Film commissions play a pivotal role in the entertainment industry by serving as local, regional, or national offices dedicated to supporting a wide range of production types, including film, television, music videos, games and other media productions within their jurisdictions.
Established under government or nonprofit bodies, film commissioners are an essential ally to a producer or inbound production, assisting productions with their needs while simultaneously supporting and endorsing their local communities and workforces. Film commissions not only promote their region’s cultural and natural assets but also facilitate significant economic development by attracting productions that bring jobs, tourism, and business to local communities.
Types of Film Commissions
Film commissions vary depending on their jurisdiction’s structure, authority, and scope. The type of commission structure depends on the area’s economic goals and available resources. While some operate independently, many film commission offices are integrated into larger entities like tourism or economic development departments. They work closely with both film production and regional development.
Below are the most common structures:
- City and Municipal Film Commissions: These focus on promoting film activities within a city or town. They offer permitting and local information resources and may liaise with larger regional or state commissions for coordination.
- Regional Film Commissions: Often covering broader areas, regional commissions coordinate closely with local government and community resources. They may assist productions with location scouting, regional incentives, logistical support across multiple municipalities, and more.
- State or Provincial Film Commissions: Most of the time, these have more comprehensive support systems, including financial incentives, networking with other governmental bodies, and promotional efforts to attract productions from outside the state or province.
- National or Federal Film Commissions: At the highest level, national commissions establish film-friendly policies and advocate for the country as a global production destination. They typically focus on international collaboration and incentives.
The Role of a Film Commission
At their core, film commissions are tasked with creating an inviting environment for film, television, and multimedia productions.
This mission can vary from promoting local sites as filming locations to facilitating complex logistics that allow film crews to work smoothly. As the main facilitator between productions and the community, here are a few core roles a film commission office plays in helping their community at large.
Location Scouting Assistance
Film commissions often maintain a digital location library that features unique landmarks, scenic backdrops, and accessible venues for film projects and office space. Having everything organized in one digital location saves production teams time and energy while also allowing them to showcase the highlights of your region and market key areas of interest.
A film commission and its staff often assist producers and production teams with site visits during the pre-production process. This also includes identifying locations that are in close proximity to other needed sites, helping a production minimize travel time and save money.
Permitting and Regulatory Support
Both small and large productions need to understand a jurisdiction’s regulations. These permits and regulations vary by city, state, county and country, making film commissions an invaluable resource when it comes to securing specific filming permits. They are knowledgeable and have the connections to ensure the correct permits are acquired, as well as ensure filming activities are authorized and compliant with local laws. This can include everything from managing road closures, obtaining permissions for special effects, coordinating with public safety departments and more.
Incentive Guidance
Many regions offer tax credits or rebates to incentivize film production. Film commissions guide production teams through these financial benefits, helping them tap into available incentives that reduce costs and add appeal to filming in a specific location. They also work closely with their governments to establish or lobby for incentives.
Incentives can help sway specific productions in their area, so film commissions continually allocate and advocate for them to be used and redeemed by productions that come to their region.
Providing Local Crew and Vendor Resources
When a production comes to town, they are not going to be as tapped into the local market as a film commission office. One of the key areas that film commission offices can assist with is maintaining databases of local crew, equipment suppliers, and vendors, enabling productions to source locally. Using locally sourced crew and supplies can often affect the tax incentive offered and is a major cost-saving for a production company to outsource in a local market versus bringing in a crew and supplies from out of state, country, town, etc.
Liaison Services
Commissions serve as intermediaries between film productions and government agencies, local businesses, and communities. They assist with necessary connections, such as access to police, transportation departments, and local governance, to ensure smooth operations. The staff at a film commission regularly work on building strong connections with their local community to make any film production as seamless as possible for both parties.
Marketing and Promotion
Film commissions actively market their region through various event activations such as film festivals, film expos, markets and other industry-specific gatherings where filmmakers and decision-makers are invited to learn more about the region. This is a great opportunity to showcase their region and answer any questions a potential production team may have before committing to a location.
Why Film Commissions are Essential to Community Growth
Film commissions foster economic growth and local job creation, often yielding significant long-term benefits for a community. Here are five ways that film commissions impact communities:
1. Job Creation
Productions often require extensive manpower, from directors and producers to crew members and support staff. By attracting film projects, commissions provide opportunities for local workers in trades such as carpentry, transportation, catering, hospitality and more. This demand creates jobs and supports workforce development, especially in smaller communities that may not have many other high-demand industries.
2. Boosting Tourism
As a media consumer, you might be familiar with the fact that a specific location can quickly become a point of interest for fans and tourists. This phenomenon is known as “film tourism.” Communities featured in films can experience an influx of visitors wanting to see iconic filming locations firsthand, which drives tourism revenue to local businesses like hotels, restaurants, and tour companies.
In some regions, the Department of Tourism and the local film commissions work very closely with each other to create a welcoming environment for tourists and even dedicate photo opportunities, dedicated tours, special events and more to attract film enthusiasts.
3. Promoting Cultural Heritage
Film commissions don’t just promote a region’s landscapes; they help share their location’s unique culture, history, and heritage with a global audience. This is particularly true for films that showcase traditional sites, historical landmarks, and local customs, increasing public awareness and pride in the community’s cultural assets.
This is becoming even more important as sustainability becomes a priority for production companies and governments to preserve their culture sites.
4. Local Business Growth
Productions need local services ranging from equipment rentals to catering, transportation, and accommodation.
As a result, many small businesses in the community experience increased patronage. Over time, some regions build a network of businesses and resources that become established as reliable film production hubs, drawing steady business from the film industry.
5. Community Engagement and Education
Film commissions often work with local educational institutions to create internships, workshops, and training programs that prepare the next generation of filmmakers and media professionals. This collaboration not only equips students with practical skills but also fosters a community that values and supports the film industry. Fostering this opportunity for young filmmakers is a great way to help the economy, keep local support and further support the industry in your community.
Conclusion
Film commissions play an indispensable role in bridging the film industry with local communities, driving economic benefits, cultural visibility, and job creation.
By facilitating productions that create jobs, boost tourism, and support local businesses, film commissions bring lasting value to their regions. Whether by supporting a single independent film or hosting a major studio production, film commissions are a cornerstone of economic and cultural vitality in communities worldwide.
You might be interested in learning more about our Film Commission Fundamentals course.
