Location Filming Falls on Lower TV Production

On-location film, television and commercial production fell by 3.5 percent in the third quarter compared to a year ago because of a drop in television shoots, according to figures released Wednesday by FilmL.A. The Hollywood nonprofit that coordinates location filming permits in Los Angeles, unincorporated L.A. County and other jurisdictions reported that feature film production increased 7.6 percent – the biggest increase of any category. From July through September, film crews worked on location for 9,455 shoot days, as compared to 9,795 shoot days in the same period a year earlier. A shoot day is one crew’s permission to film at one or more locations during a 24‐hour period. The statistics track on-location filming of television series, feature films, commercials, web videos, music videos and student projects – but not work on studio lots or soundstages. FilmL.A. President Paul Audley pointed out that while the third quarter showed a decline in on-location filming, activity was still 10 percent higher than five years ago. “Quarterly changes aside, we’ve seen L.A. area film production stabilize at a high level,” Audley said in a prepared statement. “That brings a steadier employment picture for area cast and crew, and relief to local small business owners happy to see filming come back.” Television had a 9.1 percent drop in shoot days in the third quarter, falling to 4,021 from the 4,423 in the same period a year earlier. On-location filming for television dramas increased during the quarter by 4.1 percent. Reality programming went down by 20.4 percent and sitcoms dropped by 17.3 percent when compared to the prior quarter. Feature films accounted for 1,172 shoot days in the third quarter. Projects receiving incentives from the state’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program made up 133 shoot days, or about 11 percent of the features total. Filming for commercials jumped 7.2 percent in the quarter to 1,335 shoot days compared to 1,245 shoot days in the third quarter 2016.