L.A. A COMMERCIAL MECCA HUGE CHUNK OF TV ADS SHOT IN SOCAL.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

Southern California is by far the most common location used when shooting television commercials in the U.S., with 46 percent of domestic shoots taking place here, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Association of Independent Commercial Producers.

The AICP survey, based on industry activity between July 1, 2002, and June 30, 2003, showed that Southern California is where 36 percent of all commercials are shot when international shoots are factored in.

``Given the cost of doing business in California, this is a good percentage,'' said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. ``We don't often stop to think about these people as we just look at mainstream filming activity. This is very, very important to us and generates a lot of business.''

New York is the second-most favored domestic location for commercial shooting, with 21 percent of domestic shoot days and 16 percent of shoot days overall. But nearly 25 percent of the domestic shoot days took place outside the major production centers of Southern California, New York, Chicago and Florida.

Meanwhile, 22 percent of the productions, or one out of every four shooting days, took place in foreign countries, mainly Canada, according to the survey.

The research, conducted for AICP by the Los Angeles-based research firm Goodwin Simon Strategic Research, showed that AICP members spent close to $3.5 billion on productions, with $2.7 billion of that spent domestically.

``This is by far the most comprehensive look ever taken at the commercial production industry,'' said Matt Miller, AICP president and chief executive officer. ``The data ... gives our members an unprecedented view into the workings of our industry and the results clearly illustrate that billions of dollars spent on commercial production is a major economic factor in production centers in the U.S. and around the world.''

The survey also included a report on community attitudes toward location shooting, with 50 percent of AICP members stating that this was an important factor in deciding whether to shoot domestically or in another country.

Other findings: an average of 70 percent of the commercial shoots take place on location as opposed to on soundstages and 53 percent of AICP members participate in some kind of incentive program that encourages domestic production.

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com