(Image is part of Jon Jackson’s Adios LA project)

California has long been the heart of the film industry. It saw huge growth throughout the early 1900s with huge investment in infrastructure and migration from the rest of the US. It’s perfect weather and vast landscapes were ideal for filming, and the glamorous lifestyle portrayed by movie stars helped the Los Angeles area blossom into a haven for anyone looking for a break.

With an incredible rise, there is often an inevitable fall. As society and technology changed, so did people’s social habits. Cinema wasn’t as popular once TVs, drive-thru fast-food and rock’n'roll came around. Whilst the LA population continued to sky rocket, the film industry was shook up. Paramount Pictures are now the last major film studio still headquartered in Hollywood, the other having moved around the city after the Golden Age had burned out. MGM went from selling 50 movies a year, to selling their Culver City studio lot. The decline is also re-iterated today, with recent financial struggles forcing production companies and film studios to scrutinize the economic impact of their works harsher than ever. Even still, MGM even had to file for bankruptcy just two months ago.

Many film projects have move across country, rather than having to pack up altogether; this is made possible and more common with technological advances. Equipment is better, faster, smaller, lighter. Projects can be worked on digitally, saving space and time for transport.

Last year I came across this interesting map of filming locations selected for visual similarities between each area and their worldwide counterparts. The map was used by Paramount Studios and is from around 1927.

Nowadays, the reality is that you can fly a team out to the middle of anywhere, and your running costs may even be cheaper than the LA equivalent. This recent report in the LA Times shares that “even with the increased activity, feature production remained less than half what it was in 1996, underscoring the long-term challenges L.A. faces as it struggles to keep movies and TV shows from leaving Southern California”

Things may be looking up. Film LA Inc. recorded an increase in commercial and television shoots over the last 12 months, although still some way off of where things were 15 years ago. The growth in using video as marketing and promotional tools means that every business is looking for talent to help expand their branding.

Is this enough to reel it back in? Are the new markets evolving fast enough to keep the film population in LA? Have YOU left LA? Have you taken work out of town? Would you never leave? Is all this complete bumpf? Share your thoughts below…

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In a Town Where Bigger is Usually Considered Better, Relaunching a Downsized ShowBiz Expo Just May Have Worked Out for the Best!

The Film, Stage and ShowBiz Expo is billed as “a five-star event that brings everyone in show business together under one roof.” Having been involved in the entertainment industry here in Southern California for almost thirty-five years (twenty-four of them as President of my own company, The Research Department), I had been a fairly regular attendee of this event when it was held annually in Los Angeles up to 2002. Since 2003, Producer Zachary Lezberg had been producing the twice-annual Film, Stage and ShowBiz Expo events only in New York City so I was excited to learn about his plans to “relaunch” the Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center on October 17, 2009.

Personally, I find the benefit of these events to be highly relational to an individual’s needs. In a nutshell, the day pretty much becomes what you make it. I always pack plenty of business cards, brochures and a notepad. Don’t worry if you forget your pen, you could have at least a half-dozen by the time you clear the first row of exhibitors. More importantly, I bring along a broadly optimistic attitude that goes something like this: if I make a new friend or business connection or reconnect with one old friend plus maybe learn a few new things then I figure it was worth my time.

For the full article, please head over to http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2330344/review_showbiz_expo_returns_to_los.html?singlepage=true&cat=2

Article by Christopher Darryn

The next Los Angeles ShowBiz Expo is scheduled for April 24th and 25th in 2010.

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