In today’s economic climate, cost cutting by states has been the norm with the marquee example being California, which is in the throes of a $40 billion-plus shortfall that can seemingly only be addressed through a mix of tax increases and expenditure reductions.
Yet the balance sheet often doesn’t recognize until well after the fact that certain cuts can have a profoundly negative impact on the economy they are supposed to help revive. For example, cuts in education could hold students back who are key to the economic future of the Golden State.
In the same vein, California is one of but 10 states not to have a financial incentives package for filming. Thus runaway production was recently referred to by Paul Audley, president of nonprofit filmed entertainment permitting organization FilmL.A., as having become “ran-away production.” He made the comment while addressing steep declines in feature film and commercial on-location lensing in Greater Los Angeles last year (SHOOT, 1/16), noting that “California is not competitive in the marketplace. We must create an environment that brings back high-dollar film productions, the thousands of jobs they generate and the revenues they pump into our local economy.”
By sharp contrast, those states and municipalities that have put aggressive incentives measures in place have generally experienced growth in filming or least held their own in times of financial uncertainty. This in turn has had a positive effect on their economies. Such is the case with much of the Southwest.
And filming business spawns infrastructure, including crew talent, stage and post facilities, and other related support resources.
SHOOT touched base with members of the Southwest film commission community to get a sense of incentives and infrastructure in their respective states. We posed the following two-pronged survey query:
How having meaningful filming incentives–or the lack thereof–that apply to commercials impacted ad industry business in your state? Has industry infrastructure been positively impacted in your market?
Here is a sampling of the feedback we received:
Shelli Hall, director, Tucson Film Office
As I write this, Arizona has over $75 million in tax credits available for 2009. I encourage commercial production companies to hurry up and apply before the big features come and take away most of the pie. And just in case they try to, Arizona has carved out $5 million set aside that is exclusively for commercial production. We can almost always find the right location. Tucson and the surrounding southern Arizona landscape are surprisingly varied, ranging from Pine-covered mountain peaks to rolling grasslands to classic saguaro-laden desert. Our architecture spans 17th Century Spanish to Antoine Predoc modern. Tucson is also close to the Mexican border and so we facilitate productions that want to shoot on both sides.
Arizona tax incentives have definitely helped attract more commercial production to our state. The state’s commercial business has always been strong due to mostly mild, predictable, sunny weather and aforementioned locations, but there was a definite increase in the number of commercials shooting statewide last year. I surveyed Randy Murry Productions, a small creative boutique in Phoenix to get his take on it, and he agreed saying the “incentives have had a positive effect and everyone is hoping they result in a more robust and stable production community.” In Tucson, we hosted commercial production companies like Traktor, RSA Films, Aero, two companies from Japan. We compete with Phoenix a lot because they are a bigger city, but people need to know that there are 16 direct flights coming and going from Los Angeles to Tucson everyday. And because we are the second city, we try harder.
We also have a Tucson incentive in partnership with a dozen of our top hotels and resorts like JW Marriott and Loews Ventana. We will credit your production company’s hotel master account up to $10,000 if you meet the hotel room night criteria. See www.filmtucson.com for more details. We really want your business and we find that incentives really work.
Marshall Moore, director, Utah Film Commission
The current Utah Motion Picture Incentive Fund (MPIF) will allow for commercials to be considered, if the Utah spend is 1 million dollars or more. The MPIF is a 15 percent post performance cash rebate with a $500,000 per project cap. As to date, no production company has taken advantage of the MPIF for the making of a commercial.
Toyota, GMC, Kia, Ford, Suzuki, Sara Lee, Sears, Sylvania, Verizon, British Airways, and Nissan have all shot major ad campaigns in Utah, adding significantly to the growth of Utah’s infrastructure, and the development of local crew and talent.
Utah has a long history of commercials and print ads, due to the diversity of locations found within the state. From the brilliant red rock deserts of southern Utah, the majestic Wasatch Mountains, and the vastness of the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Other benefits of filming in Utah include its proximity to L.A., two full service equipment rental companies and nearly 700 crew members who reside in the state. Utah will continue to be a location destination for all types of productions.
Lisa Strout, director, New Mexico Film Office New Mexico has a long history of attracting commercials due in part to diverse and exceptional locations, such as White Sands, Native American pueblos, vast desert expanses, snow-capped mountain peaks, and everything in between traditional Anytowns and otherworldly environments. Our 25 percent tax rebate, which applies to regional and national spots, has made New Mexico even more of an appealing destination for commercial production, and our state has recently welcomed national spots for Wendy’s, AT&T, Allstate, Toyota and Lexus. Besides significant infrastructure, which includes state-of-the-art soundstages and numerous dedicated vendors, New Mexico boasts one of the country’s largest crew bases.
