Austin Film Commission Presentation — original pdf

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BRIAN GANNON, CFC | SR. DIRECTOR OF FILM MARKETING  Austin Film Commission ● ● ● There has been production in Austin for more than 50 years. Founded in 1986 and Association of Film Commissions International (AFCI) accredited. Both staff are certified film commissioners. Part of Visit Austin. Standard for city film commission to be housed within the Destination Marketing Organization (DMO). This rate is echoed in Texas and domestically. ● Market and sell Austin as a filming destination, working to bring film, television and commercial productions to the region, which creates jobs for area professionals, generates local spending and room nights as well as promotes the destination internationally. ● Advocates and supports productions filming in Austin by offering services to help filmmakers like: permitting guidance, promoting local hiring, facilities and Austin-based vendors as well as acting as a liaison with area film locations and pushing for competitive incentives. ● Worked with over 300+ feature films, 2 dozen television series and 2,500+ commercials that have filmed locally in the last nearly 40 years. ● Develop relationships with industry decision makers, filmmakers, and studios to directly market and pitch Austin. ● Host pre-production scouts for ready-to-film film and television series to win business – touring locations with filmmakers to familiarize them with Austin. ● ● Act as the intermediate between production companies and governing bodies, but does not finance or regulate. Advocate for production throughout our region. Though all productions rely on Austin resources, many local shoots film outside the city limits within the union 30-mile zone to achieve their needed looks. ● Market Austin at industry events, film festivals, conferences, and tradeshows. ● Promote Austin’s 25+ world-class film festivals and year round film events to locals and visitors alike. Lights, Camera, Austin! ● ● ● ● ● Austin has been a production hub for since the 1970s. Our professional crew base has the depth to handle multiple productions simultaneously. Working on film, television and commercial productions of all sizes over years, Austin crews have the technical expertise to always bring productions in on time, on budget and as the director envisioned. From PA to Producer, crew up with the AFC Production Directory. Austin rental houses can supply productions with the latest industry standard equipment. Save on shipping, as local camera, grip and lighting vendors stock the tools your shows need. From dollies to cranes, trailers and honeywagons— find local industry suppliers in the AFC Production Directory. 300+ days of sunshine means productions can film on location year-round. Direct flights to major markets from Austin makes travel easy for talent. People want to be in Austin, it’s home away from home with award winning cuisine, live music, premiere accommodations, a friendly atmosphere and great culture. Location, Location, Location! Austin is home to many unique terrains: From lakes to farmland to the hill country, it’s all within an hour of downtown! When Austin isn't playing itself, our modern downtown has doubled for cities like NYC. Company moves are cost effective: film in one of Austin's mid-century neighborhoods in the morning and on to one of the many film friendly Americana small towns that surround Austin in the afternoon. AFC Reel Scout Location Hub has photo coverage of over 1,000 properties with more scouted every day. We send customized packages to productions and feed location aesthetics to our public gallery to market Austin. We welcome any local residents or businesses to list their property, which provides amazing revenue. Austin has 20+ studio facilities and post-houses, providing small commercial spaces and large scale sound stages like ATX Film Studios (the biggest in Texas) and Austin Studios (which is a City of Austin partnership) and Troublemaker Studios. Conveniently located with amenities like on-site tech, offices, and support services. ● ● ● Austin Savings ● ● ● City of Austin Economic Development Department’s Austin Creative Content Incentive Program offers incentives of up to 0.75% to qualifying film and television projects based on wages paid to local residents by Austin-based productions. Productions save up to 8.25% due to a tax exemption on goods or services used or consumed directly during the production of film, TV and commercial projects – no matter productions budget level. The City of Austin provides qualifying productions with a large Austin spend (over $1 million for film/tv and over $100,000 for commercials) with use of up to two police officers free of charge to assist with traffic control and other public safety work. Improving Austin’s Film Permits Process ● ● ● ● ● Production moves fast – a shoot is like a large moving military drill. Smooth production means return business and reputation. Partnered with Austin Police Department and Transportation & Public Works Department to develop best practices with industry stakeholder buy-in on film friendly permitting processes. Implemented 3-5 day turnaround times on film permits to meet production needs that are industry standard. Streamlined protocols for APD integration, public sign-offs, closures, parking, traffic control and more. Enhanced