Spanning outdoor, print, web and TV advertising as well as public service spots that will run in select Los Angeles movie theaters, a two-year marketing campaign is getting underway to raise awareness of the positive economic and cultural benefits generated by local filming in Greater L.A.–and to underscore the challenges local businesses face as a result of runaway production.
Dubbed Film Works, the marketing effort is being spearheaded by FilmL.A., the private, not-for-profit community organization that coordinates and processes film permits for on-location motion picture, TV and commercial production throughout much of Los Angeles. FilmL.A. is part of a coalition of entertainment industry, community and government partners behind the marketing plan.
Paul Audley, president of FilmL.A., explained that the objective of the campaign is threefold. “We seek to promote filming in Los Angeles, thank area neighborhoods for hosting filming, and renew local appreciation for filming’s economic benefits. We’ve received very enthusiastic responses from local elected officials, union members, representatives from the major studios and small businesses that supply the industry. We’ll be counting on their support going forward to help Film Works raise awareness.”
This stakeholder-driven marketing campaign hopes to help create an environment–politically and among residents at a grass-root community level–conducive to encouraging production in Los Angeles.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles) noted that Film Works makes sense for L.A. in that “half a million people in the region depend on a thriving local film industry for their livelihoods. We can keep jobs in Los Angeles if we can find creative ways to keep filming here at home and in the state.
The campaign also has direct outreach as a component through a newly launched website, www.filmworksla.com.
Furthermore, Angelenos will see the campaign’s black and yellow brand logo on area billboards and street furniture beginning in January. Not long after, the Film Works logo will appear on film production vehicles, with the sides of film trucks parked on-location carrying messages of thanks to communities that welcome filming.
Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey Launch Production House 34North
Executive producers Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey have teamed to launch 34North. The shop opens with a roster which includes accomplished directors Jan Wentz, Ben Nakamura Whitehouse, David Edwards and Mario Feil, as well as such up-and-coming filmmakers as Glenn Stewart and Chris Fowles. Nakamura Whitehouse, Edwards, Feil and Fowles come over from CoMPANY Films, the production company for which Cicero served as an EP for the past nearly five years. Director Wentz had most recently been with production house Skunk while Stewart now gains his first U.S. representation. EP Clancey was freelance producing prior to the formation of 34North. He and Cicero have known each other for some 25 years, recently reconnecting on a job directed by Fowles. Cicero said that he and Clancey “want to keep a highly focused roster where talent management can be one on one--where we all share in the directors’ success together.” Clancey also brings an agency pedigree to the new venture. “I started at Campbell Ewald in accounts, no less,” said Clancey. “I saw firsthand how much work agencies put in before we even see a script. You have to respect that investment. These agency experiences really shaped my approach to production--it’s about empathy, listening between the lines, and ultimately making the process seamless.” 34North represents a meeting point--both literally and creatively. Named after the latitude of Malibu, Calif., where the idea for the company was born, it also embraces the power of storytelling. “34North118West was the first GPS-enabled narrative,” Cicero explained. “That blend of art and technology, to captivate an audience, mirrors what we do here--create compelling work, with talented people, harnessing state-of-the-art... Read More