LOS ANGELES (KNX) — Filming in the Los Angeles area hit an all-time high in the last quarter of 2021, according to FilmLA, the partner film officer for the City and County of Los Angeles.
According to the report, on-location filming in the fourth quarter of 2021 set a quarterly record of 10,780 shoot days. It was a 4% increase from the previous record of 10,359 shooting days set in 2018.
Even though production ramped up in 2021, by year-end the region’s 37,709 shoot days finished below the previous peak of 39.627 shoot days in 2016, according to Fox Los Angeles.
Despite a successful quarter, the Omicron surge in COVID cases in the county poses a threat to future filming.
"As we approached the Christmas holidays, which is typically a time when much production ceases, we began to see production companies canceling permits and delaying production. By the time January started, we saw a lot of companies deciding not to start. We're down about 40% from normal for January,” said Paul Audley, the President of FilmLA.
Audley added some larger productions are on hold right now compared to reality TV and commercial filming.
"We have great hopes that this omicron variant will crash as fast as it has gone up and people will get back to work. If that happens, we do anticipate the industry coming back full steam again. The California film and tax credit has had an impact on bringing film back to the region so we would anticipate a stellar year once we get past this surge in the pandemic," said Audley.
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