CMU School of Drama


Thursday, October 15, 2020

Pandemic Pushes Los Angeles Production Down 54%

Variety: The COVID-19 pandemic pushed down location production in the Los Angeles area by 54%, FilmLA reported on Wednesday.

The permitting agency’s data showed 4,199 shoot days from July through September. Reality TV was up 10.3% to 1,159 shoot days, while commercials slid 41.2% to 782 days. Paul Audley, longtime president of FilmLA, said production is poised for a moderate recovery during the current quarter.

3 comments:

Nicolaus Carlson said...

I have been watching the effects of production in Loa Angeles for since the start of this pandemic on a firsthand basis and second. This article goes over things I noticed but what is interesting are the numbers and data, and the more recent things occurring. I find it odd that we have been in this pandemic for quite some time and as it continued to push on, we started to find a way to return. But now it appears we are losing that push on production and there is not really an explanation as to why. It is a weird thing to notice that the curve has only so recently started and so quickly gone up and back down in terms of production moving forward, and production shooting on location or on site. Location shooting was so previously an incredibly important part of filming with some movies even being filmed entirely on site. Hopefully, we can make a quick turnaround and get back to making.

Kanvi Shah said...

All of the numbers provided in this article served as a great basis for the arguments made, and each fact that was thrown at me really helped me grasp a better understanding of what is happening in LA and in the production industry. As with almost any industry right now, I find it crazy how we shut down everything at the beginning of the pandemic and, now, as things continue to get worse, we open up again. I understand we needed that time to figure out how exactly we could go back in the midst of all of the issues that come with "being normal" but seeing how many different shows and ads have been filmed in the last few months makes me question if it's really possible that returning to production is not adding to the problem. In this article, Audley sounds fairly convinced that they are doing the right thing, the right way, and I guess I'll just have to find a way to trust that.

Shahzad Khan said...

I think that these numbers are showing a new trend in Hollywood and for the film industry that I'm really curious to see in the next few seasons and years. I think that we're going to find that shows aren't as big and robust as say a 500 person Game of Thrones battle, but more subdued and intimate with smaller cast sizes. I think that the pandemic has also added a cool edge to reality tv shows like Keeping Up With The Kardashians or Selling Sunset who get to incorporate their day to day lives dealing with COVID and the pandemic. Film companies are technically able to open relatively safely, it isn't always the best idea but with minimization and the nature of film, you can manage with small numbers of people, proper PPE, and a lot of money. Thankfully, most larger film and television companies can afford it- but know that they can still make a revenue through streaming.