300 N Washington Sq Lansing, MI 48913 [email protected] tel 800 477 3456 tel 517 373 3456 fax 517 241 3689 MichiganFilmOffice.org
DATE: October 30, 2015
TO: The Honorable Jim Stamas, Chair The Honorable Coleman Young, Minority Vice Chair Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Senate Appropriations Subcommittee
on General Government on General Government
The Honorable Laura Cox, Chair The Honorable Fred Durhal, Minority Vice Chair House Appropriations Subcommittee House Appropriations Subcommittee
on General Government on General Government
FROM: Jenell Leonard
Michigan Film Commissioner
SUBJECT: Michigan Film Office 2015 Fourth Quarter Report
Section 1033 of Public Act 252 of 2014 requires the Michigan Film Office to produce quarterly reports on the status of the film incentives approved under section 29h of the Michigan Strategic Fund Act. Please find the attached report for your review and records which, for the convenience of the legislature, meets and exceeds the legislative requirements contained in statute.
If you have any questions regarding the information in this report, please do not hesitate to contact the Film Office at 517.373.3456.
Attachment
cc: Steve Arwood, CEO, Michigan Economic Development Corporation Ellen Jeffries, Director, Senate Fiscal Agency
1
Michigan Film & Digital Media Office 2015 Fourth Quarter Report July 1, 2015 to September 30, 2015 Overview
The Michigan Film Office was created in 1979 to assist and attract incoming production companies and to promote the growth of Michigan’s own film industry.
During the First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2015, the Michigan Film and Digital Media Production Incentive provided qualified production companies up to a 32 percent incentive for qualifying Michigan expenditures with the opportunity to earn an additional 3 percent for production in one of Michigan’s qualified production or post-production facilities.
At the end of 2014, Public Act 396 of 2014 was signed into law. Under this statute, the Michigan Film and Digital Media Production Incentive provided qualified production companies with a 25 percent incentive for qualifying Michigan expenditures with the opportunity to earn an additional 3 percent for production in one of Michigan’s qualified production facilities, or 10 percent for production in one of Michigan’s qualified post-production facilities.
Eligible projects included motion pictures, documentaries, TV series, miniseries, interactive television, music videos, interactive games, video games, Internet programming, sound recording, digital animation and interactive websites.
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) Film & Digital Media Review Committee, comprised of senior MEDC staff including the Michigan Film Commissioner, reviewed all completed applications using the statute to guide approval decisions and makes recommendations on whether to approve or deny a project.
All projects are required to be approved in concurrence with the President of the Michigan Strategic Fund.
At the beginning of Fiscal Year 2015 the Michigan Film Office was appropriated $50 million. As a result of a negative supplemental in February 2015, the film incentive was reduced by $12 million leaving $38 million in Fiscal Year 2015 funding for new projects, utilizing MCL 125.2029h of the Michigan Strategic Fund Act as the framework for the program.
During the fourth quarter, House Bill 4122 was signed by the Governor on July 10, 2015, which prohibits the Michigan Film Office from entering into any new incentive agreements. While no additional incentive agreements can be signed, every agreement has three years to complete their project and claim their incentive.
2 After being approved, projects entered into an agreement with the Film Office in order for
expenses to qualify for the incentive. Production must commence within 90 days of approval unless granted an extension by the Film Office. Expenditures incurred before an agreement is effective do not qualify.
With the enactment of House Bill 4122, amendments that request an increase to an already approved incentive budget are prohibited.
Once a production is complete, it must employ an approved independent Michigan CPA to perform an audit of its Michigan expenditures, which is submitted with the project’s Certificate of Completion Request (COCR). Only after all documentation is submitted and reviewed is the audit process complete. Once the audit process is complete and expenditures are approved, the production company will receive an incentive for a specified dollar amount totaling the approved percentages of eligible expenses, certified by the Film Commissioner.
In the fourth quarter of Fiscal Year 2015, four projects were issued approved COCRs. The approved COCRs and the amount disbursed for the fourth quarter are shown on the following page with a revised dashboard. The revised dashboard yields more data than what is required by law to provide greater transparency of the incentive program.
The direct and indirect impact, job creation and investment numbers were determined using data from the approved COCR and outputs generated utilizing REMI (Regional Economic Models, Inc.) economic forecasting software.
on the Film office website: Film Office 2015 Strategic Plan
One of the recommendations requires updates to be provided to the legislature as to the
implementation of the plan. Provided below are milestones that have been achieved in the fourth quarter.
Expanded Vision and Scope
Michigan fuels the creative economy! With a broader mission and an innovative approach to promoting film and digital media productions throughout the state, the Michigan Film Office expanded its scope to support the creative industries in a more holistic way and is now known as the Michigan Film & Digital Media Office. This change was made effective on September 3, 2015, by way of press release and a promotional video.
Michigan is a preeminent place for filmmakers, digital media artists and producers along with being a home for the range of talent in the state's creative industries. The goal of the Film & Digital Media Office is to attract businesses that create content across all channels, including mobile, CGI, animation, digital gaming and social media.
Michigan Digital Media Statistics:
Michigan employs nearly 270,000 people (in 2014) across digital-media industries. Michigan ranks second among the Midwest states (MI, IL, IN, OH, WI), and 11th in the
U.S. in terms of employment in these industries.
During the next five years (through 2019) Michigan is expected to see employment growth of 10.5 percent across these industries. (NOTE: This is on par with U.S. growth of 11.1 percent.)
The average earnings for those employed in digital-media related industries in Michigan is nearly $89,000.
Oakland County ranks second (after Cook County, IL) across all Midwest counties in terms of employment across these industries (Midwest states: MI, IL, IN, WI, OH). Wayne County ranks fourth (after DuPage County IL).
