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Did you know that you may be able to receive advance notice of filming in your area by e-mail?
Now Serving:
All Areas in Downtown Los Angeles
San Pedro Business District
Sunset Junction
Westwood Village Business District
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About FilmL.A.
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FilmL.A. is a private, nonprofit organization that coordinates and processes permits for on-location motion picture, television and commercial production under contract to the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, and the cities of Diamond Bar, Industry, Lancaster and South Gate. Non-municipal clients include the Angeles National Forest, the Los Angeles Unified School District and Burbank Unified School District.
Ongoing community relations is a key component of the service FilmL.A. provides. The organization works to strike a balance between the needs and interests of the entertainment industry and the neighborhoods affected by on-location production.
In today's highly competitive, global entertainment production market, FilmL.A.'s services help the Los Angeles region retain its status as the world's entertainment production capital.
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FilmL.A. Bids Farewell to Steve MacDonald, Departing President
 On April 11, we said goodbye to Steve MacDonald, our president from 2004-2008 and respected colleague and friend to all at FilmL.A. In early April, Steve announced his plan to accept a new position with Strategic Development Solutions (SDS), a Los Angeles-based private equity firm.
Steve leaves behind him an impressive record of strategic initiatives and reforms. Shortly after assuming the helm in 2004, Steve initiated accounting and governance changes that helped set the organization on solid financial footing. Steve also spearheaded our move to L.A. Center Studios, and oversaw our name change to FilmL.A. in late 2005.
FilmL.A. Chair Mel Kohn speaks for us all when he said, "We applaud Steve MacDonald for his service and his help to put our organization on track. We fully support Steve's decision to pursue this opportunity and are now focused on finding an exceptional new leader for FilmL.A."
A search committee has been charged with finding Steve's replacement. Current FilmL.A. CFO Michael J. Bennett is serving as interim president.
(Photo: Steve MacDonald)
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Keeping Filming in L.A.: Community Relations Sets the Scene
 Each year, thousands of visitors to Los Angeles take tours of studio back-lots to see where their favorite movies and TV shows are filmed. Many of those visitors, and possibly many local residents, may not realize that much of the region's film production takes place not on a sound-stage, but rather in one of L.A.'s many diverse neighborhoods.
FilmL.A. helps ensure film production and its economic benefits remain in the region by striking a delicate balance between the competing needs of production companies and local communities.
"Our job is to facilitate the industry, but not at the expense of neighborhoods," said FilmL.A. Vice President Todd Lindgren. "If we can't protect neighborhoods, we won't be able to ensure the long-term viability of location filming in Los Angeles."
Community relations is a key component of film permit coordination. FilmL.A. staff members frequently meet with residents and business owners inconvenienced by filming and serve as intermediaries between them and the production company in an effort to find a solution that works for everyone. Sometimes, the solution is as simple as having a production company move a light, generator or production vehicle. Other times, FilmL.A. may need to work with city and county departments to address issues such as unoccupied homes being rented out solely as film studios.
A shoot requiring multiple days at a home or business increases the potential for inconvenience. Murray Miller, a location manager currently working on "Crazy on the Outside", found our community relations function invaluable. "We could not have pulled off a particularly challenging eight-day shoot without the fine folks at FilmL.A. Their counsel came at just the right time to help us communicate our intentions and enlist community support," he said.
(Photo: Los Angeles City Councilmember Herb Wesson meets with Location Manager Murray Miller and FilmL.A. Director of Community Relations Geoffrey Smith on the set of "Crazy on the Outside", filming on-location in the Tenth District.) |
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FilmL.A. Board Member Profile: Earl Brendlinger
 Earl Brendlinger is a FilmL.A. Board and Executive Committee Member, Secretary Treasurer for the Studio Utility Employees Local 724 and thirty-year veteran of the industry. To learn his views on the Los Angeles film production environment, FilmL.A. staff posed the following questions:
What do you think is the biggest challenge to film production in the Los Angeles region?
EB: More could be done to help keep Los Angeles "film friendly". The City of Los Angeles has a policy of encouraging local filming, but that's just not enough. Other jurisdictions are rolling out the welcome mat for the industry by offering enticing financial incentives to lure away production. We need local authorities to be consistent in their support for filming and the jobs it creates in the region.
How has the business changed for your members over the last decade?
EB: The last ten years, many of our members have seen work opportunities shrink, as fewer productions are done locally every year. The budgets for features and television shows have also diminished in set construction, so our members are doing more work with smaller crews.
Which of the board's accomplishments are you most proud of?
EB: I am most proud of the board's decision to commit the resources to build OPS, FilmL.A.'s new state-of-the-art permit processing system. The system is designed to make it easier and more efficient for FilmL.A. and local authorities to coordinate on-location film production. A paperless approvals process and improved location conflict management are just a few of the exciting options that are made possible with the new system.
What is your approach to fulfilling your role as chair of the finance subcommittee?
EB: It's my job to ensure that FilmL.A. remains on solid financial footing and that our financial records are auditable and transparent. We're a nonprofit organization, so it's also my responsibility to ensure that revenues are appropriately reinvested in the people, programs and technological infrastructure that help us fulfill our mission of facilitating on-location production in the region.
(Photo: Earl Brendlinger, FilmL.A. Board Member) |
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Film Production Sedate So Far in '08
 On-location production in Los Angeles slumped 23 percent in the first quarter, according to our latest year-to-year comparison. The recent strike by Hollywood writers -- which lasted from last November through the middle of February -- triggered an industry-wide shutdown in scripted television production that took hold at the beginning of the new year.
In all, FilmL.A. coordinated 2,921 fewer days of on-location television production in the first quarter of '08 vs. '07. Strike-affected TV dramas, TV sitcoms, and TV pilots were the categories hardest hit, with year-to-year quarterly losses of 68 percent, 72 percent, and 77 percent, respectively.
On-location feature production, meanwhile, gained 11 percent to 2,065 days for the quarter.
"The small quarterly gain in feature production might come as a surprise," said Todd Lindgren, FilmL.A. Vice President. "But feature films tend to have longer development cycles than episodic television, and with scripts already written, they were better positioned to continue production despite the strike."
Commercial producers filmed seven percent fewer days on-location, finishing at 1,925 for the quarter.
Altogether, a total of 7,547 permitted days were logged in the three main categories of feature films, commercials and television production for the period, compared to 10,414 days in the previous year -- a difference of 28 percent. Filming in other categories -- including student films, documentaries, music videos and others -- fell 11 percent during this time, from a cumulative 4,262 days in 2007 to 3,810 days this year.
(Chart: Year-to-Year Quarterly Television Production Comparison) |
Second Annual Location Managers Reception a Success
 In April, FilmL.A. opened its doors for our annual Location Managers Reception, welcoming over one hundred of the men and women working hard behind the scenes to facilitate on-location production.
With the lights of Downtown Los Angeles as the backdrop, FilmL.A. customers, including location managers and permit service representatives, gathered at our office to unwind, get acquainted face-to-face and talk shop.
"This is an extremely valuable event every year," said FilmL.A. Director of Community Relations Geoffrey Smith of the evening. "Not only does this event establish rapport between FilmL.A. and our customers, but we foster relationships that can improve the permitting process to the benefit of our local communities."
(Photo: Employees and customers mix and mingle at FilmL.A.) | |
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