Connecticut’s fledgling film industry is prepping for its much anticipated turn in the spotlight.
The state has set the stage with tax credits. Connecticut’s first studio to be built from the ground up is expected to open soon in South Windsor. But will it have the workers?
Some industry officials agree that Connecticut doesn’t yet have the union workforce to fill all the high-skill, high-pay jobs that Connecticut Studios is expected to create.
It’s a dilemma all too familiar to Andrew Gernhard. He is constantly searching for new talent for his Rocky Hill-based company Synthetic Cinema International, which has shot and produced about eight films in Connecticut since 2004.
His company, which mostly concentrates on monster flicks, employs about 40 people during the production process of a single movie. Nearly 75 percent of his crew is locally hired, but the rest are imported from nearby states.
Even though Synthetic Cinema is well known locally and receives dozens of jobs applications a week, Gernhard said it hasn’t been easy finding homegrown talent.
“It’s hard to find qualified people in Connecticut. There is not much of a workforce here yet,” Gernhard said. “We need more skilled people who have experience. Big films are bringing people in from Boston, New York and Los Angeles.”
Connecticut’s film tax credits have created a budding industry in the state, but finding a local workforce to serve it has been challenging, industry officials agree.
Since July 2006, when the tax credits went into effect, there have been 147 productions in Connecticut — including feature films, commercials and TV shows — which have spent a combined $800 million.
But in an industry heavily reliant on a union workforce, Connecticut only has about 150 residents with cards in the main union network that serves the region, forcing productions — especially larger ones — to import out-of-state workers.
Gaining union membership hasn’t been easy, as access is limited and qualifications standards remain high.
If the trend continues it could compromise the effectiveness of the tax credit program. Lacking a local workforce makes it more expensive to produce films here, especially beyond Fairfield County, and also means non-residents are taking some of their wages out of state, reducing the overall economic impact of the credits.
Film workers who earn money in Connecticut are required to pay taxes here, regardless of their place of residence.
Gernhard mostly relies on non-union workers, but agrees that both areas need to be further developed.
Kevin Segalla, founder of the Stamford-based Connecticut Film Center, said building a workforce for a new industry takes time, but Connecticut is making progress.
He estimates that in 2006 only about 5 percent of the crews working on larger productions were from Connecticut. Now he says that number can range anywhere from 20 percent to 100 percent.
Segalla said it’s normal for new industries to build a temporary workforce early on, and then gradually establish a more permanent, locally-based staff.
“The key to doing that will be developing the industry further to show unions there is enough work to go around,” Segalla said.
The stakes are particularly high for studios in Connecticut looking to lure major productions.
If producers interested in Connecticut have to continually import crews from Los Angeles or Manhattan, it can be costly and serve as a major deterrent.
Mark Miller, the general manager of studio and digital media operations at Connecticut Studios, said he believes the state can offer a highly skilled workforce.
Miller said Connecticut Studios, which is scheduled to break ground on a $71 million film studio in South Windsor this spring, plans to build training programs for a variety of production jobs, such as set building, that can grow the skilled workforce. They also expect to see some migration of professionals from Los Angeles and New York who relocate to Connecticut.
Miller, for example, was recently named to his current position, and is a California transplant where he was a 35-year veteran of the television and film industry.
In addition to the core studio operations, Connecticut Studios is planning on developing post-production and digital imaging services that will create high-tech and high-wage jobs aimed to reduce the state’s “brain drain,” Miller said.
The state has been active in trying to ramp up its workforce to serve the film industry. In 2007, the state set aside money for a Film Industry Training Program, which has already trained 300 people on the basics of feature film and episodic television production. It is taught by union members who have deep experience in the business.
But due to budget cutbacks previous training programs at Middlesex Community College and Norwalk Community College have been suspended. The training program will be offered this summer but only at Quinnipiac University.
Charles Miller, administrator of the training program, said it has been an “unqualified success” and has generated a number of candidates for union membership.
“We feel very strongly that a number of our graduates are excellent candidates for admission into the unions,” Charles Miller said. “We’d like to see more Connecticut people get their cards.”
To be employed on most feature films and TV projects shooting in Connecticut, resident professionals must obtain membership in the union appropriate to his or her skills.
Connecticut is included in a five-state organized labor region encompassing New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and part of Delaware. Within this region, 95 percent of film job categories are subject to existing independent, studio and commercial union contracts.
The largest and most influential union is the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 52, which is based in New York and represents most production workers including set decorators and dressers, as well as electric, grip, sound, video, and property workers.
It’s also the most difficult union to get into, officials said.
Connecticut has about 150 total IATSE members, but that includes individuals in five other union divisions within the International Alliance. About eight unions serve the film industry in the five-state district.
Charles Miller said unions want to see a significant number of pictures coming into Connecticut before they open their doors more widely to in-state residents.
Local 52, like many unions, limits their membership to ensure that there is enough work to go around, and also has tough testing requirements, Charles Miller said.
Local 52 President John Ford did not return a call seeking comment.
George Norfleet, director of the Connecticut Office of Film, Television and Digital Media, said his office has had positive conversations with IATSE Local 52 officials.
“We are still in the early stages,” Norfleet said. “They want to work with us so that there is adequate labor to meet the demands of Connecticut productions.”
