Dearth of features sends production levels plunging. (Media & Technology).

Consecutive months of dismal feature film production levels have erased gains made earlier in the year and are dashing hopes for a recovery in the number of local production jobs.

L.A.-area location filming for movies, television, commercials and music videos was down 16 percent in May compared with the like period a year earlier, according to the Entertainment Industry Development Corp., which issues film permits in Los Angeles County. In April, there was a 15 percent drop.

The decline was most pronounced in feature film production, where the May total of 824 production days was down 24 percent from a year earlier. The April numbers were even worse, with feature filming on location dipping 41 percent from the like period in 2002.

"We had such a big jump in January and February it's possible that the production cycle is a couple of months behind," said Darryl Seif, vice president and general manager of operations for the EIDC. "But (the numbers) took us by surprise. It was much lower than expected."

Meanwhile, the number of local workers employed in film and television production declined by roughly 12,000 in the first four months of the year, to 113,900, according to Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. That's down from a high of 146,000 local production workers in 1999.

"Employment is running significantly below last year's levels," said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the LAEDC. "It's very hard to figure out. If you look at the trades you can see that people are planning films, yet is hasn't translated to crews on the streets and people employed."

One reason cited for the recent dip is an artificial bump in feature filmmaking in Los Angeles earlier this year due to travel fears spurred by the war in Iraq and, to a lesser extent, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

But with year-to-year numbers also showing a substantial decline there is concern about the region's inability to regain production jobs that have been lost over the past few years.

Working away

The drop in local production does not necessarily correlate to fewer projects.

Last year's record-breaking box office tally and a strong up-front advertising period for the fall television season have kept production running at a decent clip. There are just fewer projects being shot in Los Angeles.

In mid-February for example, 21 major studio films were in production, with 14 being shot in part, if not completely in Los Angeles, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Of the 27 major studio films in production last week, only 10 were being made in Los Angeles, the same number as in Canada.

Local television workers are also feeling the sting of runaway production despite a record number of cable channels and more original content than ever.

Year-to-date, on-location television filming was even with 2002, but Eric Schotz, president and chief executive of Encino-based LMNO Productions, which concentrates on reality programming, said, "across the board, we are being asked to make more TV with less money."

While many lower budget, unscripted shows have remained in town, the more labor-intensive one-hour dramas and movies of the week are going elsewhere in the U.S. or to Canada.

"Now, more than ever, people are worried about the economics of the shoot," said Schotz, whose company recently wrapped filming in Nevada on a reality show for NBC called "Race to the Altar." "Nevada doesn't have any sales tax. On that alone we saved a fortune."

Despite the recent dip, strong activity at the beginning of the year has kept the overall numbers about 2 percent ahead of 2002. And despite the recent lull, there is an expectation that production levels will pick up by mid-summer.

"The production cycle is not so much yearly anymore as it comes in waves. It's slowed down quite a bit and we seem to be in between sets of waves," said Dale Duko, studio manager for Culver City-based Century Studio Corp., which operates nine sound stages.

Earlier this year, Century Studios was booked with Universal's "American Wedding" and DreamWorks' "Surviving Christmas," but for much of May and into June the facility was idle. Recently, Duko said he rented space to NBC for a series called "Las Vegas" and is in talks with CBS and DreamWorks on two other projects.

"It's been more of a question mark than a concern," Duko said of the slowdown. "It looks like activity is going to pick up again this summer."

Another positive sign is that jobs have actually increased somewhat this year among independent artists, a category that includes writers and others employed by the entertainment industry.

"That's a sign that there may be more production down the road," Kyser said. "I was looking for more of a recovery and it's not there, so you scratch your head and hope it picks back up soon."

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