[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Hero” _builder_version=”4.19.0″ background_enable_color=”off” use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_stops=”rgba(0,0,0,0.68) 0%|rgba(0,0,0,0.4) 100%” background_color_gradient_overlays_image=”on” background_color_gradient_start=”rgba(0,0,0,0.68)” background_color_gradient_end=”rgba(0,0,0,0.4)” background_image=”https:\/\/fablehouse.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/baton-rouge-film-01-res.jpg” min_height=”319px” animation_style=”zoom” animation_intensity_zoom=”4%” background_last_edited=”off|desktop” use_background_color_gradient_tablet=”off” use_background_color_gradient_phone=”off” background_size_phone=”cover” background_position_phone=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.14.5″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_module=”6795″ saved_tabs=”all” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_button button_url=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9saW5rX3VybF9wYWdlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsicG9zdF9pZCI6IjUzNTEifX0=@” button_text=”Back to the blog” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.16″ _dynamic_attributes=”button_url” _module_preset=”default” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#E02B20″ button_bg_color=”#FFFFFF” button_border_width=”0px” button_icon=”#||divi||400″ button_icon_placement=”left” button_on_hover=”off” animation_style=”fade” animation_delay=”150ms” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Creative Process Section” _builder_version=”4.16″ max_width=”88%” module_alignment=”center” min_height=”100px” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ admin_label=”Service Section Title” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”||5px||false|false” animation_direction=”top” saved_tabs=”all” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Title” _builder_version=”4.19.0″ text_font=”Montserrat||||||||” text_text_color=”#747d88″ text_font_size=”16px” text_line_height=”1.9em” header_font=”|700||on|||||” header_text_align=”left” header_font_size=”32px” header_line_height=”1.3em” header_2_font=”Montserrat|700||on|||||” header_2_text_align=”left” header_2_font_size=”32px” header_2_line_height=”1.3em” text_orientation=”center” max_width=”700px” module_alignment=”center” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”bottom” animation_intensity_slide=”4%” header_font_size_tablet=”30px” header_font_size_phone=”25px” header_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” header_2_font_size_tablet=”30px” header_2_font_size_phone=”25px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/fablehouse.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Katie-Pryor-Baton-Rouge-Film-Commission-f01-res.jpg” alt=”Katie Pryor Baton Rouge Film Commission” title_text=”Katie Pryor Baton Rouge Film Commission” _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.0″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Operating the logistical machinery of Baton Rouge\u2019s film scene requires visualizing some references that project scale:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The ambitious wizard running the light and magic show in 1939\u2019s The Wizard of Oz<\/em>. How about the monumental grasshopper-terrorizing bird crafted from tree branches by ants in A Bug\u2019s Life<\/em>? Hm, these aren\u2019t overly flattering. Okay, how about Robert de Niro\u2019s Neil Mccauley in Heat<\/em> when he orchestrates a daylight bank heist that was so effective it inspired a real-life 45-minute Los Angeles shootout?<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_video src=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=jeYS3Q79UCg” _builder_version=”4.19.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”30px||30px||true|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_video][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.0″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Whatever comes to mind cinematically – a wizard, a crew runner, a Pixar grasshopper-slayer – all these sparks of movie memory were made possible by the people who coordinated the logistics of the shoot. None of these movies get made without shooting permits, street closures, and a person to inform producers about the tax incentives for a film budget that looks like the GDP of a small country. Without the groundwork, none of these movies are anything but words in Courier New on an unproduced script.<\/p>\n In the Hollywood of the South, the person opening doors to make it all happen in Baton Rouge is Film Commissioner Katie Pryor.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.0″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font_size=”23px” header_2_letter_spacing=”2px” header_2_line_height=”1.4em” header_3_font_size=”20px” header_3_letter_spacing=”1px” header_3_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”||5px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.0″ custom_margin=”||17px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Katie was recently named a member of the \u201cForty under 40\u201d club<\/a> by the Baton Rouge Business Report. Underneath the accolade, the day-to-day that earned this recognition is her trifecta of roles: she is a Film Production professor at LSU, the co-founder and co-champion of the Film USA<\/a> commissioner\u2019s network, and in her words – a city concierge for all of Baton Rouge:<\/p>\n To have the opportunity to host people and show them my city and make sure they love it, and have a good experience living here for however long they\u2019re here – it\u2019s helpful. \u2018Where do I go buy this? Where do I go buy clothes? The best groceries?