Friday, April 29, 2011

Gwinnett Businesses Plan Their On-Screen Debut

Business Leaders unite to bring the film industry to the thriving community


Ready for its close-up, Gwinnett is now more equipped than ever to offer streamlined assistance to filmmakers and producers. At a meeting hosted by Gwinnett Chamber Economic Development on April 20, local business-owners and community leaders assembled to learn more about how to make their big and small screen debuts by becoming camera-ready.

"The unique situation provided a supportive legislature via the Georgia Entertainment Industry Tax Credit has enabled Crawford Media Services to work on major Television and Feature Film productions.  These business opportunities have brought numerous expansion benefits to Crawford as well as to our production partners.” commented David Warner, Director of Post Engineering at Crawford Media Services, Inc. “We continue to look forward to increasing the reputation of Georgia as a particularly hospitable location for film production and post production as well as partnering with the very epitome of Southern Hospitality found in Gwinnett County."

Matt Silva, Owner and Artistic Director of PD Productions in Duluth, has previously worked on major projects including special makeup effects on AMC’s The Walking Dead, and just wrapped the most recent Georgia Lottery commercial with AFX Studios. “The film industry coming to Gwinnett brings opportunity for artists and their creative small businesses to grow, create jobs, and develop into a reliable source of tax revenue for the state.”

As a camera-ready community, Gwinnett County is ready to offer key advantages to filmmakers like location variety, permitting assistance, hotel/restaurant options, and a point of contact ready to answer questions and provide direction to inquiring production companies. Businesses, individuals and organizations are highly encouraged to get involved now to give the county even more of an edge in attracting production companies to selecting Gwinnett as a location.

“We cannot over-communicate the importance of businesses taking advantage of this incredibly exciting opportunity. The film and television industries bring with them a rich opportunity for substantial economic development and jobs in Gwinnett County,” said Business Development Manager Nicole Wright with Gwinnett Chamber Economic Development. Wright led the April 20 meeting that welcomed over 30 businesses, cities and organizations from the fastest-growing large county in the state of Georgia- all signing up in hopes to make their debut in future productions.

Craig Dominey, Senior Film Location Specialist/Camera Ready Program Manager for the Georgia Department of Economic Development, was also on-hand to inform businesses and provide a call to action for them to submit their locations. “Georgia’s film industry is thriving. In fact, more than 335 productions were shot in Georgia in FY2010, ranking the state No. 1 in the Southeast and among the top five states in the nation for film and TV productions.  All together, these productions brought in more than $759.3 million in investment to Georgia, representing $1.4 billion in economic impact to the state.”

Gwinnett has already seen several cameras around the town, on location, filming for both large and small screen projects. Recent TV Series filmed in Gwinnett include Drop Dead Diva and Teen Wolf; while films include Due Date, For Colored Girls, Hall Pass, Road Trip and Wanderlust. To submit a location, find local resources, and get more information about the initiative, businesses and organizations should visit gwinnettentertainment.org.

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