L.A. Film Shoots Slump, TV Productions Show Gains

LOS ANGELES: Overall on-location television production in Los Angeles soared 76.4 percent in the first quarter of this year as compared with the same period last year, when scripted programming had ground to a halt as a result of the writers’ strike, while feature film production fell 56.3 percent in the period.

The data was released late yesterday by the nonprofit organization, which coordinates permits for filmed entertainment shot on-location in L.A. Total on-location production was flat compared to the same period in 2008, with a total of 11,431 permitted production days (PPD). Feature films logged in 903 PPDs, down from 2,065 last year.

Announcing the new figures, Paul Audley, the president of FilmL.A., noted: “Most big-budget feature films are not shot locally, and even independent filmmakers are shooting fewer days in our area. While we applaud Sacramento’s recently-passed film incentive, which should help entice independent filmmakers, the $75 million production budget cap means the more expensive studio films will not qualify for the program, which should be expanded if California is to compete with incentive-rich states that have studio and talent infrastructures of their own.” 

There were 6,274 PPDs for TV shows in the first quarter, of which 54.3 percent was for reality shows, a 68.7 percent increase on the previous year. TV drama production, up 191 percent, accounted for 24.8 percent of production, while sitcoms, up 48.8 percent, accounted for just 4 percent of the total. In the first quarter, TV pilot production accounted for 255 PPDs, a 53.6-percent increase. “We expected to see huge first quarter gains for TV, since most shows went dark early last year due to the strike," Audley said. "Although the strike was settled in mid-February of 2008, on-location production didn’t ramp back up until the second quarter."