Filmmaking in Southwest Florida

Florida is in the top five states successfully vying for film and television production nationally. Orlando and Miami are our home state front-runners. However, there's no reason, according to local filmmakers and videographers, why Southwest Florida can't join in as a serious center for this high-end visual art.

Just look around, and you'll see why our area has much to offer.

Tropical Images Sell

"Southwest Florida offers a phenomenal diversity of story backdrops, and we're not overexposed," says Maggie McCarty, film commissioner for the Collier County Film Office. "Sugary beaches, Everglade wetlands, exotic jungles, silhouette sunsets, island life, historic main streets and upscale fashion districts head the list. We can be ourselves or double as Hawaii or the Caribbean."

Whatever face you put on it, Southwest Florida images are what people want to see. Sitting in theaters or family rooms through long winters at home, they take a shine to warm weather settings. "Just as actors like James Bond become a type of alter ego for the viewer, so we become their alter location," says Merlin Miller, filmmaker and owner of Black Knight Productions in Bonita Springs.

Getting viewer attention means first enticing producers, directors and name actors to come capture our area on film and broadcast video. Local groups, such as the local film commissions, work hard to attract interest. And over the years, Southwest Florida has collected a surprising level of local talent. Each backs the collective vision with individual resources and sweat equity.

Those in the industry know that nothing is sure until the camera rolls. But persistence can pay. Full-length feature films, the "big kahunas" of the industry, are still rare here, generating a fraction of revenues ... until one hits.

Year in and year out, though, Southwest Florida's film industry is sustained by (in order): print ads, TV commercials, TV shows, corporate video projects, infomercials and documentaries.

Activities tracked by the Lee and Collier film offices show $1.2 million of new money generated in both 1997 and 1998. A fashion catalogue or print ad can yield $25,000 to $35,000 in a five-day shoot. Depending on type, a TV commercial can contribute $15,000 to $100,000 in two days. With such income "turning" as many as 10 times in the local market, the calculated annual economic impact reaches $3.25 million.

Landing a major-production feature film jumps the numbers much higher, "which is why we spend a lot of our energies trying to land the big one," says Beverly Fox, film commissioner for the Lee County Film Office. Under her direction, the motion picture Just Cause brought in $7.5 million cash in six weeks in 1993, while producers of Gone Fishin' spent $10 million in 10 weeks in the market in 1994.

"My immediate goal is to bring in more TV commercials and TV movies of the week. Both generate significant income and employ local crews," says Fox. Her and McCarty's job is to bring in business and to smooth the way for production with site suggestions, permits, props -- whatever's needed. "Everything we do helps build the reputation of our destination, supports the infrastructure and ultimately benefits all segments of the industry," says Fox.

As those in the business know, one thing leads to another.

Contacts Count

Florida, Texas, North Carolina and Canada all provide low-cost alternative locations to Hollywood. But there's no corner on the market, and competition is stiff.

A current trend working against Southwest Florida is the preference of Hollywood actors to shun exotic locales in favor of sleeping in their own beds at night. Forty-eight U.S. states and Canada are chasing New York investment dollars through government-funded film offices. The two exceptions are California, Hollywood's home, and Florida, whose 40 county film commissioners and agents in Los Angeles have united to entice production money to cross our state line.

Once reeled in, it's the job of our state's emerging Florida Film Office to get it into the appropriate county coffers. From there, the line is picked up by the Florida Motion Picture and Television Association, which works to put jobs into the hands of local talent. Area members include writers, directors, producers, production assistants, set decorators, electricians, grips, models and hair and makeup artists.

Video a Strong Choice

Videographer Ilene Safron, owner of Main Sail Video Productions in Fort Myers, has a full slate of steady assignments. Opportunity comes through a reputation for quality work, local contacts and a national network of colleagues from 15 years working as a TV camera crewmember in major markets.

"Ninety-five percent of regional TV commercials and corporate promotions are shot on video," says Safron. "It's the most lucrative part of the business locally."

Safron works exclusively on Beta SP, and is happy to refer Super VHS suppliers for budget jobs. Super V pieces run $500 to $1,000. High-end broadcast quality Beta spots start at $3,000.

Safron is frequently called by the state or national headquarters of a company with a Southwest Florida presence through word-of-mouth referrals. Developers, retailers, county departments and Fortune 500 companies constitute a solid client base. Behind-the-scenes stringing for national TV entertainment news and film productions adds spice to her list of assignments.

Client shoots take her into the fields, up in the clouds and around the nooks and crannies of corporate facilities. Helicopter aerials, performed at least one a month, are her forte. And she says she has fun with all of it. Fortunately for Safron, "Those of us with hard-won experience win the exciting assignments."

She's not surprised at Southwest Florida's selling power. "Ours is a visual era," she says. "When you need to get a message across, you use a video or CD in addition to a brochure."

John Biffar of Bush Entertainment (formerly Trilogy Media and Long John Productions before that) initiated his circle of industry contacts through producing a regular TV news segment in Lee County. Eighty-five percent of his work is video, including TV commercials, although his first love is film. He has learned that "Products that produce residuals over the long term are the way to go."

Today, many of Biffar's productions appear on PBS, Discovery Channel, Nickelodeon and other cable networks. His most recent documentary, Uncommon Friends, is hosted by Walter Cronkite. His 1995 film, Captiva, which was re-edited for release, is currently showing on movie channels. And Children of the Fourth World, completed in 1998, won four Emmys and first place in last year's Marco Island Film Festival.

Film Festivals -- A Shot at the Big Time

Lou Hernandez, owner of Fiddler Productions in Naples, routinely invests his own funds, raised from his Creative Commercials b