Los Angeles’ film and TV production off to slow restart

The FilmLA office is fielding about a third of the number of film permits it typically would, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

With production slowly restarting in and around Los Angeles, the industry is getting its first snapshot of what film activity in the region looks like.

FilmLA, a partner film office for the city and county of Los Angeles and other local jurisdictions, is offering up some filming stats, beginning when production got underway in the region on June 19, just days after the office got the green light to begin processing film permits on June 15, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Since that time, FilmLA has received approximately 577 film permit applications from 422 different projects. Their daily application intake has increased marginally over time, growing from approximately 14 applications per day in late June to 18 per day in late July.

It’s roughly 34 percent of the application count FilmLA would expect under normal conditions, and is largely commercial projects (i.e. still photography and commercials).

Recently, though, TV Reality production has started to resume.

“It is not an exaggeration to say that there are few other industries seeking to reopen as responsibly as the film business,” said FilmLA president Paul Audley. “Hundreds of smaller projects have successfully applied safe set practices as outlined in state and local public health orders. Meanwhile, continuing dialogue between studio and labor representatives is driving focused attention to cast, crew and vendor safety and compliance.”

FilmLA expects overall filming activity to remain low until scripted television and feature production pick up — which isn’t expected until early September.

At the moment, all 16 of the city and county jurisdictions served by FilmLA are open to filming, and one of the six school districts served by FilmLA has also reopened to host filming and base camp parking on campus. Those areas can be found at FilmLA’s COVID-19 Resource Center.

“As production continues to pick up, it’s essential that the hosting communities are assured about the industry’s commitment to safety,” added Audley. “Being closed to the public, the physical film production environment is among the safer work settings available to essential workers in California. The presence of a film company, working with a valid permit and adhering fully to County health orders, is something we hope local communities will welcome.”