Location Filming Increases During First Quarter

On-location film, television and commercial production increased by more than 2 percent in the first quarter compared to a year ago, according to figures released Wednesday by FilmL.A. The Hollywood nonprofit that coordinates location film permits in Los Angeles, unincorporated L.A. County and other jurisdictions handled 9,724 on-location shoot days in January through March. In the same period a year earlier, it handled 9,496 shoot days. Feature films, commercials and other projects, which includes music videos, still photography and student films, all saw shoot days go up in the first quarter. On-location television production went down by 7.4 percent to 3,623 shoot days. A shoot day is one crew’s permission to film at one or more locations during a 24-hour period. FilmL.A.’s data does not include activity on soundstages or studio backlots. FilmL.A. President Paul Audley again credited the state’s production tax incentives for creating an environment conducive to more filming in the Los Angeles region. “The California Tax Credit program is sustaining the industry in our region and demonstrates how critical it is for a continuation of the program,” Audley said in a statement. Feature films receiving tax credits made up 161 shoot days, or about 20 percent of the total 814 on-location shoots days. Films receiving credits included “Bird Box,” “Peppermint,” “The Devil Has a Name” and “Captain Marvel,” the first Marvel project to film in the state since “Captain America: Winter Solder” in 2014. While overall on-location television production was down in the first quarter, increases were seen in television pilots by 22 percent and in dramas by 4 percent. Television comedies, however, was down by 13 percent in the first quarter to 529 shoot days, as were reality programming and web-based shows. Television dramas receiving tax credits made up 525 shoot days out of the 1,044 total, or about 50 percent. Shows receiving credits included “This is Us,” “Lucifer,” “Legion” and “The Affair.” “This report confirms what below-the-line-workers across Los Angeles are already experiencing – film and television production is booming,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement. “Each new production means more good-paying jobs and a healthier economy for everyone.”