Dear Supporters,

We are pleased to inform you that the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission has been funded for the 2009 Fiscal Year, which began on July 1st.

We will continue to be fully operational, and look forward to assisting filmmakers, serving the New Jersey production community, and bringing revenue and employment to the state now and in the future.
Your strong and unequivocal support was key to the Commission’s survival. The many letters and phone calls received by the administration and legislature sent a clear message about the value of our work. They listened and were very responsive.

On behalf of our commissioners and staff, thank you for taking the time to voice your concerns and express your support for our office. You made the difference, and we are deeply appreciative.

Sincerely,

Joseph Friedman
Executive Director
NJ Motion Picture & TV Commission

While the neighboring states of New York, Connecticut, & Pennsylvania are all increasing tax incentives to filmmakers, New Jersey Governor Corzine has decided to eliminate funding for the New Jersey State Film Commission

The New Jersey Film Commission provides invaluable services to location scouts and location managers working in the New York City area, without which, many projects would not have been filmed in New Jersey

Filming in New Jersey Brought in 92 million dollars last year, money that will be spent in other states next year if the New Jersey Film Office is eliminated

Immediate action is needed to prevent this blow to the film industry in the northeast !

please visit www.savenewjerseyfilm.com for information on what you can do

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ALSAM :: Association of Location Scouts & Managers :: New York City

Governor Announces New Tax Incentives During Start of Seventh Annual Tribeca Film Festival

Tax Incentives for Commercials info

Tax Incentives for Feature Films & Episodic Television info

New York State Governor David A. Paterson today announced that he will sign legislation this afternoon, which will dramatically expand the Empire State film production tax credit program and help attract even more movie and television industry business to New York. The significant expansion of the tax credit will keep New York the most popular destination outside of Hollywood for filmmakers, and further promote an industry that creates billions of dollars in economic activity in New York each year.

“It is vital to our state’s economy that New York remains a premier destination for film and television productions,” said Governor Paterson. “The entertainment industry plays an important role in fostering economic growth by promoting our state on movie and television screens across the world, and creating thousands of jobs for New Yorkers.”

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said: “Film and television play a major role in New York City’s place as a world-class center for culture, and the industry’s continued growth will play an important role in our efforts to diversify the economy. The expansion of the Empire State film production tax credit program is good news for New York City, and I thank Governor Paterson for signing it into effect.”

Governor Paterson made the announcement during the opening of the seventh annual Tribeca Film Festival. The festival was created after September 11, 2001, and brings more than 500,000 visitors and $125 million annually. The 2008 Tribeca Film Festival will run until May 4, and includes 121 feature films, 79 short films and 53 world premieres from 41 different countries, as well as major premiers and outdoor events.

For the last few years New York has been losing its film and television business to neighboring states that enacted their own tax credits – a loss that has cost the New York economy approximately $750 million. This aggressive state legislation triples the percentage of qualified film production costs eligible for the credit from 10 percent to 30 percent. Additionally, it extends the program, which was originally set to expire in 2011, for an additional two years to 2013.

Pat Swinney Kaufman, Executive Director of the Governor’s Office for Motion Picture & Television Development, said: “In the end we believe every producer and director wants to shoot in New York, and with the strengthened credit they will again be able to make that choice. I was just in Los Angeles, making studio visits and meeting with producers, and they are ecstatic about the increase. We expect to get a bumper crop of new productions, which is good news for New York’s film community and our economy.”

Dan Glickman, Chairman & CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc, said: “I applaud Governor Paterson and the New York State Legislature for their vision to grow motion picture and television production in New York State, which is proving to be a positive economic stimulus that continues to create thousands of new employment opportunities for New Yorkers.”

Nancy Fox, National Director of Policy and Strategic Planning for the Screen Actors Guild, said: “The Screen Actors Guild greatly appreciates New York State’s expansion of the existing tax incentive program. Although the initial program was particularly successful, employment for NY SAG members fell dramatically after Connecticut and several other states introduced similar, but more generous, tax credit programs. SAG sends a special thank you to Governor Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, Senator Martin Golden and Assembly Committee on Tourism, Arts and Sports Development Chairman Steve Englebright for their leadership on this issue. The entertainment industry not only provides income for actors and their families, but it also creates a wave of employment for many other businesses in the State.”

