A Boom In Streaming Is Bringing LA Film Shoots Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels

Sam Blake

Sam primarily covers entertainment and media for dot.LA. Previously he was Marjorie Deane Fellow at The Economist, where he wrote for the business and finance sections of the print edition. He has also worked at the XPRIZE Foundation, U.S. Government Accountability Office, KCRW, and MLB Advanced Media (now Disney Streaming Services). He holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson, an MPP from UCLA Luskin and a BA in History from University of Michigan. Email him at samblake@dot.LA and find him on Twitter @hisamblake

A Boom In Streaming Is Bringing LA Film Shoots Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels

Filming activity in L.A. has returned to pre-pandemic levels, driven by television dramas like Netflix's two new series "Lincoln Lawyer" and "Monster", but it's unclear if it will last.


From April through June, production in L.A. ramped up to a total of 9,791 shoot days, the highest number since late 2019, just before the coronavirus pandemic froze the motion picture industry, according to data released Thursday by FilmLA, the nonprofit that manages film permitting in Los Angeles County.

"By almost any available measure, the second quarter was good for filming in Los Angeles," said FilmLA President Paul Audley in a statement. "With local COVID-19 cases rising it's not clear whether that will be sustainable."

Shoot days rose about 40% from the prior quarter, making those shoot days about 7% higher than the average quarterly figure across 2019.

Television dramas and reality shows more than doubled their five-year quarterly average, with TV series like Hulu's "The Dropout," Starz's "Gaslit," FX's "American Crime Story: Impeachment" and TNT's "Animal Kingdom" being filmed.

Each of the four categories that FilmLA tracks saw increased activity. Compared to the previous quarter, shoot days rose over 55% for commercials, over 43% for feature films, and about 30% for television.

Feature films included Netflix's "Day Shift", Disney Plus' "Hollywood Stargirl", HBO Max's "Kimi" and Steven Spielbeg's "The Fabelmans," which is expected to be released in theaters, before the famed director's partnership with Netflix kicks in.

In June L.A. county eased restrictions on film production. FilmLA declined to predict how COVID may impact production moving forward.

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LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec
LA Tech ‘Moves’:

“Moves,” our roundup of job changes in L.A. tech, is presented by Interchange.LA, dot.LA's recruiting and career platform connecting Southern California's most exciting companies with top tech talent. Create a free Interchange.LA profile here—and if you're looking for ways to supercharge your recruiting efforts, find out more about Interchange.LA's white-glove recruiting service by emailing Sharmineh O’Farrill Lewis (sharmineh@dot.la). Please send job changes and personnel moves to moves@dot.la.

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This Week in ‘Raises’: GITAI Lands $30M, Steno Gains $15M

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

Raises
Image by Joshua Letona

A local space robotics startup raised fresh funding to expand the flight model manufacturing facilities throughout the U.S. and increase employment, while a remote litigation platform raised more funding to continue growing its footprint in new markets across the country, develop service channels for its clients and continue expanding its tech team.

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Gitai Raises $30 Million to Expand Manufacturing Footprint in Los Angeles

Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

Gitai Raises $30 Million to Expand Manufacturing Footprint in Los Angeles
\u200bPhoto: Gitai

Space robotics company Gitai raised a $30 million Series B extension this week, bringing the total value of the round to roughly $47 million.

The funding will be used to further develop Gitai’s suite of space robots as well as build out its manufacturing footprint in Torrance. Previously Gitai announced it raised a $17.1 million Series B in March 2021; this additional raise is still part of that round.

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