There are over 5,000 separate jobs related to the film, video and print industries. Thousands of local crew people and talent, not to mention the specialty service people, make their living locally in this business. They have homes and families in our communities and want to work where they live.
The San Diego Film Commission publishes a local Resource Guide annually that lists, at no cost, local qualified people in this business. The guide is given to production people, incoming production and local production. It promotes our local resources and presents job opportunities to our local people when production comes from outside our region.
On a single television series, such as “Veronica Mars” with 22 episodes to make a single season, there are more 200 separate vendors that receive job opportunities. Vendors such as dry cleaners, lumber yards, florists, nurseries, grocery stores, gasoline stations, department stores, hardware stores, and others make up the diverse needs for service. It isn’t about what Tom Cruise makes for a living or how much money Warner Bros. has. It’s about what they spend in our region when they come, and they won’t come if we don’t produce what they need to succeed at their work.
In 2006, the Film Commission documented over 70,000 person-days of work on projects permitted from this office. Hundreds of locals are extras each week. Although there is never enough work for everyone, the Film Commission is optimistic that they will have a marketing budget again in the future that would attract more production.