The Governor’s Office of Motion Picture and Television Development (MPTV) has announced a milestone with 400 applications received in the state’s film and television postproduction tax credit program since the Governor championed a law strengthening the credit in July 2012. The record-breaking number of productions committing to complete postproduction work in New York in the past five years shows how rapidly the post industry has expanded under the enhanced credit, creating jobs and driving investment in the innovation economy.
“Under Governor Cuomo’s leadership, the postproduction industry in New York is rapidly growing,” said Empire State Development president and CEO Howard Zemsky. “The 400 applications we’ve received since the credit expansion in 2012 is a testament to our robust film tax credit programs, which generate billions of dollars in New York State spending, and create hundreds of thousands of jobs each year.”
The 400 postproduction applicants are projected to spend more than $461 million in-state and create more than 4,730 hires statewide. By comparison, just 17 productions applied for the postproduction credit in the 18 months before the program was revamped in 2012, resulting in just $38 million in New York spending and 214 hires.
Signed by Governor Cuomo in July 2012, the new law increased the postproduction credit from 10 percent to 30 percent across the state. In order to participate in the program, productions must complete at least 75 percent of all postproduction work in New York State at a qualified facility. The post credit is also available to projects filmed predominantly outside of the state that plan to use New York-based postproduction companies for editing. Productions choosing to complete postproduction work in Upstate New York are eligible for an increased 35 percent tax credit.
The successful postproduction tax incentive joins the state’s film production tax credit, which has received 1,170 applications, resulting in a projected New York spend of $18.4 billion and more than 1.1 million hires since Cuomo took office. Productions that apply for the film production credit can claim qualified postproduction expenses under this program, deepening the economic impact of the industry.
Recently, several noteworthy film and television projects have participated in the postproduction credit, including Manchester By the Sea, Silence, Deepwater Horizon, Hail Caesar!, Turn: Washington Spies, Masters Of Sex, Niko and The Sword Of Light, Goldie and the Bear, Preacher and Berlin Station.
AFM Preps For Inaugural LocationEXPO
The American Film Market’s inaugural LocationEXPO, taking place at this year’s market, November 1-8 in Santa Monica, Calif., will welcome more than 50 film commissions and government agencies from around the world. Organizations participating at LocationEXPO come from as far afield as Chile, Spain, Norway, New Zealand, Thailand and Russia.
The diverse participants at LocationEXPO highlight the continuing growth and popularity of AFM among film commissions that in tandem with governmental entities are collectively offering more than a billion dollars in production incentives. The Expo enables them to connect AFM’s 7,000+ producers and distributors.
Access to the LocationEXPO booths is free; it does not require an AFM credential. Visit AmericanFilmMarket.com/LocationEXPO to view the full and growing list of LocationEXPO 2017 participants.
The American Film Market is produced by the Independent Film & Television Alliance. The AFM is a marketplace–with over 200,000 square feet of exhibition space–where production and distribution deals are closed. It’s expected that more than $1 billion in deals will be sealed–on both completed films and those in every stage of development and production.
Participants may view more than 500 screenings of 300+ films.