Stuart Match Suna, President of Silvercup Studios, said: “New York City has the best backlot in the world, some of the finest stages, crews, acting talent, and for the last several years, one of the most competitive tax incentive programs anywhere. Governor Paterson’s expanded Empire State tax credit program — which triples the benefits to producers — will allow for film and TV productions to continue to be filmed in New York City. In addition, the program will generate tax revenue, economic activity and good jobs for New Yorkers.”

James Schamus, CEO of Focus Features, said: “This is a great day for New York filmmakers. You have the best crews in the world right here, and there is nothing better than knowing you’ve got the support to be able to make movies in New York State.”

The new provisions also raise the aggregate amount that can be awarded under this credit during a calendar year from $60 million to $110 million over a six-year period. The credit cap will increase to $65 million in 2008, $75 million in 2009, $85 million in 2010, $90 million in 2011 and 2012, and $110 million in 2013.

Under previous law, if the credit awarded exceeded the production company’s New York State tax liability during a given tax year, 50 percent of the excess was treated as an overpayment and refunded to the taxpayer, with the rest of the balance carried over to the next succeeding tax year. The new legislation refunds 100 percent of the excess credit up front at the end of the first tax year.

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ALSAM :: Association of Location Scouts & Managers :: New York City

to see more photos from ALSAM Member Location Scouts, Visit our Photo Gallery

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ALSAM :: Association of Location Scouts & Managers :: New York City

A veteran film and TV location scout shares how he finds unusual spaces

Event producers aren’t the only ones scouring the city for the perfect place with a certain mood. Location scouts are also on the lookout for environments to communicate the proper feel for films, television shows, commercials, and photo shoots. We talked to location scout and manager Steven Knee of LocationNY, who specializes in commercial shoots and has worked for such clients as Toyota, DeBeers, The Office, MTV, and Saturday Night Live.

What kind of direction do you get from directors? Do they say, “Find me a ’50s diner”?

They’re very specific like that. The director and art director will give us a very detailed description of what they’re looking for based on the concept of the project, and give us tearsheets or sample photos of things that they have in mind or a place they want to duplicate. A lot of things come into play with film production; when there are multiple locations involved, you can’t always pick your ideal location for one look that you want, because it may be miles away from the other location you need to shoot for the same project. So part of our job is to try to find these things and put them together in a puzzle.

What have been some of your more challenging assignments?

The last one I worked on that took a lot of work was for MTV’s [trash-talking reality show] Yo Mama. It starts off on very local locations—street corners, stoops, things like that—and for the finals they need a huge space where they congregate hundreds of people and have vehicles that drive in and all kinds of stuff—something that is really, really dramatic. We worked for weeks trying to find a place. We wound up at a pier in Brooklyn where the entire back wall rolled up like a garage door. They had this great space that was like an airplane hangar. With the back door opened up, it was just like a roof with side walls and you could look straight out and see the skyline.

What are some of your favorite spaces that capture a mood or period?

New York City is a treasure trove of Art Deco. One of my favorite buildings is the Fuller Building on 57th Street, and it’s got a great Deco lobby. You can’t always get into those kinds of places when you need them.

Do you have a strategy for getting people to let you shoot in locations?

Money—unless the project is going to make them want to do it. It’s either one or the other. Or somebody who runs the space has an affiliation with you and will let you do it. Those are the three main ways of getting into a space.

Do you give your clients different choices?

We always give them a selection to pick from. Some clients are more picky; they’ll look at things and say, “Keep looking. I want to see more.” It depends on how much time they have and if they want to look for something that is really, really great. Or they want to find something that hasn’t ever been used before. With ’50s diners, they’ve all been used. We know all of them.

How long do you generally have to find a location?