\u2019 All those kinds of questions. Basically a\u2026concierge, just for the entire city.<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/fablehouse.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/katie-pryor-louisiana-film-community-01.jpg” alt=”Katie Pryor – 2022 40 Under 40 – The Greater Baton Rouge Business Report” title_text=”Katie Pryor – 2022 40 Under 40 – The Greater Baton Rouge Business Report” _builder_version=”4.19.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”30px||30px||true|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.0″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Accurate – sure. Reductive? Maybe. I mean, what does a good hostess do? Makes your towels feel crisp and fresh. Nice, cool pillow. Brings $200 million in production and $80 million in payroll<\/a> to your city in five years, including the shutdown period of Covid where productions burrowed into dens for pandemic hibernation.<\/p>\n Katie\u2019s forward management of the Baton Rouge scene has coincided with the post-Covid regeneration of productions. She sees the wave, invites in as much as Baton Rouge can handle, and irrigates the local industry with production spending that has almost tripled<\/a> from $28.3 million in 2021 to more than $81 million in 2022.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve got a change in production now that we\u2019re seeing post-Covid, that with the onslaught of streaming services, the shift from the box office, there\u2019s just so much more content that needs to be made\u2026 there\u2019s so much business that it\u2019s more of plugging and trying to find the right place for it to go – sometimes it\u2019s based on everything from where the child actor wants to go to school to where the favorite restaurant of the DP is. Or just the right locations to shoot, or the right stage space, the right amount of crew. So lining it up – I think we\u2019re in a unique position where there is so much production that it\u2019s not really about competition so much as it is finding the right place.<\/em><\/p>\n Her position deep in the machinery of the industry gives way to some confusion – many people don\u2019t actually know what it is the Film Commission has to offer. So, here\u2019s a little clarity.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.0″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font_size=”23px” header_2_letter_spacing=”2px” header_2_line_height=”1.4em” header_3_font_size=”20px” header_3_letter_spacing=”1px” header_3_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”||5px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.0″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n They\u2019ll reach out to me – they\u2019ll say, \u2018I need a locations packet for this, I need to understand the tax incentive, understand the crew base, the infrastructure, what stages you have, etc.\u2019 Locations breakdown. I\u2019ll do a complimentary locations package\u2026then when they\u2019re getting into the city, help them close the roads, permits, all that kind of stuff.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n After sending the production a locations package, the production sends out a location scout. Katie sends the scout to the local location managers who can then take the location scout through the geography of their shoot.\u00a0<\/p>\n She added a note of encouragement for indie filmmakers operating without the backing of a major budget:<\/p>\n If you\u2019re filming anywhere, I recommend contacting the film commission. Because some of them don\u2019t know to do it – independent projects think we\u2019re only after big studio projects. Our job really is to say yes – figure out how to make your film work and grow the creative community in our area.<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/fablehouse.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Katie-Pryor-at-Cannes-Film-Festival-01.jpg” alt=”Katie Pryor at Cannes Film Festival” title_text=”Katie Pryor at Cannes Film Festival” _builder_version=”4.19.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”30px||30px||true|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.0″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font_size=”23px” header_2_letter_spacing=”2px” header_2_line_height=”1.4em” header_3_font_size=”20px” header_3_letter_spacing=”1px” header_3_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”||5px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.0″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u201cUsually by the time a film gets to us, they are greenlit, funded, and ready to run.