Local Location Filming Levels Recover 15 Percent in 2010

As FilmL.A. announced earlier this month, on-location filming across all permit categories in Los Angeles increased nearly 15 percent last year, with 43,646 permitted production days (PPD) recorded by year’s-end in 2010 compared to just 37,979 PPD in 2009. One permitted production day (PPD) is defined as a single crew’s permission to film a single project at a single defined location during any given 24-hour period.

Within the filming subcategories, Commercials posted the strongest annual gain, increasing 28.1 percent to 6,778 PPD in 2010 vs. 5,292 PPD in 2009. The year-over-year increase was the category’s largest since tracking began in 1993, and that was enough to push the category to its second strongest annual showing on record.

On-location Feature production posted an annual gain of 8.1 percent to 5,378 PPD in 2010 vs. 4,976 in 2009. Interestingly, the increase can be wholly attributed to the existence of California’s Film and Television Tax Credit, which drove 26 percent of all local Feature production for the year (totaling 1,400 PPD).

Were it not for these projects, 2010 would have been the worst year on record for on-location Feature filming in Los Angeles. As it stands, that record is held by the year 2009, when the Features category finished 64 percent below its historical peak (4,976 PPD in 2009 vs. 13,980 in 1996).

Television production posted an 11.9 percent increase to 17,833 PPD in 2010 vs. 15,933 PPD in 2009. TV Sitcoms and TV Reality were up 77.9 percent and 46.6 percent, respectively, while TV Dramas were down 18.9 percent and TV Pilots down 8.6 percent.

“On balance, the numbers are positive, and I am cautiously optimistic about 2011,” said FilmL.A.’s Paul Audley of the new data. “Hopefully this year the upward trend will continue and we’ll see our state and region win back more entertainment projects and jobs once taken for granted,” Audley added.