Washington D.C.
Virginia
Maryland
5/7/07; DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA now offers a production incentive; a refundable grant equal to the lesser of: 10% of the qualified expenses or 100% of the sales/use tax paid to DC. To qualify, the film or television project must spend at least $500,000 and film five or more days in DC.
20 MONUMENTAL SITES in one great location - District of Columbia Office
of motion Picture & Television Development.
Obviously there are more than 20 monumental reasons to shoot here in
the nation's Capital. But, there are other advantages, too.
Beyond the Capital daome and Washington Monument is a multicultural
city full of historic sites, diverse neighborhoods, and charming vistas,just
waiting to be captured on film. You need only look around our 67 square
mile "back lot." It's all here. The OMPTD will assist you in
discovering all the hidden treasures in Washington, D.C. We invite
you to explore our un ique city and we are sure you will agree that "Washington,
DC. is Picture Perfect" for your monumental project.
OMPTD - Office of Motion Picture
and Television Development
410 Eighth Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20004
ph 202.727.6608 f202.727.3787
email: tvfilm@erols.com
MARYLAND:
from Axium Payroll Co.'s "Incentives Guide" - Download yours
at http://tinyurl.com/z6kxj
This state offers an exemption from its 5% sales tax for purchases and
rentals used in
the production of the film. An application must be filed in advance;
if approved, an
Exemption Certificate will be issued to present to vendors, who will
not charge sales
tax on exempted purchases. Both online and printed production guides
are available.
A new incentive, “Employer Wage Rebate Grant Program”, provides a rebate
of 50%
of the first $25,000 of wages paid per employee while filming in Maryland.,
with
employees earning over $1 million excluded. Employees must be working
in the
state, and pay state income tax, but they need not be Maryland residents.
The film
must spend at least $500,000 in the state, and 50% of the filming must
be in
Maryland. National distribution of the project is required. There is
a $2 million cap
per project.
This incentive is actually a grant, with recipients selected by the
Secretary of the
Department based upon merit and economic benefit to the State, and
subject to funds
being appropriated by the legislature.
• Maryland Film Office
Jack Gerbes, Director
o Phone ? (800) 333-6632
o Website ? http://www.marylandfilm.org/
o Production Guide ? www.mdrpg.com/
Film Incentives
Film office
or
Film Office
Incentives:
Maryland offers an exemption from the 5% state sales tax for
goods and services used in filmmaking. For most localities, hotel stays
longer than 30 days are not charged local or state sales tax.
Maryland - The Place You're Shooting for - Small towns, mountains,
beaches, urban, farms; we've got it. If you want great cooperation
and terrific settings, this is where you belong. Maryland is fullo
of fabulous landscapes, great architecture, and real nice folks.
find out why so many directors and designers choose us!
Maryland Film Office
Maryland Tax Incentives
Application
for Tax Exempt Status for your Production
List
of Exempt and Non-Exempt Properties and Services
Maryland Links of Interest
to Producers
Maryland Regional Production Guide
Maryland Locations
MD
Legislature in Step with Film-Incentive Trends
By Cheryl L. Slay
California and New York top the list of states perceived as primary
entertainment markets in enacting legislation favorable to entertainment
industries. This perception may be attributed to the level of entertainment
activity within the two states and the impact of entertainment-related
transactions on their economies. Yet within the context of film production,
the national landscape is changing, with more and more states recognizing
the potential for state revenues via home-grown film production. Maryland
is a part of that changing landscape.............READ
MORE
VIRGINIA
Virginia offers a waiver of their 4.5% Sales and Use Tax for qualified
expenditures,
as well as use of state-owned buildings at no charge. A rebate of the
3?% hotel tax
becomes available after a stay of 90 consecutive days. The Sales and
Use Tax waiver
requires presenting a certificate to each vendor; blank certificates
may be downloaded
from the website.
Also available is a new incentive, a cash grant awarded at the discretion
of the
Governor. A total of $1.2 million has been appropriated. Details will
be available
soon.
It is possible to assemble most or all of a crew locally. There is
an online production
directory available at:
• Production Directory www.telefilm-south.com/Virginia/Virginia.html.
Virginia Film Office
Virginia
Incentives
Additional
Incentive information
Sales
and Use Tax Exemptions- Click on Form "ST-20A - Production Company"
Filming in Virginia - Complete Information Guide
Virginia Film Office
901 East Byrd Street
Richmond, VA 23219-4048
Phone: 800-854-6233 or 804-371-8204
Fax: 804-371-8177
Hotline: 800-641-0810
Email:vafilm@virginia.org
Incentives:
Virginia offers Sales & Use Tax Exemptions that are
offered at the point of sale (rather than as a rebate). Production items
exempted include production facilities, cameras and related equipment,
and editing, dubbing and sound equipment. Tangible personal property and
some production and crew services are also exempted. Companies that stay
in a hotel for more than 90 consecutive days are eligible for a 3.5% lodging
tax rebate. Filming in most state-owned buildings can be done free of charge.
Crystal Palmer, film commissioner: "We realize that producers need to be persuaded to work in the district. Towards that end, we have developed cost-cutting schemes and discounted rates with businesses that work with the industry. These negotiated deals with businesses such as hotels and catering services will directly benefit filmmakers. The office promotes the district as a major venue for all forms of production through advertising, direct mail, special events and trade shows. We also introduced a campaign to encourage filmmakers to film beyond the monuments and into the neighborhood and business districts. The Washington D.C. area has many surprising and wonderful locations for filming. Some are immediately recognizable, and others are tucked away. These, combined with the immense production talent that has come to the area's documentary industry, have made the Capitol region a lively place for filmmaking."