\u201d<\/p>\n So, the production approaches the Film Commission and sends Katie\u2019s team a list of key locations where they want to shoot. The Film Commission pulls from locations in their database and helps them narrow it down. They connect the production with the people who manage or own the shooting locations. The production sends a location manager or scout. The scout tours the locations. The scout circles back to Katie, and now it\u2019s time to get into the fun stuff on the ground: the permitting, the road closures, and what needs to happen to blow things up<\/strong>. <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.0″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font_size=”23px” header_2_letter_spacing=”2px” header_2_line_height=”1.4em” header_3_font_size=”20px” header_3_letter_spacing=”1px” header_3_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”||5px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.0″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The first thing we do is go through traffic permitting, make sure we can close the roads. Then we bring in the fire department – for any pyrotechnics, they have to be included. The police are there for every part of it… If anything\u2019s blowing up where you\u2019re using prop guns or anything like that, we paper the neighborhood, we notify the neighborhood or area of town several different ways, and then put barricades up on the roads to let people know it\u2019s coming. Everything we can to alert people this is happening so no one thinks it\u2019s actually a chase.<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.0″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font_size=”23px” header_2_letter_spacing=”2px” header_2_line_height=”1.4em” header_3_font_size=”20px” header_3_letter_spacing=”1px” header_3_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”||5px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.0″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Tom Hanks\u2019 Greyhound was shooting cannons off the World War II battleship we have docked in the Mississippi, so that was a fun notice to send out: \u2018please expect cannon fire noise and nothing is wrong\u2019 to the entire downtown – every business, every resident got a letter.<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.0″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font_size=”23px” header_2_letter_spacing=”2px” header_2_line_height=”1.4em” header_3_font_size=”20px” header_3_letter_spacing=”1px” header_3_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”||5px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.0″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n While it is an accurate representation to say the Film Commissioner\u2019s role is eclectic and multi-faceted, she does not have the power to:<\/p>\n (If you are interested in extras work, there are casting resources on the Film Commission\u2019s \u201cBe an Extra\u201d page<\/a>.)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.0″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font=”|||on|||||” header_2_font_size=”24px” header_2_letter_spacing=”2px” header_2_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”||5px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/fablehouse.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Film-USA-01.jpg” alt=”Film USA” title_text=”Film USA” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.19.0″ _module_preset=”default” width=”300px” width_tablet=”300px” width_phone=”50%” width_last_edited=”on|desktop” max_width=”50%” custom_margin=”30px||30px||true|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.0″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n As a passionate advocate for the Louisiana film community, Katie\u2019s workflow constantly intersects with her position as co-founder of Film USA<\/a>. She saw a \u201cbig-picture\u201d industry opportunity when she attended the 2021 Cannes Film Festival<\/a> with Tony Armer<\/a>, Katie\u2019s co-founder of Film USA and the current film commissioner of Dallas, Texas after an impressive run as Film Commissioner of St. Petersburg Clearwater, Florida. Besides the embedded prestige that lives at the event, what they saw was an incredible platform for networking on a global scale.\u00a0<\/p>\n Every relevant filmmaking country had a pavilion that represented the allure and specific economic perks of filming within their country. In the U.S., the deficit is that we haven\u2019t really had an established presence that globally champions the tax incentives, film commissions, and resources that exist here. Each city and region in the U.S. has been independent and disjointed from one another, making its own headways. A united network could serve as a valuable resource for every film community to pool together as one massive streamlined network:\u00a0<\/p>\n So it started by us <\/em>(Tony Armer and Katie Pryor) going okay, next year <\/em>(2022) we\u2019re going to do an event at Cannes, <\/em>(we will) host a pavilion that represents all the U.S. film commissions. We started looking at it and realized there\u2019s really not an association that represents all U.S. film commissions. When we started reaching out to film commissioners across the country, there was a really high demand for other services and all those things that they needed. And that would be facilitated by an organization like us. So then we said, \u2018Alright, well let\u2019s do that\u2019.