WHO WE ARE:  FilmL.A., Inc. is a private, non-profit, public benefit corporation, created in 1995 to streamline the film permit process and provide filmmakers with the convenience of one-stop filming assistance.  Before 1995, the City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles each operated its own film office.  FilmL.A., Inc. integrates and privatizes film permitting for both offices and for other municipalities, and offers like services to the Los Angeles Unified School District, Burbank Unified School District, and the Angeles National Forest.  FilmL.A., Inc.’s Board is representative of all the stakeholders in on-location filming:  studios and independent producers, commercial producers, industry guilds and unions, major industry vendors, and neighborhood and civic leaders.

WHAT WE DO:  FilmL.A., Inc. provides a full portfolio of services to production companies that film on location in the Los Angeles area:

• Consultation during pre-production
• Expert, efficient permit coordination
• Problem-solving during production
• Community complaint resolution
• Tracking and analysis of production and community statistics.

FilmL.A., Inc.'s goal is to act as the liaison between the production companies, the communities they film, and the relevant government agencies.  We expedite and facilitate the permit process, with an understanding of the intricacies of film and media production, the complexities of local government, and the needs of our communities.  

WHO’S IN CHARGE:  Local governments and other municipalities contract with FilmL.A. to coordinate the approvals for filming in their jurisdictions.  Film permits are actually issued by the government agency (for example, in the City of Los Angeles, it’s the Los Angeles Police Department, with the Board of Public Works retaining the authority for lane and street closures). FilmL.A., Inc. does the legwork and takes care of all the paperwork.

OUR COMMUNITIES:  FilmL.A., Inc.’s mission includes balancing the needs of production companies with the concerns of the communities where they film.  Our initiatives to improve the relationship between the industry and the neighborhoods, so that filming can proceed smoothly, include:

• Tracking and responding to neighborhood complaints 24/7. 
• Lending expertise to community meetings to facilitate communication between neighborhood associations, public officials, and film companies. 
• Implementing a uniform Code of Conduct, that defines how production crews should behave on location. 
• Working with production companies to mitigate impacts created by exceptional activities such as pyrotechnics or gunfire. 
• Utilizing neighborhood surveys to identify and address community concerns in advance of exceptional filming activities. 
• Developing a data base of neighborhood-specific details that allow every permit to be tailored precisely to the surrounding community, for instance, to the disabled tenant who needs nearby parking, or the toymaker who needs access to his factory for deliveries when the rest of the area is deserted.  (In addition, FilmL.A., Inc. has helped approximately 120 neighborhoods design their own Special Filming Conditions.) 
• Providing public access to FilmL.A., Inc. Board meetings, meeting minutes, complaint logs and financial statements.  

OUR OTHER SERVICES:

• Notification:  FilmL.A., Inc. distributes notification to advise communities of upcoming film shoots.  This centralized notification program creates a consistent process that provides contact information to reach the production or FilmL.A., Inc. in case a problem arises, and includes a 24-hour toll-free number to contact FilmL.A., Inc. at any time. The FilmL.A., Inc. notification doorhanger contains a prepaid postcard, which allows residents to communicate their opinions about productions in their neighborhoods.  
• Monitoring:  FilmL.A., Inc. developed a special in-house team of monitors for film shoots in sensitive neighborhoods in order to improve the interface between production companies and communities regarding permit terms.
• Angeles National Forest:  In 2000, FilmL.A., Inc. began coordinating film permits in the Angeles National Forest.  Since then, communication between the forest and the production community has flourished, and filming levels in the Forest have more than doubled.
• LAUSD:  Since 2002, FilmL.A., Inc. has coordinated and facilitated a very successful filming license process for the 800 facilities of the Los Angeles Unified School District, increasing the number of filmed schools from 19 to over 200, nearly doubling revenue to the schools, and providing convenience for filmmakers.
• Permit Delivery:  FilmL.A., Inc. will deliver permits to production companies at cost to any destination they choose.
• Statistics:  FilmL.A., Inc. keeps detailed statistics on production in the area and FilmL.A., Inc.’s supporting efforts.