quote:

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Originally posted by masterspud

South Africa is actually pretty livable. Way back when the British took control they had families move to South Africa to populate it with rich whites. I think South Africa would be a lot cheaper then you think. I mean, they have very large cities. But I do agree that most other places in Africa would be very pricey.

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But we aren't talking about the livability of an
area. We're discussing the production of movie.
If most of the crew and equipment must be
transported in, that area is no longer cheaper
to shoot in. South Africa is building its production
infrastructure and is becoming a viable place to
shoot. I've done two budgets for shows shooting
in South Africa - it's a lot more expensive than you
think.

quote:

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Originally posted by Aspiring mogul
District 9 is a true inspiration to aspiring moguls. 🙂

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There are dozens of movies that an aspiring mogul
can draw inspiration from. What you are trying to
do has been done thousands of times before you
and will be done thousands of times again. You are
in excellent company!

Going back to the talent. If talent isn't a reason for filming in Dallas why don't they film somewhere else. There are much cheaper cities to film in. I don't believe money is the only reason.

The reason is because they don't film somewhere else is because
its more expensive to shoot in a city that has no production
infrastructure. Money is the only reason.

If all the equipment needs to be rented in Los Angeles and then
shipped and transported to the much cheaper city then its not
much cheaper. The money reason.

If the local people in that much cheaper city dont have the
needed skills and experience then an entire crew needs to be
transported to and lodged in that much cheaper city. The money
reason.

But I think you need to define what you mean by much cheaper. Do
you mean lodging? Do you mean permits and insurance? Do you mean
cheaper crew rates? And by talent do you mean that in the
traditional usage - talent being the on screen people - or do you
mean the crews also?

A city that doesnt have production facilities, rental houses and
local crews is not a much cheaper city to shoot in. And thats the
money reason again.

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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

yeah, I see that now. As much as I'd love for there to be more to it i suppose the isn't. But it's still a great place to film so I guess I can't complain.

But then the question is why Dallas as opposed to Vancouver or Seattle? Is Dallas cheaper than either city? And, if so, how about Detroit, MI, which is trying to attract film companies?

masterspud, I'm really interested in what you said. You would love
there to be more to it. What would you love it to be?

mogul, since a lot of production is done in Vancouver (not so much
Seattle) and MI has been pushing their tax incentives and actively
drawing more production there I'm not sure what you mean. It isn't
an either or. Companies aren't shooting in Dallas as opposed to
Vancouver - companies are shooting in both. And in many other cities
that are building, or have, production infrastructure.

Maybe I'm going to pull the rug out from my own argument that money
is the primary reason movies are made in certain cities, but what the hell...

If you're doing a TV series set in Los Angeles, and you're shooting from
October to March, Detroit or Vancouver isn't the best place to be. It costs
a LOT of money to get rid of snow on the ground. And the weather is a
factor when shooting in Seattle. So in addition to having local, lower paid
crews, soundstages, rental houses and labs, the locations and weather
comes into play. You can make a Dallas street look like a L.A. street, but
you can't find a beach there. So sometimes no matter how much less it
is to shoot outside of Los Angeles or New York, if the script calls for a beach
scene or a scene at the Met, they ain't shooting in Dallas.

I would love for it to be about the people and not the money. I know a ton of actors and crew that love what they do. I would love for them to have some sort of credit for making Dallas a good place to film. But you did mention weather so perhaps that as something to do with filming here. It almost never snows and ice is also rare. The early and late winter months are usually spring or fall weather allowing time to film before it's too cold. Just a thought.

As I said, a city that has experienced local crews makes it cheaper for a prodCo to shoot
in that city. If it makes you feel better thinking that the primary reason movies and TV
shooting in Dallas is the experience and skill of the people, I think you'll be accurate.
The reason movies and TV is shot in Los Angeles is because of the skilled, experienced
people. And we, too, love what we do.