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Film USA is an actively growing non-profit 501(c)(6) with an expanding power base of members that range from the Austin Film Commission<\/a> right across the country to the Upstate California Film Commission<\/a>. Their signature event each year will be their pavilion at the Cannes Festival, and the network provides inroads not just for film commissions, but indie filmmakers who aren\u2019t sure where to start:\u00a0<\/p>\n Let\u2019s say today you want to film somewhere in the U.S. You\u2019re not exactly sure where, you don\u2019t know where you qualify for tax incentives, you\u2019re really trying to budget everything, and you need a one-stop resource. So your options at that point are to go and seek out every single film commission\u2019s website, and try and figure out what they\u2019re offering, OR you can go to Film USA, because next year we\u2019ll be launching an online database for our members.<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/fablehouse.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Katie-Pryor-Baton-Rouge-Film-Commission-02-res.jpg” alt=”Katie Pryor Baton Rouge Film Commission” title_text=”Katie Pryor Baton Rouge Film Commission” _builder_version=”4.19.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”30px||30px||true|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.0″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font_size=”23px” header_2_letter_spacing=”2px” header_2_line_height=”1.4em” header_3_font_size=”20px” header_3_letter_spacing=”1px” header_3_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”||5px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.0″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Behind the nonstop phone calls,\u00a0 marketing, and logistical coordination is a job predicated on being passionate about the movies. For Katie, this passion translates to her natural disposition as yes – a hostess – but also as a teacher with encouraging words:<\/p>\n My advice to them and to all filmmakers is: make something. The threshold to entry now is lower, thanks to technology, than it ever has been. Before it was really hard to get your hands on a camera, really hard to get your hands on editing software, but now you\u2019ve got movies shot on an iPhone 5 that have made it into Sundance.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s pragmatic, attainable, and should resonate with any creator hesitant to take that leap forward. Not everyone wants to be the person getting midnight phone calls from an assistant director about where to find a local chiropractor for an actors\u2019 thrown back. But whatever you want to do, go get it. Or in the wise words of a certain Baton Rouge Film Commissioner\/Film USA co-founder\/LSU professor:<\/p>\n \u201cNothing is gonna happen if you don\u2019t show up.\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_cta title=”SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER” button_url=”https:\/\/fablehouse.tv\/newsletter\/” button_text=”SUBSCRIBE” _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_font_size=”24px” header_line_height=”1.4em” body_font_size=”16px” body_line_height=”1.5em” background_enable_color=”off” use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_stops=”rgba(0,0,0,0.69) 0%|rgba(0,0,0,0.41) 100%” background_color_gradient_overlays_image=”on” background_image=”https:\/\/fablehouse.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Enlight67-1.jpg” background_enable_pattern_style=”on” background_pattern_style=”diagonal-stripes-2″ background_pattern_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.15)” custom_margin=”||40px||false|false” custom_padding=”100px|35px|100px|35px|true|true” custom_padding_tablet=”100px|35px|100px|35px|true|true” custom_padding_phone=”80px|30px|80px|30px|true|true” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” header_font_size_tablet=”22px” header_font_size_phone=”21px” header_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” border_radii=”on|15px|15px|15px|15px” border_radii_tablet=”on|15px|15px|15px|15px” border_radii_phone=”on|15px|15px|15px|15px” border_radii_last_edited=”on|desktop” global_colors_info=”{}” global_module=”7346″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n No spam, we promise! Just the latest on Louisiana filmmakers.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_cta][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/fablehouse.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/fable-house-logo-shadow-2.png” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\nA wearer of all the hats: professor, entrepreneur\u2026concierge?<\/h3>\n
What the Film Commission does for indie filmmakers with a project:<\/h3>\n
When it\u2019s time to run with the logistics:<\/h3>\n
So you want to have a car chase\u2026<\/h3>\n
So you want to shoot cannons on the edge of the Mississippi\u2026<\/h3>\n
Things that Katie Pryor cannot do for you:<\/h3>\n
\n
The big picture: Film USA and establishing a united voice for the American film industry<\/h2>\n
What the job is at its core: A love of film and the process of making them<\/h3>\n