California voters have overwhelmingly rejected Proposition 21, a measure which would have provided funding for state parks by instituting an extra $18 charge on the annual registration fee for most vehicles. Assorted film industry groups, including the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP), supported Prop. 21 on the grounds that without such an additional revenue stream, a number of parks could close or at least have curtailed hours and not enough staff to facilitate activities such as location filming.
The parks represent one of the California’s biggest location draws for motion picture lensing and professional still photography. Not only does this activity generate dollars from production but the screening and airing of breathtaking vistas in these projects in turn promote the parks as tourist destinations, another major contributor to the state’s economy.
According to the California Film Commission (CFC), state parks account for the majority of the state filming permits it issues. In the latest available figures–which are for 2009–parks represent 62 percent of state permit filming days. Caltrans properties (roads, highways) are a distant second at 30 percent. California’s network of state parks cover 1.5 million acres and one-third of the state’s coastline.
Based on the importance of location lensing, such groups as the AICP, The Location Managers Guild of America, San Diego Film Commission, Sacramento Film Commission, Santa Cruz County Film Commission, Monterey County Film Commission, Mendocino County Film Office, Santa Barbara Film Commission and the Humboldt Film Commission endorsed Prop. 21.
Now that Prop. 21 has been defeated, the industry is hopeful that location filming will still be not only welcomed but also fully facilitated in a timely fashion–despite the dramatic budget shortfall being felt by state parks. Tough economic times certainly make it all the more prudent to make efforts to accommodate revenue-generating production shoots.
In the past decade, California lost more than 36,000 jobs and $2.4 billion in wages because of production leaving California to film out-of-state. California’s 278 state parks rank as the state’s most popular state-owned location for filming, offering low-cost and diverse locations to help keep film and commercial production and jobs in the state. In 2008 and 2009, California state parks hosted more than 400 television commercial and print advertisement shoots.
Oscar Nominees Delve Into The Art Of Editing At ACE Session
You couldn’t miss Sean Baker at this past Sunday’s Oscar ceremony where he won for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Editing on the strength of Anora. However, earlier that weekend he was in transit from the Cesar Awards in Paris and thus couldn’t attend the American Cinema Editors (ACE) 25th annual panel of Academy Award-nominated film editors held at the Regal LA Live Auditorium on Saturday (3/1) in Los Angeles. While the eventual Oscar winner in the editing category was missed by those who turned out for the ACE “Invisible Art, Visible Artists” session, three of Baker’s fellow nominees were on hand--Dávid Jancsó, HSE for The Brutalist; Nick Emerson for Conclave; and Myron Kerstein, ACE for Wicked. Additionally, Juliette Welfling, who couldn’t appear in person due to the Cesar Awards, was present via an earlier recorded video interview to discuss her work on Emilia Pérez. The interview was conducted by ACE president and editor Sabrina Plisco, ACE who also moderated the live panel discussion. Kerstein said that he was the beneficiary of brilliant and generous collaborators, citing, among others, director Jon M. Chu, cinematographer Alice Brooks, and visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman. The editor added it always helps to have stellar acting performances, noting that hearing Cynthia Erivo, for example, sing live was a revelation. Kerstein recalled meeting Chu some eight years ago on a “blind Skype date” and it was an instant “bromance”--which began on Crazy Rich Asians, and then continued on such projects as the streaming series Home Before Dark and the feature In The Heights. Kerstein observed that Chu is expert in providing collaborators with... Read More