On-location production of commercials in the City of Los Angeles, unincorporated parts of L.A. County and other local jurisdictions declined 7.5 percent in the second quarter of 2011 as compared to the same period last year–1,484 permitted production days (PPD) in April-June of this year versus 1,604 for the same period in 2010. This decrease ended what had been a 21-month surge in on-location spot lensing.
The downturn in commercials contributed to an overall stall in on-location production in Greater L.A. which collectively increased just 1.1 percent in the second quarter of ’11 as stacked up against the Q2 performance of ’10.
The quarterly findings were tallied and reported on by FilmL.A., the not-for-profit community benefit organization that coordinates permits for filmed entertainment shot in much of the L.A. area.
Production in the TV category dropped 0.7 percent in the second quarter (4,024 vs. 4,052 PPD), led by losses in sitcoms (down 29.4 percent) and TV reality (down 12.9 percent) subcategories. The TV pilots subcategory was up 4.5 percent.
The TV drama subcategory (up 26.6 percent) had a surprisingly robust quarter due to heavy reliance by shows such as Hawthorne and Sons of Anarchy on uncertified soundstages for extended periods. Within FilmL.A.’s service areas, filming anywhere other than a certified soundstage or studio backlot requires a film permit.
On-location theatrical feature production increased four percent (1,604 vs. 1,542 PPD). Unlike every other quarter since July 2009, this past quarter the California Film & Television Tax Credit had only minor impact on local feature production totals. In 2009/2010, the state doubled its $100 million annual allocation to encourage filming in California. With less assistance available this year, only five incentivized feature projects filmed on-location in Los Angeles this past quarter, generating 117 PPD, or 7.3 percent of overall feature production. By comparison, the same quarter in 2010 saw 16 incentivized feature projects shooting locally, generating 423 PPD and 27 percent of feature production.
“We expect to see features get a boost as a new crop of incentivized projects hits the streets,” said Paul Audley, president of FilmL.A. “Unfortunately, the momentum we carried in television may be gone. A lot of the new shows you’ll see this fall won’t be filming in California. As a result, we’re expecting a lackluster second half of the year for TV.”
“The Brutalist” and “The Wild Robot” Score Top Honors At Society of Composers & Lyricists Awards
The Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL) has unveiled the winners of the 6th Annual SCL Awardsยฎ held on Wednesday evening (2/12) at Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Top honors for film scoring went to Oscar-nominated composers Kris Bowers, who won Original Score For A Studio Film for The Wild Robot, and Daniel Blumberg, winner of Outstanding Original Score For an Independent Film on the strength of The Brutalist.
Oscar, Golden Globe, and Grammy-winning composer Atticus Ross took home two awards. He received Outstanding Original Song For a Comedy Or Musical Visual Media Production for โCompress/Repress,โ co-written for the film Challengers with frequent collaborator Trent Reznor, along with Luca Guadagnino. Ross and collaborators Leopold Ross and Nick Chuba also won Outstanding Original Song For A Television Production for the series Shลgun.
Another SCL Award for songwriting went to Diane Warren who won Outstanding Original Song For A Dramatic or Documentary Visual Media Production for her song โThe Journeyโ from The Six Triple Eight. Warren is a 16-time Oscar nominee and three-time SCL Award winner--the two previous honors recognizing โApplauseโ from Tell It Like a Woman in 2023 and the SCLโs special Ambassador Award in 2016.
The SCLโs 2025 Spirit of Collaboration Award honored composer Harry Gregson-Williams and legendary director Ridley Scott, who have collaborated on seven films including Gladiator II, The Martian, and Kingdom of Heaven. Last year, Martin Scorsese accepted the Spirit of Collaboration Award for his work with the late composer Robbie Robertson. Other past award recipients include Thomas Newman and Sam Mendes, Terence... Read More