Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutEmail from Sam Jernigan of Northeast CA Counties Film Commission Sweeney, Kathleen From: S.A. "Sam" Jernigan [info©FilmNortheastCACounties.com] Sent: Thursday, October 10, 2013 3:28 PM Subject: For Butte County--film commission updates Attachments: Why Butte County Needs A Film Office.pdf Hi again — In case you missed our update email from last month, it appears below.We've hosted a variety of filming thus far so here's a recap for you of our recent projects, pending opportunities for our region, plus what's in the pipeline --and please do note this article was written for Nevada County residents. It also includes a sidebar w/"film office facts-at-a-glance," and a tally of the$71,700 of revenue generated in Nevada County from on-location filming the film commission's facilitated thus far year-to-date: http://www.theunion.com/news/localnews/8336041-113/film-production-filminq-county (although for some reason the attribution paragraph with our contact information and reference to our appt. by the Board of Supervisors to officially represent Nevada County was left off, we've been trying to get that corrected) And here's the link to the radio interview I had on KNCO-AM last week which provides a good introduction to the benefits of on-location filming for communities: www.FilmNortheastCACounties.com/KNCO.mp3 And both of these links are also hosted on our website. FYI, the second Travel Channel opportunity we developed was first offered to Butte County and we reached out to the Chico and Oroville Chambers to try to find a suitable hotel makeover candidate but none could be sourced (and we're now in touch with the Paradise Chamber as well). However our growing rapport with this production company who produce Hotel Impossible led to a recent request by them to find a unique type of accommodation which we sourced just outside Oroville, and that possibility is pending. Regarding potential locations for the new TV series we've worked diligently to bring to our area, we're hopeful they're going to be filming multiple episodes in various locales in our 4-county region given the show's underground theme as previously shared. So we've been sourcing caves & mines predominantly and have also lined up a local caves expert/geologist team to serve in an advisory capacity for them -- and also are planning on determining the viability for the legendary Chico tunnels to possibly be used as well as that was a follow-up request we've received from the production company("old abandoned tunnels"specifically). This series will be airing on a major cable network. Additionally a 1-page synopsis of our project, "Why Butte County Needs A Film Office" is also attached -- FYI, this normally accompanies other materials in our introductory packet so that's why there's no contact info currently included on this piece. Hoping you can find a moment to read the newspaper article, synopsis, and/or listen to the radio interview. Just wanted to provide you with this update of our nonprofit organization's continuing good faith effort to deliver the economic benefits of this new"commercial tourism" revenue to our communities, and the upcoming projects planning to film both in Butte County as well as elsewhere in our 4-county region... Cheers, Sam (Ms.)S.A."Sam"Jernigan Film Commissioner Northeast CA Counties Film Commission www.FilmNortheastCACounties.com 530.868.7077 1 On 9/11/2013 3:26 PM, S.A. "Sam" Jernigan wrote: Hello again — I'm SO pleased and excited to share with you the culmination of a 9-month development effort to bring a new TV series to film here--just got the word late yesterday. This was developed from scratch beginning with my initial outreach last December and has now culminated in the upcoming filming of a new TV series in our region!! To recap, I've been dealing directly with the VP of Development for an LA based production company, originally sending him a "History of Hauntings" I'd created given our area's paranormal activity as this company produces dozens of TV shows and they were the producers of about half a dozen paranormal reality shows. This lead to receiving a phone call from their head of development as he wanted to share with me that the network's interest in this genre had waned but said they were considering now moving onto a scripted series on hauntings, so I launched in re: how ideal it would be to set that storyline here in a locale that already is well-documented for ghostly goings-on, and subsequently routed him the Snapshot(e.g. our interim "location library" intro to our 4- county region). Following up with him in January he said he did have interest in filming here but the new series wouldn't be something they'd begin working on until June or so. Thereafter I stayed in touch with him once a month or so, providing some updated versions of the Snapshot along with other developments including our work to implement zero-cost-per-day film permits by widely distributing to cities and counties the sample film ordinance/film permit from the CA Film Commission, creating filming incentives with local hotels (incl. comps for location scouts when available), etc. Just recently in August, I sourced an old abandoned hospital in Nevada City for the filming of a music video with an apocalypse/zombie (I)theme. With the photos of the creepily charming facility in hand, I followed up with this VP of Development in L.A., Bill, as that looked like something that could serve as a potential setting for their hauntings series and the property's not slated for re-development for at least another year(so the owner was thrilled to host this one-day filming and pocketed an $800 location fee from the production company). In following up with him, he shared they'd now switched their focus to a series set in caves --and I told him we have caves + abandoned mines too. So for the past 2 weeks I've been to a site visit with a local to photograph caves here in Nevada County plus have been sourcing experts/locations there in Butte too as well as Plumas and Sierra. And also lined up a geologist who has longtime knowledge of the local terrain and the expertise to help keep a filming crew safe in working underground as well. And yesterday I was Delighted to receive an email from Bill telling me the deal for the new TV series is now being finalized and he's ready to start looking for locations and he knows what he's looking for can be found here!! I called him immediately upon rcvg. his wonderful news yesterday afternoon as I wanted