it means to be human — how people relate to one another and the world, said Brandon Grafius, a Biblical studies professor at Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit and an expert on... Read More