What is a Film Commission?

INTRODUCTION

Film Commissions ("FC")s are quasi-government, non-profit public organizations that:

1. Attract motion media production crews (including movies, TV and commercials) to shoot on location in the FCs' respective localities, and
   
   
2. Offer support so that productions can accomplish their work smoothly.

Over 300+ such organizations are active in over 40+countries around the world, mostly in the United States and Europe. Many of them are organized by local government bodies and the like, and serve as the administrative window concerned with attracting and supporting the productions that come to their locality not only from other parts of their own countries, but from abroad, as well.

FCs, therefore, make significant contributions to not only their jurisdiction's motion media community, but also to the revitalization of local economies and the promotion of tourism. This happens through dollars spent by the visiting productions, as well as tourism sparked by the productions' audiences.

Every monetary unit (e.g. US $) spent by a film commission will Directly and Indirectly benefit their jurisdictions, by drawing as little as 2-3 monetary units, to as much as 1,000+ monetary units.

There are two types of economic benefits -- direct and indirect:

DIRECT BENEFITS:

For example, a direct benefit is the number of Hotel Nights that a Visiting Production will purchase.

• If a visiting production is in town for 90 nights, with 150 Visiting Crew Members, then:
  
  
  • 90 nights, at US$60 per person, per night:
    
    
    • 90 X US$60 = $5,400
      
      
    • US$5,400 per person, for 90 nights, multiplied by 150 visiting crew members.
      
      
    • US$5,400 x 90 = $810,000 direct economic impact from Hotel Rooms.

Now, consider that those Visiting Crew Members have to eat, purchase gasoline, buy local items, etc... etc... etc...

INDIRECT BENEFITS:

For example, an indirect benefit is the number of tourists that visit a locale, as a result of watching or hearing about a film.

• If a film earns US$300,000,000 at the box office, then:
  
  
  • Let's say that 30,000,000 people saw the film at the theater, and that another 30,000,000 saw the film at home.
    
    
  • Imagine that Thousands of people see the film's locale and decide to visit it.
    
    
  • Once they are there, of course, then those people also purchase hotel nights, buy food, buy goods, etc... etc... etc...