to let him know I've been working on assembling a booklet for him since we spoke and that I just rcvd. 20 more pics from another local caves expert in addition to the ones I took on my expedition last week -- I mostly wanted to assure him that, including mines, he will find the diversity he's looking for here in our 4-county region as they want the setting to vary each episode, so this has Terrific possibilities collectively for us re: multiple filmings. This is yet another reason why the bundling of our 4-counties under the umbrella of a single full-time film office is SO beneficial from a production company's standpoint. As long as I'm sharing an update, also wanted to mention that I recently assisted the pre- filming production of a Land Rover commercial in Truckee with a sizable 60-person crew which generated a whopping $40K there including hiring of local technical crew, as did the music video, and I worked extensively with that LA based producer beforehand as well. So along with the music video plus the filming of the Travel Channel episode earlier this year, the tally of revenue generated here in Nevada County has been $71,700 YTD. And the episode of Hotel Impossible featuring the historic Holbrooke Hotel in Grass Valley will begin airing this next Monday 9/16 plus will be re-airing thereafter, likely for years to come. So hopefully we'll see the resulting tourism spike before long from that 2 introduction to the Travel Channel's nationwide audience....and beyoi id. Also working on the upcoming filming of a new food/travel TV show, The California Table (as referenced in the recent production development synopsis I routed you), as well as sourcing restaurant makeover candidates and have some good leads there in Butte Co. for this opportunity-- so we're continuing to gain traction and momentum here at the film commission in delivering this promising new source of revenue (plus increased visibility) for our region... Cheers & thanks — Sam (Ms.)S.A."Sam"Jernigan Film Commissioner Northeast CA Counties Film Commission www.Fi l m NortheastCACou nties,com 530.868.7077 3 Nr.,:,d., num.,. Se �'- '' ; ,,' F . I%Inato 'ean,° needs a "hint office" %• The time is now for Butte County to leverage its natural and architectural assets ' via this specialized representation to the entertainment industry so your county's economy can [finally!] obtain your fair share of this lucrative niche sector of on-location filming. itt.at ttisa{itdWwtdix Given the withering contraction of revenue and resulting cutbacks in recent years,this new source of income is a welcome and promising antidote to the "new normal." C. This category of"commercial tourism"spreads far more broadly and deeply throughout a host locale's business community than traditional tourism(including to individual property owners), and can also actively serve to enhance and expand your existing tourism efforts. The Northeast CA Counties Film Commission is employing a highly targeted and entrepreneurial approach to this economic development mission built upon 15+years of marketing/media relations/business development expertise. This professional background includes the demonstrated track record of new business development already achieved inside the entertainment industry—an essential distinction as this unique industry operates unlike any other and our existing knowledge, resources, and contacts provide us with a significant competitive advantage. :• The bundling of these 4 small contiguous counties provides the dual benefit of making our offering far more diverse and compelling, and also makes this robust full-time operation financially viable as only fractional funding is required by each county, none of whom are in a position to finance this full-time enterprise independently—and a film office must be full-time in order to be effective. A film office serves as a magnet for filming activity because it conveys to location scouts/managers and production companies that a locale is film-friendly as well as production-ready--something we've already been actively working to achieve regionally in addressing the pervasive issue of missing film permits. Significant short-term and long-term economic benefits await Butte County. This is further underscored by the active participation of two seasoned filmmakers on our Advisory Board,both of whom have stated intent to film regionally, and the number of production opportunities already being pursued/facilitied on the county's behalf C. Raising Butte County's profile through the mediums of TV, film, web-based entertainment, and commercial photography will serve to further burnish its"brand"and holds the promise of supplying adjunct consumer tourism as a direct result of this heightened exposure. .. While a significant foundation has been laid for this new 50I(c)3 nonprofit beginning in September 2012, additional ramp-up is required for the new film commission to become fully-operational by industry standards, although interim marketing materials developed are currently in use and producing results. Services are already being actively provided on Butte County's behalf,however it's critical that operating capital be supplied at this critical juncture, especially as the industry norm is for all film offices to provide their services free of charge to the primary population they're designed to serve: location professionals and production companies. Establishing a financial partnership between the film commission and the county is essential and time is of the essence in this regard. is . - -a k ri` to- r,.n t l' t Ibt ;c'ir :\ i,fit t," "i ic.i '.' _ t X 'i z '`F, .t'`-st '' r t r..; �Gi"�r . � i �'i _�" ` 'i� } ,may tSn fib � (' ~x `: kik 4 jt Y *4&Q parlYa0. nkt ei IAto lb Med'ft ouvfill iria Cbr f gb 4 .M h to(.tldidsdrY Boar4I' ..t tj *zN 34,Firsta?4* . 7F l t ....;,...:...t:07, ft.Pr sstn�appre ttin toxel rYw0.S. e ttsa,to csratea } te0$ aif]tofliceaj,tht Tkeh $ fQttpeconn tS satilme4ctivinftdIndepe d e( n t: e ryodttrf ?vprq5Years, tve stett' laI4 ywith Mrn c#t1xi1Ssrokaptstn ngnietrus _ flS { l}' t "desie arttsst ance-m aetttftga rOducBl* succks{is vtalantanno , $ S ' bt ' titedr.$ , e lat4 ,fltncn$fllrncortssn a trn teteras s5y:.':.: 'a§any l, .4C troch ll1 hiktor! .ert� ',*.k- It. h� , i ' ' a v :fr';';14151;;;;;;;:4';:k;':';'!"=,;' . , t k �w;, ro ' SjSt � ri s + K Z } t �.7 ):ur,?�;t„r&S�1r ,arP: rtx h.,Ga r.:,,A �a?.,yY....�7. P, . ,.. n . . ', „ ' `i 'w, Thank you, and we're looking forward to fulfilling the promise of this rewarding new partnership.