The strike by the actors’ unions against the advertising industry has exacted a heavy toll on Los Angeles spot shooting. According to figures released by the Entertainment Industry Development Corporation (EIDC), the public/private sector partnership that oversees the joint Los Angeles City/ County Film Office, commercial location shoot days totaled a mere 190 last month, representing a 65 percent decrease as compared to a July 1999 tally of 558. The 190 days’ worth of filming permits is the lowest monthly TV spot figure reported since tracking of such activity began some six years ago in Greater Los Angeles.
The July numbers continue a pattern that’s taken hold since the strike got underway on May 1. Ad shoot film permit days in Los Angeles totaled 887 from May to July, a 45 percent decline from the same three-month period in ’99.
The dramatic drop in spot filming is attributed in large part to effective on-location picketing by members of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA). But rather than stopping production, the strike action seems to be diverting it from Los Angeles to other U.S. cities, as well as to foreign countries, perhaps most notably Canada.
The Joint Policy Committee (JPC) of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) and the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the ad industry’s negotiating arm in the SAG/AFTRA commercial contract negotiations, claims that spot production levels rival activity from last year. According to the JPC, 1,725 commercials were produced in July-down about 15 percent from the 2,035 spots shot during July ’99.
Canada seems to be a prime beneficiary. Assorted U.S. commercial production houses have reported that crews and certain production equipment have been hard to come by in Vancouver, B.C., and most recently in Toronto, as filming of American spots there has increased exponentially. A silver lining is that the Canadian crew talent pool is so booked that several Los Angeles production companies have brought Southern California crew people up with them to shoot in Canada. This has spelled at least a modicum of relief for some Los Angeles crew members who have been out of work due to runaway spot production.
Other countries that have been getting an influx of American spot filming include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Italy and Spain.
Meanwhile, as runaway production escalates, another city is considering placing a ban on spot shoots using nonunion actors during the strike. The latest municipality to join the fray is West Hollywood. As earlier reported, similar proposed bans have stalled in New York (SHOOT, 8/4/00), Chicago (SHOOT, 7/28/00) and Los Angeles (SHOOT, 7/7/00 and 7/14/00).
At press time, the West Hollywood City Council was scheduled to hear a motion by Mayor Jeffrey Prang that would bar shooting of commercials being struck against by SAG and AFTRA. The Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) has sent a letter to Prang and West Hollywood City Council members objecting to the proposal. The letter contended that West Hollywood would hurt itself as well as many other constituents-including local crew people and vendors-if it decides to pass an anti-filming measure.