Digital Media
Recommendation: Research the potential of hosting a digital media summit in Michigan to highlight what the state has to offer to the digital media industry on national and international levels.
Action: Co-hosted Digital Summit – Detroit; an event which brought together some of Michigan’s most talented innovators. Launching its pilot conference for Detroit this year, Digital Summit not only enjoyed near-capacity attendance, but also bolstered Michigan’s standing as the Midwest digital media hub.
Digital Media
Recommendation: Create public/private partnerships with those interested in growing the digital media sector in our state and help foster the economic growth of this industry. This yields the opportunity to declare Michigan as the Midwest digital media hub of the country.
Action: Co-hosted The Woz along with faculty and students from Michigan State
University, which for the second year now has introduced a digital media component into the Traverse City Film Festival. This event engaged students with festival-goers,
continued to bridge the gap between film and technology, and showcased storytelling in a whole new medium.
Talent Development
Recommendation: Partner with film and creative industry members to conduct workshops in various regions of the state to provide training, connect talent with employment opportunities and increase awareness of the film and creative industry’s breadth and depth in the state.
Action: Sponsorship to the Urban Institute of Contemporary Arts (UICA) to host the first-ever VISITING FILM ARTIST SERIES held September 2 & 3 in Grand Rapids. This two-day program brought together cinema masters and local filmmakers and film aficionados together for a weekend of film-focused education and entertainment.
Day 1: Film screening and Q&A with screenwriter and director Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and more). Event was open to the public. Attendance = 136.
Day 2:Filmmaking Workshop led by Paul Schrader and followed by lunch. Attendance = 50. Office leveraged sponsorship to provide access to this
professional development opportunity to four Grand Valley University students shown below.
Talent Development
Recommendation: Partner with film and creative industry members to conduct workshops in various regions of the state to provide training, connect talent with employment opportunities and increase awareness of the film and creative industry’s breadth and depth in the state.
Action: Headline sponsorship to TechMedia to host DIGITAL SUMMIT DETROIT
held September 22 & 23 in Detroit. This two-day regional digital marketing conference provided leading-edge digital media and marketing seminars and top-flight networking with internet execs, online marketers, entrepreneurs and digital strategists. Office leveraged sponsorship to provide access to this professional development opportunity through a contest to college students. Students from the following colleges attended the two-day summit to engage with some of the most prominent digital leaders in the state and across the nation: Eastern Michigan, University of Michigan, Mott Community College, Lansing Community College, Northwestern Michigan College, Alma College.
Digital Summit Detroit – staff and access pass winners Photo by Michigan Film & Digital Media Office
Talent Development
Recommendation: Partner with film and creative industry members to conduct workshops in various regions of the state to provide training, connect talent with employment opportunities and increase awareness of the film and creative industry’s breadth and depth in the state.
Action: Sponsored CREATIVE MANY MICHIGAN HOUSE at ArtPrize, a space in
downtown Grand Rapids expertly curated with a collection of Michigan-made furniture, art and design. This host-site served as a physical and digital hub for attendees to
ArtPrize, Waterfront Film Festival and Michigan Film Office Advisory Council meeting to experience Michigan-centric programming, dialogue, networking and entertainment.
Promotion
Recommendation:
1. Increase Michigan’s presence and participation in domestic and international film and creative industry events and trade shows to ensure maximum exposure at efficient costs.
2. Develop a public private partnership with theaters and cinemas across the state to host “Made in Michigan Movie Days” featuring projects or actors from Michigan
Action: MFDMO sponsorship to support “ArtPrize OnScreen: Presented by Waterfront Film Festival”, the first-ever integration of film into ArtPrize, an
internationally renowned art festival in Grand Rapids. This served to elevate Michigan’s profile as a creative industry destination to a broad domestic and international audience of residents, tourists. Part of this sponsorship was specifically directed to featuring T-Rex, a documentary filmed in Michigan following the inspirational story of 17-year old Claressa Shields, the first woman in history to win the gold medal in Olympic boxing. The film make the ArtPrize 2015 Jurors’ Shortlist.
Promotion
Recommendation: Leverage positive testimonials of talent about their experience in Michigan to tout Michigan’s comeback story.
Action: Sponsorship to support the PREMIERE for the Gotta Keep Dreamin
documentary that served as the closing night event for Detroit Homecoming, a Crain’s Detroit Business event that brought more than 170 expats to their hometown to recharge, reinvest and rediscover their city. Produced by Grammy-award winning singer and songwriter Michael Bolton, the film explores the roots of his greatest musical influences from Hitsville USA, but discovers so much more as it tells the inspirational story of Detroit’s rise, fall and resurgence highlighting heroic commitments and community initiatives.
Michigan stories to show the growth of the creative industry in Michigan.
Action: Attended following meetings with stakeholder groups throughout the state for opportunity to provide updates on news and initiatives from the office and engage directly with the creative community to gain feedback
July 24, 2015 - Michigan Film & Video Alliance (Grand Rapids) August 3, 2015 - FilmFatales (Detroit)
August 6, 2015 - Tourism Industry Coalition of Michigan (Lansing)
Transparency
Recommendation: Leverage social media and networking efforts by incorporating and featuring more infographics about the creative industry, strengthening the MFO’s relationships with schools, colleges and universities, enhancing location scouting opportunities, highlighting Pure Michigan features related to the creative industry and featuring regional film offices and MFO advisory council members.
Action: Through the use of 45 Facebook posts and 42 Tweets in Q4, the MFDMO was able to engage our followers with a variety of content which touched on all creative industries. We engaged college and university students through the use of a social media contest in which winners received passes to Digital Summit – Detroit. Also,
Live-Tweeted two advisory council meetings giving the public a glimpse into what shapes our office policy through the work of our council members.
