Film shoots in L.A. flat in second quarter

Local production activity slowed to a virtual crawl in the second quarter because of fewer film shoots for commercials and TV sitcoms in Los Angeles.

On-location filming for all categories was nearly flat in the three months ended June 30 compared with the same period a year earlier and following a 5% gain in the first quarter, according to data released Tuesday by FilmL.A. Inc. The nonprofit group, which handles film permits for the city and many incorporated areas of Los Angeles County, tracks film shoots that occur on streets and noncertified soundstages.

The biggest drop came in the commercials category, which saw 1,481 production days in the second quarter, down nearly 8% compared with 2010. A production day is counted as a single crew’s permission to film at a single location in a 24-hour period. The decline followed a 21-month surge as advertisers loosened their purse strings amid signs of economic recovery.

Television production days dropped 0.7% to 4,024, fueled by a sharp falloff in shoots for TV sitcoms and reality programming. It marked the second consecutive quarter of declines for television, which fell 4% in the first quarter.

Feature film activity improved from the first quarter, rising 4% to 1,604 days, after a 5% drop in the first quarter. Still, fewer projects benefited from the state film tax credit. Only five projects received such credits in the second quarter, compared with 16 a year earlier.

FilmL.A. cited a reduction in available funds. California Film Commission officials allocated two years’ worth of funding — $200 million — in the first year of the program, which took effect in July 2009 and runs through 2014. The state recently allocated an additional $100 million in funding for the current fiscal year, which begins July 1, for more than two dozen projects.

“We expect to see features get a boost as a new crop of incentivized projects hits the streets,” said Paul Audley, president of FilmL.A.

But Audley also cautioned that local television production would be lackluster for the rest of the year because more dramas are being filmed in New York and other states.

“A lot of new shows you’ll see this fall won’t be filming in California,” he said.

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