Area sees boom in TV shoots--but for how long?

What do counter-terrorism fighter Jack Bauer, foulmouthed saloon owner Al Swearengen and the doctors at the trauma center of County General Hospital have in common?

They all call the San Fernando Valley area their television home.

Hollywood may bring to mind big budget summer blockbusters and flashy premiers but it is television shows like "24," "Deadwood," and "ER" driving production in the Los Angeles area, the Valley area no exception.

"Television has increased dramatically and that's because there are hundreds of channels to watch now," said Steve McDonald, president of FilmLA, the not for profit agency that assists with the permitting process for filming. "People have demanded a lot of original programming and a lot of that programming is shows that are done here."

While the increase of television production in the face of a decline in feature film production is seen as a good news story, the dark cloud posing a threat is that eventually even the television shows will move away to other states offering a money-saving alternative to Los Angeles, industry watchers say.

FilmLA reported in June that the number of pilots shot in Los Angeles dropped to 81 compared with 105 shot in 2005. For the second quarter of 2006, overall on-location television production fell to 4,514 permit days as compared to 4,669 permit days in the second quarter of 2005.

The FilmLA stats do not include the television shows filmed on the lots of the major studios in the Valley.

Warner Bros. Studios has 10 audience rated stages at its Burbank facility. In Studio City, the 18 stages at CBS Studio Center can be accommodated for audiences. NBC Universal has seven audience rated stages at Universal City. The NBC Studios in Burbank is home to "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," and "Days of our Lives."

The Santa Clarita area is becoming a popular area to film with up to a half dozen television shows--including "The Unit" and "Deadwood"--based out of soundstages there, said Jason Crawford, a film liaison for the city.

Still, the number of permits for television filming show a rise compared to those of feature films, which dropped every year between 1997 and 2003. Permits increased in 2004 and 2005 but nowhere near the level of 1996 when more than 13,000 permits were issued.

Television, however, cannot make up for the loss of the feature films, especially for the crew people working the sets or for companies that supply equipment.

Lance Sorenson, owner of 24/7 Studio Equipment in Burbank, said that his business, started back in January, is working off the trend of more television production.

Varied needs

The type of show determines the length of time his lifts, forklifts, generators and light towers are in use, Sorenson said.

On a three-camera show like "The King of Queens" equipment is rented for the entire season but it may be just one or two lifts, Sorenson said.

"We work on the show "24" and that for us is a nice mix of short-term rental and long-term rental," Sorenson continued. "They need stuff for set construction and then for the grip and lighting guys when they are working on sets they need stuff for the whole run of the show."

The Santa Clarita Valley is beginning to see below the line firms, such as rigging company Branam Enterprises, which opened a new facility in Valencia in August, and Prime Post, a post production facility, move there.

The city encourages more of those peripheral businesses to relocate there, Crawford said.

"We have a lot of people who work below the line who live here so if we can get them to work here and not have to be on the freeway that's good for everyone," Crawford said.

The attractions for staying in Los Angeles are varied not the least which is the close proximity to studio offices.

"They're close and can keep an eye on how the money is being spent," said Steve Dayan, a business agent with the Teamsters Local 399 and a member of the FilmLA board of directors.

Wide disparity

Still, the gulf between what a below the line worker makes on a feature film compared with a television show is wide.

On a typical television show, 60 crew members can be employed while a feature film would employ up to 300, Dayan said.

So what is the solution to keeping the production in California?

The state needs to keep in step with other states luring away the production with tax incentives, McDonald said.

As more production takes place in other states, local crews get trained, infrastructure such as soundstages is built and peripheral businesses pop up, McDonald said.

"It doesn't mean that tax incentives have to be put in place that match other places, but there needs to be more concern about the middle class jobs leaving the state," McDonald said.

For Sorenson, who invested up to $15 million in equipment to get his business off the ground, he is confident that the work will always be here.

"Even when times are tough, people still want to escape," Sorenson said. "They want to go to a matinee; they want to see their favorite actors."

BY MARK R. MADLER Staff Reporter