On July 1, two months into the writers strike, FilmL.A. rolled out rate hikes on a slew of fees to obtain permits to shoot in the region. Some of the increases, like with application fees and authorization to shoot at certain locations, were tied to inflation. Others — for rider, photo and notification fees — represented markups of roughly 8 to 17 percent. The agency also introduced a host of entirely new administrative fees for complex filming requests, including for drone, helicopter and special effects use, lane and street closures, and simulated gunfire.

Among the service pricing changes were additional limitations imposed by the guidelines that may further aggravate location budgets. A permit that used to accommodate up to 10 locations for $863 over 14 consecutive days now allows for only five locations per permit for $895 over seven consecutive days. This could cause some permitting costs on large-scale projects to triple, depending on the duration of the shoot and the number of shooting locations. …

“Are these massive numbers? No,” says a location manager, who’s worked on major productions. “But it’s also what makes people think, ‘Why don’t we shoot this in Canada?’ ”

[It’s somewhat reminiscent of why the film industry took root in Hollywood in the first place. Filmmaking was based in NYC in its infancy, but producers fled when Thomas Edison sued for patent infringement for the use of film cameras based on his design. The weather and the friendly business climate made it work. Now California and LA is about to price out their signature industry, in part because states with fewer regulations and lower taxes make it more attractive. Ironic, eh? — Ed]