That the Covid-19 pandemic has been a disaster for those who work in live entertainment is no surprise. But it’s also been devastating for those employed in movie and video production. People have been consuming the industry’s goods at record rates—mostly via streaming services—yet employment fell almost as sharply from February to May as it did in the arts, live entertainment, and recreation sector (49% vs. 52%). Through September only a third of the lost jobs had come back.
Employment in Motion Picture and Video Production
Seasonally adjusted
Data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
In September, Hollywood studios and industry unions announced their return-to-work agreement—with safety protocols, you’ll be happy to learn, designed in part by Contagion director Steven Soderbergh—so one would expect more hiring in the future. Still, there wasn’t much sign of that in October’s jobs numbers, which didn’t break out motion picture and video production but did show a slight employment decline for the broader industry that includes theaters. Los Angeles-area permit data shows filming activity stabilizing at about half its normal levels as of late October.
That those coronavirus safety protocols increase filming costs by 10% to 20% is one reason for the slow revival, one producer estimates. Another is that some production has shifted from the U.S. to Canada and other places where Covid is less rampant. Finally, there’s cause to worry that revenue added by the streaming services to the existing flows from theaters, cable, and broadcast television won’t continue as streaming matures, cable and broadcast decline, and many theaters don’t survive their pandemic shutdowns.
• Short Cuts
There were 1,967 productions with permits to shoot in and around Los Angeles at the end of October, about 47% of the normal level, according to FilmLA, the county’s film office. Only 4% were feature films.
• 9 to 5
The average weekly wage in motion picture and video production was $1.9K in the first quarter. The private-sector average was just under $1,000.
• La-La Land
Before the pandemic, 52% of U.S. jobs in motion picture and video production were in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, 16% in New York, and 5% in Atlanta.
• Top Gun
The
highest-paid occupation in the motion picture industry in 2019 was lawyer, at $216,800 a year. The average annual wage for actors, producers, and directors was $91,350.
Fox is a columnist for
Bloomberg Opinion.
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