A few days. They have a plan of when they’re going to film the project, and it’s usually coming up in the next couple of weeks, so they need it yesterday.

What is the hardest part of your job?

Finding what clients want when it’s not there. Or finding what they want when it’s not where they want it to be, or available for the location budget or the time constraints.

Mimi O’Connor - Bizbash - 09.17.07

By Deren Getz as told to Jaimie Epstien - November 13, 2005 - NYTimes.com

from ALSAM Location Scout Deren Getz -

Do you remember that restaurant scene in “Quiz Show,” where John Turturro is told to take the dive? It took me weeks to find that place. And it wasn’t even a restaurant. It was the old Grolier Club, between Madison and Park - you’ve got to think creatively. That’s my job. That’s what a location scout does. The director gives me a script or a storyboard, and I search for the settings that will make his vision happen. I’ve been in the business for 25 years, done production work, been a location scout since 1991. The job’s still the same as it was, but since 9/11, the game has changed a bit.

For example, it used to be that you could just poke around buildings, walk in, punch a button in the elevator, get out on any floor. You could get onto any roof. I remember one time I was climbing up a stanchion at Rockefeller Center to get a clear shot of Fifth Avenue for a commercial when this security guard tries to stop me. I tell him that it’s a public space, I have every right to be there, to go get a cop if he wants to. By the time he comes back with a cop, I’ve taken my picture. I know the rules.

Of course, security is much tighter now. The bridges are basically off limits, and sensitive areas are even more sensitive. And I guess since the Patriot Act, just taking pictures on the street, which is what I do a lot of, might be interpreted as surveillance and therefore might seem suspicious.

A year or two ago, I was scouting for NBC’s fall promos in Midtown near Grand Central and the Chrysler Building. I get paid by the day, so I have to work fast: I walk up and down the street I have in mind, and I shoot semi-panoramic, clicking every 30 or 45 degrees - I get the whole block in, like, three shots, and move on. Anyway, I shoot for maybe three minutes and I’m done, when building-security guys stop me and ask what I am doing. I tell them, but they want my ID. Figuring that it will be quicker to make the guys happy than to tell them they are out of bounds, I give it to them. I don’t remember if I had a scouting permit. I often don’t because permits are hard to get, not because of 9/11 but because they were being abused, so I tend not to bother. The supervisor takes my ID upstairs and comes back 10 minutes later with it, and I figure that’s it.

About two weeks later, I was meeting with the folks who were shooting the NBC promos. We’re at the Noho Star having lunch, when I get a call from the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

They want to know where I am. I tell them. They want to know if they can stop by. I say, Sure, if you’re here in a half-hour, because we’ve already ordered. Fifteen minutes later, like in a scene in a movie, an unmarked Taurus pulls up outside and in walk these two guys. I get up to meet them and take them back to the table and introduce them around. One’s wearing an ill-fitting suit, and he looks like Dennis Franz from “NYPD Blue” - I think he had a mustache but maybe not. The other one looks like a surfer dude - he’s got blond hair and is wearing a pink polo shirt. I say to them, “You look like a cop, but you look like a movie star.” I was putting it on a bit for my clients, giving them a good show.

So they’re regular guys, but they do the cop thing, ask if I mind stepping away from the table, and as I do, the NBC folks joke, “He’s not with us!” The agents and I walk to a table at the back of the restaurant. They want to know why I was taking pictures in Midtown. (How was I supposed to know that part of some government agency had moved near Grand Central?)

I tell them I was scouting locations, and I ask if they want to see the photos; I’ve got my computer with me. So I boot it up and show them the block they were interested in and some other blocks. They end up thanking me for my time and leaving their cards.

I didn’t take it very seriously. I mean, it took them two weeks to follow up, so how important a lead could I have been? It seemed funny at the time. It was surreal. But I told our local association about it - it’s called Alsam (the Association of Location Scouts and Managers) - and found out that other scouts had complained as well. And not long after that, some of our members met with the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting. So now the Port Authority, different agencies, area police departments, they all have our names - every agency except Homeland Security, for some reason. And we have laminated ID’s with photos: totally legit.

