Film, TV Production Continues Drop

Despite increased feature film and commercial on-location shoots, overall production dropped in the third quarter, according to statistics released by FilmL.A. The 9,680 permitted production days in July through September is a 14.3 percent drop from the 11,300 permitted days in the same period from a year ago, the not for profit agency reported. FilmL.A. handles on-location permitting for the city and county of Los Angeles, and a number of other municipalities and school districts. The agency’s numbers do not include productions filmed on studio soundstages. After double digit losses for multiple quarters, gains were made in the third quarter for feature film and commercial production. There were 1,485 permitted production days for films as compared to 1,183 days in the third quarter of 2008. Commercial filming went up by 10.2 percent over the 1,103 production days in the third quarter of 2008. “Gains for the beleaguered industry sector are a welcome occurrence, because commercial production is such an important contributor to our local economy,” said FilmL.A. President Paul Audley. Television production was down to 4,432 permitted days, a drop of 21.4 percent from the 5,638 permitted days from the third quarter a year ago. All four television subcategories dramas, sitcoms, reality and pilots posted losses in the third quarter. Mark R. Madler