Local Incentives
Orange County is working to bring more lights, camera, action to the region.
The Orange County Film Incentive Workgroup is is fine tuning the details of a local film incentive program in the next month or so, according to John Lux, Executive Director of Film Florida and also part of the workgroup.
Florida is one of 13 states without a statewide incentive program after eliminating the program in 2016. Out of the 67 counties in Florida, 6 have film incentives programs.
However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that Florida is among the top 5 states for people working in the arts, media, and entertainment industry.
Lux said they’re working on 3 programs to bring more production to the county.
“One program that is really focused on the local filmmakers, very low budgets, matching grants, essentially to help them get their shorts or small films finished,” he said.
The group is also working on a program to boost the amount of commercials filmed in the area, and a rebate program to incentivize productions to film in Orange County.
The Orange County Film Incentive Workgroup is seeking funds for the incentives from the general fund as well as tourism development tax (TDT) dollars. During an October 29 Orange County commission meeting, the group suggested a five year commitment totaling $22 million for the incentive program.
Lux said using TDT dollars to fund the incentive program will help the program pay for itself.
“Really what's important is that people are seeing Orange County on the big screen, small screen, mobile screens,” he said. “And that it is enticing them to then come here, spend their tourism dollars, and recoup that money into the tourism development coffers in terms of hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions.”
With no statewide measures in place, incentives vary from county to county.
Compared to budgets for incentives in other counties, Lux said what they hope Orange County can offer will sweeten a deal but won’t attract the next Marvel movie.
“We're going to see a good stream, hopefully, of Made-for-TV movies, (like) those Lifetime (or) Hallmark type movies, maybe some cable television series,” he said. “Bits and pieces of major feature films would come in at the budget ranges we're talking about. So I think it's a good starting point.”
Lux said an average made-for-TV movie spends $75,000 per day in a location, and cable television shows spend $100,000 to $150,000 a day in the locations they film.
“And those projects film for anywhere from two to six months. So you do that quick math, that's a pretty fast influx of $20 to $25 million going right in the pockets of local businesses and individuals that are here in Central Florida,” he said.
Challenges
It’s been nearly 10 years since Florida ended a statewide incentive program, which means many workers in the industry have left the state for work.
“That is a bit of a concern about the amount of workers that are still here, and could they fulfill all the roles if a major feature film comes in, or maybe a feature film and a television series at the same time,” said Lux.
He said they're working with workforce development groups and local unions to get a better understanding of the workforce not just in Orange County, but in surrounding Central Florida counties as well.
Ideally, Lux said statewide incentives would be the best option as the patchwork of incentive programs across the state often creates trouble.
“Producers don't know, nor do they necessarily care, where a county line starts and ends. So if there's a specific location in County A, but their incentive is in County B. That makes it difficult on the producer, and in that case, it makes it a little bit less user friendly. So we would certainly prefer a statewide program,” he said.
Competition
For those who may think film incentives are unnecessary to get productions in Florida, Lux said to look at the history.
“In the last decade, since we have not had a program, we've gone from top five of film and television production to literally not even in the top 20 rankings,” he said. “We've lost more than 100 major feature films in the last couple of years that would have spent more than $2 billion here in the state.”
Lux said in order to be more competitive, these incentives must be put in place.
“I heard a colleague of mine over the last week say, ‘they use the term show business for a reason.’ It is a business, and so businesses will always go where they find the better financial arrangement for them and where they think they're going to get the best bang for their buck. And unfortunately, right now, from a statewide perspective, that's not Florida.”