It makes me laugh when I think that in the old days, a buddy and I made fake ID tags when we were scouting for “Law and Order.” If someone got belligerent with us, we’d flash them. They were a joke: we just took pictures of each other and cut them out and pasted them onto card stock - totally homemade. They looked pretty good, I guess, but they’d never work now.

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company Home Privacy Policy Search Corrections XML Help Contact Us Work for Us Site Map Back to Top

By DEBRA GALANT - New York Times October 26, 1997

To David Fitzgerald, New Jersey suburbia essentially breaks down into two basic types: Norman Rockwell and Edward Scissorhands.

Montclair and Tenafly are classic Norman Rockwell towns, with stately colonials on shade-dappled yards, places that evoke a memory of a time when childhood was safe and unhurried. Clifton and Cedar Grove will serve as your basic Edward Scissorhands towns, slightly menacing places where 1960’s split-levels gleam unshaded under the midday sun and where the foliage forms perfect geometric shapes.

”Norman Rockwell was always the standard for commercials,” Mr. Fitzgerald, who scouts locations for television, explains. But lately, that has changed. The Edward Scissorhands towns have been more in vogue. Then there are your gritty urban locations: Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken. And your rural ones, places like Oldwick and Lebanon. Of course, you never know about those rural locations. The way new suburbs spring up these days, last year’s great cornfield could be this year’s new Edward Scissorhands town.

Whatever. Wherever. New Jersey can, and does, provide the backdrop for almost any scene a film or television director could want. Last year, 69 feature films, 240 commercials and numerous other film projects were shot on location here, contributing $48.2 million to the state’s economy, according to the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission.

It’s people like David Fitzgerald who find these backdrops. Mr. Fitzgerald, 41, has been scouting locations in the New York area for 15 years. Like many fellow scouts, he fell into his profession accidentally. A painter with a master’s degree in fine arts, Mr. Fitzgerald received a call one day from an old friend who had gone to film school and was now working as a location scout. ”I was working in an art gallery,” Mr. Fitzgerald recalls. ”He was making more money.”

Experienced location scouts command about $500 a day plus expenses. Beginners earn $200 to $300. At least 100 location scouts work steadily in the New York metropolitan area; Mr. Fitzgerald is one of about 30 who concentrate exclusively on commercials.

It doesn’t take a whole lot to get set up in the location scouting business. A sturdy camera, a reliable car, a good set of maps, a beeper, a cellular phone and a few contacts will start you off. But it’s up to the location scout to develop a vast database of houses of every architectural style and feel, with occupants willing to put their lives on hold for a few days — in other words, to create the visual equivalent of a great Rolodex.

And it’s up to the location scout to learn which towns are film-friendly and which aren’t, and to keep up with changes in local ordinances regarding location shooting.

”A lot of the job is clearance,” Mr. Fitzgerald says. ”Who will allow you to film, which locations have been film-friendly in the past.”

Like most scouts working in the area, Mr. Fitzgerald found himself spending a lot of time in Montclair, a town with a strong collection of houses built in the late 19th century. Mr. Fitzgerald, who was brought up in Manhattan and then moved to Brooklyn, grew to like Montclair so much that he decided to move his own family there in 1995. He and his wife, Naomi Rand, a college professor and writer, chose a yellow Victorian built in 1892, with a glassed-in front porch and a 30-by-30-foot living room — with an eye toward show business.

”I thought it would work for commercials,” he says. ”And it does.” The house has provided the setting for four commercials, including a Corestates Bank spot currently being broadcast. To avoid the resentment of other residents on his small private street, he has arranged for the production companies to pay the neighbors for parking in their driveways. And after the latest commercial was filmed, Mr. Fitzgerald bought them each a bottle of wine.

