TRWIB completes study on entertainment industry in Pennsylvania

The film and entertainment industry can arguably be said to have started in southwestern Pennsylvania. In 1905, in downtown Pittsburgh the very first Nickelodeon opened it’s doors where an engaging public could spend 5 cents to sit in the theaters and watch a movie on the big screen! A few years later, The Warner Brothers opened their first theater in New Castle, Pa. Metro Company (now known as MGM) and the first public television station had their beginnings in southwestern Pennsylvania, and until the 1960’s Pittsburgh was a major regional distribution office for Paramount Pictures. But since then, the motion picture and television industry in the state of Pennsylvania is 6th in the nation, with 2.5% of the national motion picture and video employment. The Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board has outlined ways in which Pennsylvania can be a great attraction for production managers and filmmakers. The programs and connections established by The Steeltown Entertainment Project are working towards this common goal, and striving to bring Pittsburgh back to it’s thriving entertainment beginning!

There are several pros and cons about filming in Pittsburgh alone: the scenic diversity of the city, its proximity to New York, the low-cost of production, and the most important achievement, the state’s tax incentive on production. While the tax incentive is appealing, it can also hinder those interested in filming in the city. The state’s tax incentive’s year-to-year basis prevents production managers the freedom to plan ahead, which redirects them from filming in the state. The study recommends changing this to a multiyear tax incentive allowing them to plan for many years ahead, as well as adding an additional incentive that covers not only production, but also workforce labor. The study also suggests that Pennsylvania lacks a skilled production crew base. There are 70 post-secondary schools with programs pertaining to filming and production and 74 high schools with technical production classes, but the study suggests that they are not enough and need to be more focused on training interested students in the field of production crew. TRWIB concludes that Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh specifically, can create and thrive an entertainment industry with just a few changes and the right connections.

Steeltown Entertainment Project was created on the belief that Pittsburgh has the potential to have a thriving entertainment industry, which could also be one of the region’s major economic engines. We are working towards making this belief a reality by building and connecting entertainment resources that will lead to investment in projects relevant to the region and produce a return on investment through partnerships with studios, networks, and industry contacts.

The Steeltown FILM FACTORY, a yearlong competition for emerging filmmakers, received 110 submissions that received feedback on their scripts by a panel of entertainment expatriates that helped them strengthen their scripts and their visions. The FILM FACTORY concluded with 2 winners who then split the $25,000 production prize that they used to bring their scripts to life! Both films began production in the summer of 2010 in locations throughout the city, and each will exhibit their final project at the 2010 Three River’s Film Festival in November!

In 2006, with the help of advisor and Hollywood special effects wizard Greg Nicotero, Steeltown partnered with The Hatchery, a Los Angeles based family entertainment company, to produce R.L. Stine Presents: “The Haunting Hour: Don’t Think About It,” filmed in Pittsburgh. The production created 115 jobs locally and resulted in over $2,165,000 being spent in the Pittsburgh region! Cartoon Network then picked up “Don’t Think About it” for national distribution.

Steeltown’s “Youth and Media Initiative” at The Holy Family Institute and The Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild give hands on experience in behind the scenes film and video production, such as lighting and sound design, cinematography, and editing, to at-risk high school youth students by connecting them with local, expatriate entertainment professionals and mentors. All efforts made and created by Steeltown, in partnership with many like-minded organizations, are big steps in the development of the thriving entertainment industry that can drive Pittsburgh’s economy. To read more about growing the entertainment sector, visit: http://www.steeltown.org/growingpittsburgh.php Click HERE to read the study and HERE to visit the TRWIB’s home.