Film group finishing production guide 2010

About 650 crew members who work on regional film productions live in or near Wilmington. Another 100 or so local vendors tend to the needs of actors, crew and others employed on local sets.

Most will be listed in the 2010 Production Guide being prepared by the Wilmington Regional Film Commission.

The free guide features support services, crew, location and general area information. It’s provided to potential movie, television series and commercial producers who are considering shooting in the area.

The deadline for vendor advertising in the support services section of the film guide is Oct. 16. It’s a valuable tool for producers considering locating in a particular area, Film Commission Director Johnny Griffin said.

“Any time a film company is looking to go to a particular part of the country for work, they try to access a guide,” he said. “Before they come to town they use it to do their analysis and research. When movie people come here they don’t want to try to reinvent the wheel.”

The new 25 percent tax incentive for productions filmed in North Carolina becomes law Jan. 1, and Griffin anticipates a busy year for crew members and vendors.

“Going into the new year with the incentive we expect things to pick up immediately in 2010,” Griffin said. “We have always had superior locations, crew and support services, and now that our incentive program is competitive, we should be a default location of choice. That is why we want to get the 2010 production guide in key hands as soon as possible.”

Crew members can list their services and experience for inclusion in the film guide on the Film Commission’s Web site, www.wilmingtonfilm.com

The same crew and support services information included in the guide is also available on the Web site, Griffin said.

The service to crew members is free. Vendors pay for advertising to help offset the cost of putting out the production guide.

When film companies are in town, “they use (the guide) as a reference book” for a wide range of services that range from lumber to hotels to portable toilets, Griffin said.

Vendors must be flexible and work within a production’s schedule.

“By advertising in the book you’re sort of reaching out to the film industry and saying, ‘We want to do business with you,’” Griffin said.

The production guide also includes location photographs that give producers an idea of filming possibilities in the region.

The four-color, bound guide is free and distributed to producers and film executives at trade shows and meetings in California. It’s also available at the film commission office.

The 2010 edition will total about 280 pages. It will go to press in December and be available in January. Griffin said between 1,000 and 1,500 copies will be printed.

“When (producers) are in town, they use it as sort of a local film industry phone book,” he said.