A surge in feature film and commercial shoots offset a continuing slide in TV productions and enabled L.A. County's on-location numbers to hold steady in the second quarter, off 0.4 percent from the same period last year.
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FilmLA, the non-profit agency that issues permits for the city of Los Angeles, announced the latest figures Tuesday. In all, the county saw 11,209 permitted production days in the second quarter, as compared to 11,260 during the same period last year.
On-location feature film production increased 9.1 percent for the quarter (1,750 PPD in 2012 vs. 1,604 PPD in 2011), offsetting a continued drop in television, which was off 15.4 percent for the period (3,405 PPD in 2012 vs. 4,024 in 2011).
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Production of commercials increased 28.1 percent for the quarter (1,901 PPD in 2012 vs. 1,484 PPD in 2011), continuing its strong performance seen throughout 2011. Commercial producers cited the upcoming Olympic Games as a significant driver of the commercial production increase.
TV drama shoots were down 39.2 percent to 581 permitted production days and reality shoots were off 16.8 percent to 1,461 PPD. TV sitcom production rose 35.6 and pilot production was up 36.8 percent to 253 PPD.
While L.A. is home to almost all of television’s new and continuing comedy series, many of these shows are shot on soundstages, and therefore not counted in FilmL.A.’s quarterly surveys.
The California Film & Television Tax Credit Program delivered a predictable boost to feature film; from April through June, state-qualified feature projects generated 160 production days for the region, representing 9.1 percent of the quarterly total, in effect driving the sector's second quarter gains.
Among the films that took advantage of the incentives were "The Bling," "Look of Love" and "Stand Up Guys."