www.lionsdailynews.com friday, june 24 , 2011

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FRIDAY, JUNE 24,2011
FILM COMMISSIONS
Hello?
We need a Thai
floating market,
and fast!
To the uninformed, a film commission is there to
issue filming permits where you turn up to shoot in
another state or country. But these days they are
proactive, attracting stills and commercials shoots
to their regions, as well as movies — and they have
a lot to offer on the creative side too.
Debbie Lincoln reports
F
ILM Commissions can be a valuable resource
for commercials producers. They are there to
ease the pain of shooting, and can help with identifying
locations, preparing and granting permits
and even cast and crew.
Las Vegas-based Charlie Geocaris, from the Nevada Film
Office expects to see 40-50 commercials shoots each year in his
region, representing about 15-20% of total location shooting in
the area.
“We specifically try to attract commercial productions
through advertising and other target marketing,” Geocaris says.
Popular locations for commercials include the famous strip in
Las Vegas, as well as dry lake beds, the roads in the Valley of
Fire and Red Rock Canyon, Lake Tahoe and Lamoille Canyon.
“We see a variety of different types of commercials but automobile
and truck commercials are the most popular,” he says. A
recent example for which the film office provided location scouting
and permitting assistance, was a spot for Dodge autos.
The film commission in Saskatchewan, Canada, is also
able to source a variety of open spaces for commercials shoots.
“’Land of the living sky”, is on every Saskatchewan license
f A floating market
constructed in
Indonesia for the
Amsterdam-based
Balsa Films’ shoot for
client Conimex,
directed by Othmar
Freder Sweers, and
produced by John
Langeveld