With all their trailers and equipment, their habit of tying up traffic and hogging parking spaces, film crews have a way of wearing out their welcome in even the most film-friendly towns. So places like Tenafly and Montclair, which have provided the scenery for more than their share of commercials and movies, are beginning to become restrictive. After a number of film shoots in one of Montclair’s tonier neighborhoods last year, irate neighbors pressed the town to pass an ordinance limiting production to three days a year at any single location. Anything more — say, the day-after-day production required in shooting a feature film — requires a variance.

When certain towns begin to recede as film towns, others emerge to take their place. Lately, Maplewood has begun to provide some of the Norman Rockwell sets needed by the film business. As word spreads among scouts, Maplewood will begin to get the reputation as a film-friendly town and draw more business, Mr. Fitzgerald explains.

Then there’s the magic circle to consider. If a film is shot within a 25-mile radius of Columbus Circle in Manhattan, the production company doesn’t have to pay for travel time for the union crew. A scout who wants to be asked again is attentive to that geographic requirement.

IT usually doesn’t take much to persuade homeowners to put up with all the chaos involved in a film shoot. For $1,800 to $2,000 a day — not to mention the flattery of having your house chosen to be on television! or in the movies! — most homeowners are quite willing to put up with the cameras, cables and caterers that come with job. Farmers, too, are often eager for both the money and the attention. Although some farmers are ‘’sort of old and crotchety and don’t want to be bothered,” Mr. Fitzgerald says, many enjoy the Hollywood-style intrusion and therefore are called again and again, he says.

Still, part of his job is reminding the property owner what that $2,000 pays for: the right to completely turn your house (or farm or whatever) upside down for a day. ”When they come in, they might move furniture,” Mr. Fitzgerald recently warned a Montclair homeowner, whose house was being considered for a spot featuring a major brand of sports equipment. To make a real location fit the director’s vision, crews may refit light fixtures or replace window treatments. To prepare for a shoot that could scratch a floor, a false floor might be laid down over it. ”It’s sort of like an invading army,” Mr. Fitzgerald says.

That army needs a lot of room, and one of the challenges of Mr. Fitzgerald’s job is to find houses big enough to hold all the crew and equipment, but small enough that they won’t look like mansions: ”big houses that don’t read as wealthy as they are.” Another challenge is to find offices, shopping districts and schools that can accommodate all the disruption that inevitably comes with a film crew.

After all the logistical requirements have been met, Mr. Fitzgerald can consider the artistic side of his job. ”You have to have a sense of what a director will be looking for,” he says. ”To be willing to understand the director’s vision.” And there’s not a lot of time.

Location scouts usually have two or three days to bring back 10 or 15 possible locations for a commercial shoot. That translates into about 20,000 miles a year on Mr. Fitzgerald’s leased 1995 Camry.

On one job last year, for a Three Musketeers candy bar commercial, Mr. Fitzgerald was asked to find an Italian social hall, the kind of place where the Godfather would hang out. The director suggested he watch the movie ”Goodfellas” to get the idea.

”I immediately thought of sort of funky places,” Mr. Fitzgerald says. First, he got the name of an actual Italian social club in Jersey City from the New Jersey Film Commission. He also visited the Elks’ Lodge in Hoboken, as well as the back room of a Hoboken bar with old wooden booths and a tin ceiling. He tried some places in Little Italy in Manhattan, including at least one with Chianti bottles and checkered tablecloths.

But as is so often the case, the director wound up liking a location a little classier than the one he originally described, and the commercial was shot at another Hoboken location provided by Mr. Fitzgerald: the back room of Frankie and Johnny’s, an old-fashioned restaurant and bar with classic turn-of-the-century details.

And then there’s the hard part of the job, informing people that their kitchens won’t be the setting for next spring’s Maxwell House commercial after all. ”Some people take it very personally,” Mr. Fitzgerald says. ”People who haven’t been approached numerous times. They get excited, and they start assuming it’s going to happen.”

In that case, Mr. Fitzgerald tries to let them down easy, just as a director would after auditioning, say, an actress who reads well but is just too short for the job. ”You say: ‘It’s not about your house, but they wanted a bigger space,” he says. Or: ”They wanted whiter walls.”