“Film Ready” L.A. Property Company and Local Non-Profit Making “Film Work” for Skid Row Residents

Film Works is pleased to present our first business profile/public service announcement (PSA) video and blog post.  We contacted Los Angeles-based Cap Equity Locations after hearing about a partnership they formed with SRO Housing, which is “dedicated to building a vibrant community for homeless and low-income individuals.”  Rather write about this partnership, which Film Works thought was fantastic, we decided to enlist the aid of FilmL.A.’s resident filmmakers: Scott Kradolfer and Brian Lipscombe to shoot a PSA.  Kradolfer and Lipscombe  helmed the first FilmL.A. promotional video, as well as a number of short films, spec commercials, and music videos.  Film Works would like to thank the two filmmakers for all of their hard work!

While filming the PSA on the lot of Los Angeles Center Studios, Film Works got the opportunity to get to know Cap Equity Location’s President Brian Capossela and Director of Business Development Jason Madison, who are both deeply concerned with the effect runaway production is having on California and Los Angeles.  “One of our goals with managing locations in a cost efficient and price sensitive manner is to help level the playing field and keep productions local,” said Madison.  Indeed, leveling the playing field is crucial, as the effect of film tax incentives in other states and nations has been to distort the playing field in their favor to overcome Hollywood’s comparative home field advantage.

In fact, Cap Equity Location’s promotional materials stress the growing concern in the community over runaway production:

Do you hate ‘runaway’ filming? We do. At Cap Equity Locations, we strive to keep productions in L.A. We would like to offer a complementary service to assist in your location search.  Because we’re affiliated with a full service real estate brokerage, we have unique tools, access, expertise and connections to non-traditional locations information.

Founded in 2009, Cap Equity Locations was started after Capossela and his team, who have backgrounds in real estate and information technology, discovered that there was a need for a location management service that had an effective online searchable database for properties.  More than this, Capossela said he felt there was a need for a location  service that was more responsive to the needs of individual productions.  “Their needs and requirements can change at the drop of a hat, and they need a company that can accommodate.” In effect, to better serve productions, Cap Equity Locations operates as though it were one.

The company has been focusing on making all of the properties it represents “Film Ready.”  According to Cap Equity’s facebook page, the concept is to “simplify logistics for film crews”.

Some of the properties Cap Equity represents include Disney’s El Capitan Theatre, The Rosslyn Hotel, Pepperdine University’s Business School and Palace Entertainment’s Los Angeles venues, such as Raging Waters.  And while Cap Equity’s list of clients is impressive, the work they do to facilitate filming at SRO’s properties is particularly commendable, given the goals SRO is striving to achieve:

In order to make the most significant impact on the neighborhood, SRO strategically clusters its properties. SRO Housing places much emphasis on preserving the housing stock that is viewed as housing of the last resort for low-income individuals. It provides a full continuum of housing (emergency, transitional, and permanent) in conjunction with a wide array of supportive services including food services, case management, information and referrals, transportation, community events, and more. As a result, SRO has done more than just develop hundreds of units of affordable housing. Against all odds, it has developed a safe and thriving community in the most impoverished area in the Western United States.

If having productions film at their locations helps SRO achieve these goals, and by all accounts it does, then that is how Film Works in California, Los Angeles, and most importantly, in Skid Row.