Television and film productions continue to face challenges in the wake of last year’s writers’ and actors’ strike, with local location filming down 12.4 percent from a year earlier in the April-June period, according to the report released on Wednesday.
FilmLA, the partner film office for the City and County of Los Angeles and other local governments, has released two reports covering local filmmaking activity and soundstage production, respectively.
The number of days of location shooting in the second quarter of 2024 was 5,749, with feature film days down 3.3% to 704 days and commercial film days down 5.1% to 817 days.
However, the biggest decline was in reality TV filming, which fell 56.9% to 868 filming days in the quarter.
However, as part of the larger television programming category, scripted content productions such as television drama productions saw an increase of 98.3% in filming days to 714 days, while television comedy productions saw an increase of 103% in filming days to 171 days.
The report also found that TV pilot production increased by 54.5%, to 17 filming days.
“Generally speaking, unscripted television is a location-heavy format that leads to huge amounts of permitting,” Philip Sokolowski, vice president of integrated communications for FilmLA, said in a statement.
“Reality TV production costs are lower than scripted television, and the projects are not eligible for incentives from the state of California. Yet they remain an important part of Los Angeles’ production economy.”
Other reality shows filming in the Los Angeles area last quarter included “Accident,” Oxygen’s “Suicide or Murder” and ABC’s “American Idol.”
Most of the feature film projects shooting in the Los Angeles area last quarter were independent films such as “Dreamquil” and “Lurker,” which benefited from the California Film and Television Tax Credit program.
Television shows filmed on location in Los Angeles last quarter included incentive-enrolled projects such as Netflix’s “Forever S1,” ABC’s “High Potential” and CBS’ “Matlock.”
Commercial production is not exempt from incentives in California, making it a more attractive target for other jurisdictions. In the Los Angeles metropolitan area, auto companies such as Ford and Honda are shooting commercials there in the second quarter, along with big brands such as Google and Lululemon.
The Writers Guild of America-Directors Association of America (SAG-AFTRA) labor dispute has led to a decline in industry production in 2023, but a “pattern of continued declines in production” was evident even before the strike began, according to FilmLA.
Over the past five years, the overall level of location filming over the summer has declined 33.4% from the five-year seasonal average, according to the report.
“Streaming content is in decline, and Los Angeles and many of our global competitors are still recovering from the paralysis that followed the strike,” Sokoloski said in a statement. “As labor negotiations continue in an era of shrinking content, workers in our industry are finding their opportunities diminished wherever they’re based.”
FilmLA analysts said that for studios that produce, buy and distribute entertainment content, a wave of consolidation, coupled with a fiscal austerity and investor focus on profitability over growing new subscribers, continues to limit investment in new content.
Sokolowski said the rest of the year “should look good on paper.” Increased production could be possible if contract negotiations go well and entertainment companies invest in new content, he said.
The report, which covers January through June 2023 as part of FilmLA’s regional study of soundstage occupancy and productions at certified studios, found that utilization of these facilities fell below 74%. This is also the lowest reported level of occupancy the organization has observed since the agency began its surveys in 2016.
During the study period, approximately 706 projects were filmed on stage. The level of feature film, television, and commercial projects produced on sound stages did not differ significantly from previous periods.
Non-film uses of stage equipment increased in early 2023, reaching approximately 17% of overall activity. Stage operators welcomed new non-film uses of unused stage equipment from early 2023 to the second half of the year.
FilmLA plans to release two more updates in the fall, highlighting productions on location and sound stages. The organization plans to release these updates every six months, in March and September of each year, beginning in 2025.