FilmL.A. Issues First Report on Soundstage, Backlot Production

Television series accounted for a majority of filming on soundstages and studio backlots in 2016, according to a new study released Thursday by FilmL.A. The study marks the first time FilmL.A. has analyzed production activity on soundstages and backlots. For years, it has produced quarterly reports on on-location television and film production. The Hollywood nonprofit that coordinates on-location filming permits in Los Angeles, unincorporated L.A. County and other jurisdictions reported that during 2016, one-hour series accounted for 4,983 shoot days, half-hour series for 3,340 shoot days and talk TV shows for 1,560 days. A shoot day is defined as one crew’s work to film at one or more participating studios during all or part of any given 24- hour period. FilmL.A. President Paul Audley said that the findings of the study reveal a portion of the Los Angeles production picture that had previously gone unviewed. “We hope that the availability of this data, and our plans to expand it through new studio partnerships, will be an asset to business leaders and policymakers, and further public understanding of L.A.’s signature industry and the wide employment and economic benefits it brings,” Audley said in a prepared statement. Feature film and commercial production both made up 7 percent of backlot activity and 3 percent soundstage activity last year, the report found. The report was done with the cooperation of 12 Hollywood studios, including Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. Entertainment, both in Burbank, and NBCUniversal, in Universal City. The 12 studios operate 70 percent of the approximately 334 certified soundstages available for film production in greater Los Angeles, totaling more than 3.3 million square feet of space. Last year, there was 96 percent occupancy rate on average for the soundstages, the report found.