Three months do not make a year or even a trend but perhaps they are an indication that on-location lensing of commercials in Los Angeles has picked up a bit. Still, there’s a long way to go.
Based on film permit info from FilmL.A.–the nonprofit organization that coordinates permits for filmed entertainment shot on location in the City of Los Angeles, unincorporated parts of L.A. County and other local jurisdictions–spot location shoot days for calendar year 2009 through Oct. 5 are down 21 percent as compared to the same time span in 2008.
The small silver lining to that dark cloud is that for the last three months-plus (July 1-Oct. 5) there’s been a bit of a rally–enough to show some improvement over the figures that were released for the first half of ’09 when permitted location production days for commercials were down 31 percent (2,459 vs. 3,570 production days) when stacked up against activity during January-June ’08.
While narrowing a 31 percent shortfall to one of 21 percent is hardly a stunning victory, it represents a measure of progress nonetheless, causing some to harbor hope that the gap can be closed further.
Such hope, though, has to fly in the face of what has been a steady downward trend over a protracted stretch. Barring a major rally for the remainder of ’09, Los Angeles is on track to record its fourth consecutive year of declining on-location commercial production. In 2008, there were 5.996 on-location spot lensing days, a nearly 11 percent decrease from the 6,730 tallied the prior year. In ’07, there was a fractional percentage decrease (0.2 percent) as compared to ’06. And spot lensing in ’06 fell 3.4 percent short of the level of activity in calendar ’05. The decline in ’06 ended a five-year period of growth that began after production plummeted 24.6 percent in ’00 due primarily to that year’s actors’ strike against the advertising industry.
Sans Incentives
Part of Los Angeles’ spot woes reflect the toll that the recession has taken on commercial production generally. Yet another likely factor is that while California has no significant financial incentives program for commercials, other states and countries have tax credits, rebates and the like in place to lure filming, including spots.
California earlier this year introduced a tax credit program for certain qualifying feature films and TV fare, but commercials are not eligible for those incentives.
On Wednesday (10/7), the Los Angeles City Council issued 19 recommendations in an attempt to keep and attract more filming for the City of Angels. The most substantive recommendations include a proposal calling for a refund of sales tax paid by production companies when at least 75 percent of a project’s filming is done within the City of Los Angeles. The City Council instructed the Office of Finance to report to the Council’s Jobs and Business Development Committee in 30 days on the feasibility and fiscal impact of such a sales tax refund for film project-related purchases made in L.A. In that the current language of the recommended sales tax incentive carries no restrictions as to the type of project being filmed, it’s presumed that commercials would qualify if the reform program comes to fruition.
The Council additionally directed the Business Tax Advisory Committee (BTAC) to evaluate a business tax credit for building owners in Los Angeles that allow exteriors to be filmed for free. The BTAC has also been asked to evaluate a business tax credit for building owners that allow interior filming for a “reasonable rate.”
A City Council request has also been issued to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power for the creation of three power utility nodes as part of a pilot program in downtown L.A. so that film production companies can access power to use in lieu of generators.
And the Council has directed the Department of General Services and the L.A. Department of Transportation to implement a free parking program (except for the cost of providing security) for film crews in all available City parking lots after business hours and during weekends.
Additionally the Council asked that the 10 “hardest to film” locations in the city be identified with an eye towards making them more available and accommodating to producers.
A FilmL.A. spokesperson said that the Council’s actions and its proactive stance “bode well” for future filming prospects in Los Angeles. He observed that he has never seen the City Council “so united” in terms of wanting to address filming issues and to encourage feature, TV, commercial and other forms of production in L.A.
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More