LOCATION PRODUCTION FLAT FEATURE FILMS CONTINUE DECLINE WHILE TV SHOOTS AT ALL-TIME HIGH.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

Location production of feature films continued a steady decline in the Los Angeles area during 2003, recording the lowest level of activity in nine years. In contrast, television production was at an all-time high, according to year-end figures released Wednesday by the Entertainment Industry Development Corp.

But overall, 2003 numbers were nearly equal to the year before with a scant decrease of 0.4 percent.

``We saw a huge bump in feature work in December that I think is worth noting because it bodes well for feature work in 2004,'' said Lisa Rawlins, chairwoman of the EIDC's board of directors. ``You always want to see more, and I think there's a lot of room for growth.''

December location production figures, also released Wednesday, did help to end the year on a high note.

Film production days numbered 680 during the month, a 22.3 percent jump compared with a year earlier. Among the projects shooting around town were the Tom Cruise thriller ``Collateral,'' the Sandra Bullock-Brendon Fraser drama ``Crash,'' the Adam Sandler romantic comedy ``Spanglish'' and the Keanu Reeves thriller ``Constantine.''

In the television category, 2003 production boomed with 14,395 days compared with 12,870 for the prior year. This marked the highest number of television production days since the EIDC was created in 1995.

``We are pleased with the level of television,'' Rawlins said. ``There are also huge stage shows like 'Gilmore Girls' that are filmed locally but don't ever leave the studio lot.''

The 887 December television production days were a 75-day improvement over 2002. Among the television series currently shooting on location are the CBS dramas ``The District'' and ``Judging Amy''; the NBC comedy ``Scrubs,'' the ABC legal drama ``The Practice,'' the WB's ``Charmed'' and the Fox action-drama ``24.''

In December, commercials enjoyed their second-busiest month of activity all year with 620 days of activity reported. Only March was busier with 706 days.

``I think it's encouraging and continues to show that we're seeing bits and pieces of recovery,'' said Steve Caplan, the Association of Independent Commercial Producers' senior vice president of external affairs. ``We had a strong month and hope it continues into the new year.''

Overall, commercials showed a slight increase from 5,615 days in 2002 to 5,701 days last year. Caplan said even the slight increase pales in comparison to where things were prior to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the economic downturn that followed.

``In order for this to be a long-term recovery, we need the whole year to be strong,'' Caplan said. ``If productions are going to come back here, we need to be competitive with the global marketplace and make sure Los Angeles is a friendly place to film.''

In the category of music video production, activity dropped from 1,410 days in 2002 to 1,208 days last year. In December, music videos had their lowest numbers in all of 2003 with just 58 production days recorded. That was nearly 100 days fewer than 12 months earlier.

The EIDC statistics reflect on-location shooting in the city of Los Angeles, the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, and the cities of West Hollywood, Diamond Bar and South Gate.

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com

BY THE NUMBERS

Location filming in the Los Angeles area was flat in 2003, dipping less than 1 percent from 2002's totals. Here is a monthly breakdown that encompasses movies, television, commercials and music videos:

January........3,177

February.......4,214

March..........4,739

April..........3,761

May............2,853

June...........2,650

July...........3,419

August.........3,912

September......3,617

October........4,203

November.......4,242

December.......3,444

TOTAL.........44,231

Source: Entertainment Industry Development Corp.

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BY THE NUMBERS (see text)