The year 2009 was a tough one for the local film, television and commercial production industry, but there were some things worth touting. It was the first full year of operation for our Online Permit System (OPS), which has significantly improved the film permit coordination process by allowing our customers to apply for and track the progress of their film permits online. The number of registered OPS users grew to over 3,800 last year, so FilmL.A. staff did some investigating to uncover the top user, which happens to be CSI: NY Location Manager Tim Hillman.
CSI: NY regularly films in Los Angeles, and Tim pulled 83 permits for his show since OPS was launched. “The ease of access is one of OPS’ greatest features,” said Tim. “I really appreciate being able to log on from anywhere, view drafts and updates and print completed permits as a PDF for both hard copy and email distribution to assistants that may be out of the office but need the permit in hand first thing in the morning,” he added.
In a notable coincidence, the runner-up was Location Manager Paul Wilson of CSI, the original series that started the franchise.