Mary Nelson, Virginia Film Office: "The Capitol region is a veritable powerhouse of production that has been referred to by some as the third largest production center in the country after Los Angeles and New York. It is the home of PBS, National Geographic, and Discovery Communications, which owns The Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, Anjimal Planet, The Science Channel, and The Travel Channel, among others. Washingotn is the home of BET (black Entertainment Television) and TV One, a new cable channel targeting African American adults. They are working with New Millennium Studios in Petersburg, VA to secure programming for the network.
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"The
Back Story" by Rusty Carter, The Virginia Gazette, 24 December 2005
A phone call in 2003 opened the way to bringing "The New World" here. A cantankerous drawbridge nearly killed the deal.
Such is the back story of how a major motion picture chooses its
location, and how fragile the package is. Here's how Virginia landed "The
New World" and nearly lost it, and how states aggressively court the film
industry........................READ
MORE
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One sign of the health and welfare of this active production community
is to look at the various festivals, screenings, and support organizations
that are active here. The D.C. Independent
film Festival , is now it its fifth year, and celebrates independent
film with an ambitious scheduole of screenings seminars and a film
market. The Rosebud competiition and festival was founded in 1990
to promote the rich and diverse independent film and video community in
Washington, D.C. , Maryland and Virginia. Filmfest D.C. brings the
best in world cinema to the area, while its associated organization, the
D.C. Film Society, provides its members with the opportunity to become
more involved in the world of film. Also active are the Georgetown
Independent Film Festival, The Jewish Film Festival, and Silverdocs, a
documentary film festival. The area also has extremely active chapters
of the International Television Association, and Womiin in Film and
Video. The American Film Institute (AFI) offers a year-round program
of the best in American and international cinema, featuring an eclectic
mix of festivals, premieres, retrospectives, special events, tributes,
on-stage guest appearances, and education at the AFI Silver theatre and
Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland.
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One of the most interesting projects to film in the Virginia, D.C.,
and Maryland area is The West Wing , which routinely films its season
openers and closers in the area. Reston, Virginia, was the scene
of the presidential assignation in the early years, and President Barglett's
home was also filmed in Virginia, as the site of the kidnapping rescue
of the president's daughter last year."
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Another producer who has filmed in the Washington, D.C. area, Steve
Traxler, provided the following comment on his filming experience there.
"While I am no expert on filming in Washington, C.C., I have shot there
twice. We did some work there, both interior and exterior, in 1993
on the picture Born Yesterday. for Disney. Being a co-producer,
I was personally involved with every aspect of the D.C. filming.
I found that the film commission, the feds and the city were very supportive
when I filmed in the area. What you do run into is a bit of jurisdictional
overlap between the various security agencies. However, a good local
location manager can guide you through the maze. Most recently, I
had the oppoortunity to work in D.C. for a single day on Legally Blonde
2. We had considered doing more filming there, but it was the
wrong time of year., It was winter, and we neede a spring look.
Also, the town was in a stepped-up security mode, so we weren't allowed
to film in some of the areas we wanted. There was also the visual
reality of barricades and uniformed men with guns. We ened up filming
drivbe-by shots and backgrounds for green screen. I was co-producer
on the picture and directed a good-sized unit made up entirely of locals,
which in this case meant crew people who, I was told, lived in D.C., Maryland,
and Virginia. I also broughtpros with me from L.A. We hired
a D.P. steadicam operator out of Philadelphia, although there are a
coupllle of very qualified local D. P.s (in D.C.). Our D. C. - based
production supervisor, Peggy Pridemore, did a terrific job in hiring
a first-rate crew and making sure things ran smoothly. The various
law enforcement officers we used were extremely helpful as well.
It rained torrentially that day, but we stuck with it and filmed between
downpours. Almost everything we shot ended up in the movie."
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Another important support service that is available to producers is
the Maslow Media Group., Inc., whose president and CEO, Linda Maslow is
part of the company's 100% women ownership. What makes this company interesting
is their ability to provide virtually everything a production company needs.
They can provide a production with crew members, and if desired, they can
also provide complet asset management. Thety do a lot of work for
the government, which tells you that if you need
a resource that can provide you with support servicccess of a private
nature, Maslow Media is a company that can fill your needs. Linda
Maslow: "The Maslow Media Group is more than just a crewing service.
Besides providing crews across the country, and even internationally, we
can provide producers and top executives, as well as any technical need
that may develop, or be needed for a production. Besides crewing,
ourmain core competency is the full outsourcing of all levels of production
personnel to major corporations and broadcast stations nationwide.
We provide complete payroll services to cable networks, whose freelancers
travel worldwide, but also full staffing and payroll services to major
corporations in New York and the federal government in Washington, D.C.
One of our divisions, the Media Management Services division, can completely
manage a media division from inception (i.e. design and installation) to
staffing and payroll. Our freelance department managers are quite
savvy in vide-conferencing and can coordinate a multi-city shoot with uplinks
if needed. Providing crew service is only a fraction of what we do.
MMG out-sources entire teams of production specialists, or individuals
on a freelance, full-time or contract basis. This includes, but is
not limited to, producers, directors, writers, editors, studio technicians,
film and video crews (nationwide), production and operations managers,
multi-media designers, control room personnel, and audio-visual technicians.
We offer production and talent payroll services and are signatories to
the AFTRA/SAG contract. The comprehensive outsourcing of corporate
and government media departments is another one of our distinctive services.
Our expertise in the multi-media environment makes us uniquely qualified
to manage, train and oversee media departments. This has been a valuable
asset to many organizations desiring on-site multi media services without
the responsibility of managing the daily operation. For instance,
we are paymaster to National Geographic TV, and we have been paying hundreds
of employees worldwide for years, including all tax-related payments, and
domestic and international workers comp, which has its own distinct set
of rules."