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Question about the MA film industry. What's preventing us from becoming a film production hot bed on the same growth trajectory as Atlanta?


Mike Sun

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Could it just be that Georgia has a 30% tax credit as opposed to MA's 25%? Lack of top tier talent?

I ask because I've recently begun freelancing here and I aim to be a DP someday but I'm having trouble finding any major DP's in the state, commercial or film. They're just imported from NYC when needed. What needs to happen so that Boston can be a competitive city in the film and commercial world? I love this city and I'd rather not move!

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Boston is pretty close to Toronto, and Toronto is booming with US film work. Everyone is working and every stage is booked solid. Toronto offers a better deal because of the US > CDN exchange rate and a much more stable tax credit system.

 

Not sure Boston can ever really take off unless a movie needs to be set there? Lot's of great locations that is for sure.

 

R,

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Boston camera and rule merged together in 2009, if memory serves me. They merged because there was a lot of cross over intheir respective businesses. Not because one was going out of business. Where do you get your info Tyler?

Huh, that's odd... Boston camera was the "film" camera rental house and they couldn't afford to buy the new digital equipment. They "would" have gone out of business had they not merged with Rule. I thought they were an independent shop until this year. I was talking with them about buying a camera this year and they answered the phone "boston camera".

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The east coast is as expensive as the west coast, with less resources for film production. The primary reason these inner-country areas are becoming film havens is because they are cheaper in general to shoot in. Tax credits help, but Hotels and permits are much cheaper in GA than they are in Boston. Bottom line. If you're going to spend west coast prices, but as well stay on the west coast.

 

Not sure how NY gets by with as large an industry as it has. It's an anomaly, and probably because NYC is such an iconic city that it's hard to recreate otherwise.

Edited by Landon D. Parks
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I know next to nothing about Boston, other than that it has lots of donut shops in order to keep the police officers evenly distributed throughout the city. However, I do feel your pain as regards the grim reality that there is no film work in one's own area. You have, at least, the option to move somewhere more promising.

 

P

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Huh, that's odd... Boston camera was the "film" camera rental house and they couldn't afford to buy the new digital equipment. They "would" have gone out of business had they not merged with Rule. I thought they were an independent shop until this year. I was talking with them about buying a camera this year and they answered the phone "boston camera".

 

 

They merged in 2009. Today they go by "Rule Boston Camera", "Rule", or "Boston Camera". BC was originally all film, and Rule was all broadcast - neither were really equipped to handle digital cinema (i.e. Red, Alexa, etc) and so they strategically merged and pooled their resources - Rule's capital to invest in camera bodies + BC's inventory of PL glass.

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They merged in 2009. Today they go by "Rule Boston Camera", "Rule", or "Boston Camera". BC was originally all film, and Rule was all broadcast - neither were really equipped to handle digital cinema (i.e. Red, Alexa, etc) and so they strategically merged and pooled their resources - Rule's capital to invest in camera bodies + BC's inventory of PL glass.

Yep that totally makes sense. I knew Boston Camera was in trouble financially and Rule came to the rescue, pretty much saving them. I just didn't know the merger was such a long time ago... But thanks for the clarification. :)

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I know next to nothing about Boston, other than that it has lots of donut shops in order to keep the police officers evenly distributed throughout the city. However, I do feel your pain as regards the grim reality that there is no film work in one's own area. You have, at least, the option to move somewhere more promising.

 

P

 

 

Hell of a lot more production work going on in London than in Boston Phil.

 

R,

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  • 2 months later...

 

 

Hell of a lot more production work going on in London than in Boston Phil.

 

R,

Like Phil said, "So?".... We may be small, but The few that are shot here are of the highest caliber. oscar level scripts and talent along with world class crews and keys leading them. There is also a small yet superlative experimental film scene here in Boston. We have a film lab and a couple of rental houses. Of course we can't compare to the film centers of the world, but every so often we do shine and are very proud of it.

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