Film and Digital Media Production

The Harford Courant's article on plans to convert  an abandoned Army engine plant in Stratford into a movie studio with 30 soundstages.

Read more here.

  Connecticut Film Center will be launching a production and soundstage facilities at a recently purchase 155,000-square-foot building at 300 Stillwater Ave.   The 7 acre location is at the center of a $20 million expansion according to the president of CT Film Center, Kevin Segalla.  Segalla credited the digital media and film tax credit for the industry growth that led to this latest investment.

The CT Film Fest is going interactive.  There is a full set of tracks and content on interactive media.  Go to - http://interactive.ctfilmfest.com/ for more information.

With the state looking at ways to save, film production and infrastructure tax credits have come under attack from both budget cutters and advocacy groups that want the money for human services.

A new online resource center was launched today by Connecticut's Office of Workforce Competitiveness and Connecticut's Commission on Culture & Tourism's Film Division.   The site, at http://www.ctdigitalworkforce.com/, is a guide to the growign film and digital media industry job and career opportunities.  

According to a release from Governer Rell's office, "Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced that NBC Universal is in negotiations with Connecticut on a project that is anticipated to result in a large television production studio at the Rich Forum Theater in Stamford, bringing approximately 150 to 200 jobs and an initial infrastructure investment in excess of $3 million to the state."

Many film and digital media industry executives (including yours truly) see the film and digital media tax credits as providing Connecticut with a competitive advantage in one of the few industries creating quality job and business opportunities.  Suprisingly, despite the potential of the industry and the need for more job creation, these tax credits are coming under threat.  Many state legislators seem to be measuring the success of the tax credits by looking at a very limited set of metrics, ignoring all the direct spending that goes into hotels, restaurants and other buisnesses as well as longer term effects such as accounting firms hiring additional professionals (who pay taxes) to work with the many media and production companies moving in.   It also does not count businesses looking to grow in the state as it becomes more of a media hub - including my public relations firm, The Fortex Group, which is an original backer of CT Digital Media.   Suprisingly, a recent press release by chairmen of the budget committees stated their research into the ROI of the tax credits was incomplete (see it here). 

Blue Sky Studios, the subsidiary of Fox Filmed Entertainment and creator of the Ice Age movies and Horton Hears a Who!, hasofficially arrived in Connecticut.  Blue Sky Studios is moving 300 employeers into over 100,000 square feet of space in Greenwich, CT.

The Coalition recently launched to lend a voice in strong support of the digital media and film industry and the state’s tax credit program.  As organizations and people coming into direct contact with this sector, the industry is seeing first-hand clear and positive evidence that the state’s incentive program is working in communities throughout Connecticut.