Bring New Zealand to Nashville or Atlantis to Atlanta

The reason people are leaving the golden coast and are coming to the Southeast for their productions.

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Bring New Zealand to Nashville or Atlantis to Atlanta

The reason people are leaving the golden coast and are coming to the Southeast for their productions.

Georgia - "the Hollywood of the South" 

Georgia did not just get this name out of thin air. The state of Georgia as well as Tennessee both have put a lot of work and effort into becoming the major production hubs they are today. And that not only benefits the states, cities and people living there, it also provides advantages for producers looking to take productions outside of actual Hollywood.

Learn below why a visit to Arc Studios in Nashville and Optik Studios in Atlanta might be worth considering for your next masterpiece. 

1. Overall Production Cost

It should come as no surprise that the biggest cities and production hubs in the United States are the most expensive. Probably one of the main arguments for shooting productions in the Southeast is the reduction of the overall cost. 

Compared to the large cities like Los Angeles and New York, the cost for production studios, but also everything else going into production is significantly lower - transportation, accommodation, crew wages, production design, catering, and so on. 

All without suffering in quality.

Using Atlanta as an example, Los Angeles has a 43% higher cost of living, an 18% higher transportation cost, 11% higher food cost, and a staggering 126% higher cost of housing. 

Buckle up, these margins only grow when comparing Atlanta and New York City with a 439% higher housing cost, a 19% higher transportation cost, and 36% higher food cost. Leading to 145% higher overall cost compared to Atlanta.

one of the main arguments for shooting productions in the Southeast is the reduction of the overall cost.

While you might not be ready (yet) to set down permanent roots in Atlanta, these numbers provide a good indicator of how much you will spend for your production in Georgia. 

Comparing an average trip budget per day between those cities provide the same indication. While budgetyourtrip recommends an average daily cost of $136/per person, per day for Atlanta, and $138/per person, per day for Nashville, you pay almost 42% more in Los Angeles ($192/ per person, per day) and 75% more in New York City ($238/ per person, per day).

And the traffic - well, let’s say it’s comparable. 

2. Film Industry tax incentives

Providing incentives to bring film productions to a state benefits both producers and cities within that state. 

For cities, it provides publicity, attracts tourism and talent, and creates employment.

For producers, statewide tax incentives mean you often get refundable or transferable tax credits and/or exemptions from sales tax on qualified transactions. 

Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment & Tennessee Entertainment & Music Commission

Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment & Tennessee Entertainment & Music Commission

In Georgia specifically, you receive a 20% base transferable tax credit, and a 10% Georgia Entertainment Promotion (GEP) uplift by simply embedding a Georgia logo with a link on approved projects if you qualify. There’s no annual or project cap and even post-production of Georgia-filmed movies and television projects qualifies if the post-process is done in Georgia.

In Tennessee, you can qualify for a cash rebate in form of a 25% grant plus the state offers a qualified production credit that can be used to offset up to 50% of franchise and excise tax liability. But that’s not all - even your hotel occupancy tax can be rebated or will no longer be charged after a certain amount of time spent in the state. 

The Southeast is starting to look better and better, isn’t it? Wait for it…

3. Skilled Labor

Saving money is great, but if you don’t have the staff to support your project in the location you’re shooting, it might end up being costlier than the savings.

Lucky the Southeast is in no short supply of skilled labor.

Not only did the Savannah College of Art and Design just open its brand new virtual production stage in Savannah, Georgia, but they are building a second virtual production stage right in the heart of Atlanta. This means numerous students from different majors are becoming designers and film producers of the future.

The state of Georgia as well as Tennessee both have put a lot of work and effort into becoming the major production hubs they are today.

The xR stage at SCAD Savannah (credit: SCAD)

And if you can’t wait for students to graduate, both Georgia and Tennessee already have a pool of talented people to support your production. 

In 2019, Georgia productions have employed an estimated 96,000 people. This number can only be estimated to have gone up in the last 2 years with productions growing from a $2.9 billion industry in 2019 to a whopping $4.4 billion industry in the first 6 months of 2022 alone.

Savannah College of Art and Design just open its brand new virtual production stage in Savannah, Georgia, but they are building a second virtual production stage right in the heart of Atlanta

Photo by Ryan Green

Tennessee was ranked sixth amongst all states in overall employment in the film-production sector back in 2019 and has a growing creative community of world-class creatives at its fingertips. 

4. Talent

With famous actors like Julia Roberts, Donald Glover, Morgan Freeman, and Laurence Fishburne being from the Southeast, it comes as no surprise that the Southeast has a pool of talented actors. 

There are roughly 300 agencies repping over 30,000 actors, providing a good selection of the next big name to choose from.

And if you can’t land on a decision from over 30,000 people to choose from, there is still the option to easily fly them in.

5. Accessibility 

As the largest connection hub in North America, Most-Traveled Airport in the Western Hemisphere, and home to Delta Airways, Atlanta’s international Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson, provides the ideal travel accommodation from near and afar. 

Compared to the large cities like Los Angeles and New York, the cost for production studios, but also everything else going into production is significantly lower - transportation, accommodation, crew wages, production design, catering, and so on.

Flight durations US locations to ATL airport (credit: Discover Atlanta)

According to Discover Atlanta, about 80% of the U.S. population is within a two-hour flight from Atlanta's airport and it provides direct, non-stop access from more than 150 U.S. cities and 75 international destinations from six continents. 

The heart of the city (and our office) is located less than 20 minutes from the airport and there are plenty of taxis, limousine services, ride-sharing services, and even public transportation available.

Nashville’s airport is home to 22 airlines, including major carriers and their regional partners, with more than 585 daily flights. Nonstop service is provided to 97 markets, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, London, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Washington D.C., and more. 

Nashville Airport

Nashville Airport

And if you like taking road trips, it’s merely a 3-hour drive from Atlanta.

5. You are among good company

If you’ve ever been to the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri and have looked for those famous sets in Ozark, you were probably disappointed to learn that the whole TV series was actually filmed throughout the state of Georgia, within just a short drive from downtown Atlanta.

Georgia has hosted major productions throughout the years, from action-packed movies like the Hunger Games and Marvel Studios: The Avengers to zombie-post-world the Walking Dead to supernatural Stranger Things: the list is long. 

Georgia has hosted major productions throughout the years, from action-packed movies like the Hunger Games and Marvel Studios: The Avengers to zombie-post-world the Walking Dead
Photo by Andrea David.

Music City Nashville is not only famous for its country music, but boasts of movies such as The Green Mile with Tom Hanks, and the original Matrix.

Oh yes, the Southeast is where it’s at. 

The Hollywood of the South.

Come join us.

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