On-location film and television production fell in the second quarter due primarily to the Writers Guild of America strike that shut down some productions, according to FilmLA.
The Hollywood nonprofit, which coordinates on-location filming in Los Angeles County and other jurisdictions, reported on Wednesday there were 6,566 shoot days from April 1 through June, compared to 9,220 shoot days in the same period of the prior year.
On-location television production, a sustaining force during the recovery from the pandemic, had the largest quarterly decline among the major production categories, falling 36.4% to a total of 2,630 shoot days, FilmLA said in a release.
A shoot day is one crew’s permission to film at one or more locations during a 24-hour period. FilmLA’s data does not include activity on soundstages or studio backlots.
Paul Audley, president of FilmLA, called greater Los Angeles the North American epicenter of scripted television production.
“Before long, this sector’s shutdown will be felt in every corner of the regional economy,” Audley said in a statement.
“Like all others watching with hope from the sidelines, we are eager to see the studios and unions reopen their contract negotiations,” Audley continued. “Much is at stake for WGA and SAG-AFTRA members, and also for the small business supply chain on which future filming depends.”
The actors union joined the writers this month in pickets against the major Hollywood studios.
On-location feature film production dropped by 19% to 728 shoot days in the second quarter. Nearly all feature projects in production from April through June were smaller, independent productions. Titles included “All That We Love,” “Father & Son,” “Goodrich,” “The Puritan II” and “Unicorn.”
In the television category, dramas and sitcoms were most impacted by the WGA strike. On-location drama production decreased by 64% to 360 shoot days, while sitcoms plummeted by 73% to 84 shoot days during the quarter.
Before the halt of all scripted television production in greater Los Angeles, productions filming last quarter included Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), S.W.A.T. (CBS), and Interior Chinatown (Hulu).
By comparison, unscripted television did a bit better, decreasing by only 23% to 2,013 shoot days in the second quarter, compared to the prior year.
On-location commercial production also showed a decrease during the quarter, to 861 shoot days or a 22% drop from the same period a year earlier when it recorded 1,110 shoot days. Companies such as AT&T, Delta Airlines and Verizon recently filmed spots locally, as did car companies including Acura, BMW, Ford and Toyota.
The other category which primarily consists of still photography shoots and student films, but also includes music and industrial videos, documentaries and miscellaneous categories of production, posted a decrease of 24% to 2,347 shoot days in the quarter compared to 3,076 shoot days in the second quarter of last year.
“The last time production levels were this low, we were in the middle of a global pandemic,” Audley said. “Families and businesses affected then are again being tested today, lending urgency to the moment to sustain creative careers.”