The City of Santa Clarita reported today that calendar year 2012 (January-December) was a record-breaking year for filming.  The Santa Clarita Film Office recorded 919 film days and 362 permits issued for the 2012 calendar year, representing a two percent increase in film days compared to the City’s previous record year in 2011, which saw 901 film days and 359 permits.

Location filming contributed significantly to the local economy in 2012 with an economic impact of $21,707,000 to local businesses as a result of local production spending, representing a 12 percent increase from 2011 when the estimated economic impact was $19,363,000.

“Thanks to the many benefits of filming in Santa Clarita and the incentives provided by the City, the film industry continues to contribute to the economic success of Santa Clarita by providing increased revenue for City programs through sales tax revenue and making jobs available for community members,” said Mayor Bob Kellar.

Many attributes contribute to Santa Clarita’s success in retaining and attracting film and television productions, including the City’s Film Incentive Program, reduced film permit costs and partnerships with the business community.

In March 2012, the City partnered with College of the Canyons on a Chancellor’s Circle Business Symposium that discussed the local economic impact of the film and entertainment industry and included a panel of speakers, including: Richard Ballering, Disney; Mike DeLorenzo, Santa Clarita Studios; and Jim McClafferty, “NCIS.”

The City Council also approved a three-year extension in 2012 of the City’s Film Incentive Program, which is dedicated to retaining and increasing feature and television production by reducing the costs of safety personnel and refunding certain permit fees for productions that base and frequently film in Santa Clarita.

To date, the City’s Film Incentive Program has supported productions by refunding more than $188,000 in permit fees since the program’s inception in 2009.  Since 2009, location filming from incentivized productions has contributed an estimated $25.83 million in economic impact to the community.

Santa Clarita is an ideal place for location filming because it provides diverse landscape, abundant settings, and is located in the Thirty Mile Zone.  These unique traits combine to attract productions to the City and make Santa Clarita one of the most filmed areas in California.  A number of hit television shows continue to make the City of Santa Clarita their home including CBS’s “NCIS” and “Vegas,” ABC Family’s “Switched at Birth,” FX’s “Justified,” TNT’s “Franklin & Bash,” TBS’s “The Wedding Band,” and ABC’s “Wipeout.”

Santa Clarita also played host to a number of potential blockbuster features that filmed locally in 2012, including “jOBS,” “Django Unchained,” “The Guilt Trip,” “Gangster Squad,” “Saving Mr. Banks,” and “The Trials of Cate McCall.”

The City created the Santa Clarita Film Office in 2002 to attract and retain the entertainment industry in Santa Clarita, including location filming and film-related businesses.  In addition to permitting, the City’s Film Office helps productions find film locations, oversees the City’s Film Incentive Program, coordinates scheduling and payment for Sheriff Deputies needed during filming and processes payments for Los Angeles County Fire Department film permit fees.

For more information about the Santa Clarita Film Office, please visit FilmSantaClarita.com or contact the Film Office at (661) 284-1425.