communication for successful filming on public property – messaging regulations and conflict resolutions. Coordinate Los Angeles Missions In 2024 we pitched Austin to executives and decision-makers at: ● Warner/Discovery/HBO ● NBCUniversal ● Amazon ● Skydance ● Netflix ● ● Sony FX Studios Presented the “Tex-Factor” panel during the annual AFCI Week (Association of Film Commission International) with a panel of Austin luminaries speaking about our local industry. Sponsored the Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) Awards, which gave us access to pitch Austin to location professionals around the globe for future projects. PR, Advertising & Social Media Promotion ● Work with news media, agencies and comms team to pitch stories about Austin film stories. ● Run social media promotional campaigns across social media platforms highlighting local film, events and industry resources. ● Place ad buys (digital + print) and advertorial in industry trade publications marketing Austin. Location Tourism The Austin Film Tourism Guide on visitaustin.org highlights noteworthy film locations around Austin that were made famous on screen. We encourage visitors to check out these local businesses and attractions on their travels to Austin, with locations from over 25+ icon productions including: Blood Simple Spy Kids ● ● Queer Eye ● ● Walker ● Office Space ● ● ● ● Dazed & Confused Friday Night Lights Texas Chainsaw Massacre Fear the Walking Dead Generate Room Nights, Grow HOT & Sales Tax, TPID Service Plan ● Work to maximize Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) collection impact by assisting productions with hotel block contracting. ● Coordinate with our hotel partners to package deals to spur HOT generation with film, television and commercial production room nights. ● Generate sales tax indirectly via local job creation and directly via spending at Austin businesses by production. ● ● Spur organic promotion with Austin being featured in films, television series and brand commercials seen around the world (potential travel conversion). Implement the 25-20 Strategic Business Plan to keep hotel room nights robust during the Austin Convention Center redevelopment. Production Impact Examples ● Walker - Per season: About 1,700 room nights and averaged about $45 million-dollar local impact. The series ran for 4 seasons, all of which filmed in Austin and employed about a 150 person local crew. ● ● Fear the Walking Dead - Per season: 8,500 room nights and averaged about a $55 million-dollar local impact. The series filmed in Austin for seasons 4-7 with about a 250 person local crew. 1923 - An estimated local economic impact of about $38 million with about 26,000 room nights booked for their second season. Based in Austin, the production travelled throughout Texas during filming, employing about 200 Austinites. Recent Austin Projects Series: Brothers: Season 1 (Apple/Skydance) 1923: Season 2 (Paramount+) Bad Thoughts: Season 1 (Netflix) Yogurt Shop Murders (A24/Max) Walker: Seasons 4 (CW) Kitchen Nightmares (Fox) Films: Merrily We All Go Along (Blumhouse) Leads (Independent) Save Muny (Independent) Pearl (Independent) Due West (Independent) Party People (Independent) Texas Cult House (Independent) Commercials: Salesforce, HEB, Starbucks, Lowes, Target, Verizon, Ford, Progressive, Facebook, Heineken, Remax, CVS, Dell, Lincoln, Pfizer, Whole Foods, Toyota, Budweiser, Dodge, Clorox & many more! Texas Media Production Alliance Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program ● ● ● Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program (TMIIIP) is the tool to land most productions of note and compete against the like of Georgia and New Mexico. Texas Film Commission administers, TMIIIP which gives qualifying feature film, television and commercial productions up to a 22.5% cash grant based on a project’s Texas spend, including wages paid to Texas residents. During the 88th Legislative Session, a historic $200 million dollars was allocated to fund TMIIIP. TMIIIP Funding Per Biennium State of the Industry: Hollywood Recalibration ● ● Labor negotiations halted production for most of 2023/24. The outlook after has been very muted compared to the high-water mark set during the pandemic when Hollywood, specifically streamers were producing content at a level never seen. ● Now development slates are small and slow to move, theatrical is limited, production costs are higher, and there are few greenlights. ● ● The industry nationally has been impacted by inflation, studio consolidation, tighter budgets and most production is being exported abroad. Exporting of projects is due to: lower labor costs, beneficial currency exchange and countries providing extremely high incentives (40%+). Gained Legislative Support ● ● ● ● ● Statewide: The Chosen is a hit for Midlothian, Taylor Sheridan is shooting projects statewide, Magnolia Network makes Waco Texas’ top tourist attraction and True To Texas PSA champions Texas film incentives. Lieutenant Governor is pushing to “make Texas the Film Capital of America.” Texas Legislature proposed bills: SB 22 (Sen. Huffman) & HB 4568 (Rep. Hunter). Proposed legislation is cash grant appropriation of $500 million every 2 years for the next 10 years. This would ensure long-term funding needed for television and infrastructure investment. Base-rate of 25%. Up to 31% with mixing potential uplifts.