Commentary by Randy Davidson, Founder & CEO
Our travels to the West Coast are always eventful especially when the weather cooperates. This trip was perfect in terms of sunshine, not to mention the traffic was the best I have seen in years. (Plus Fatburger and Randy’s Donuts). Many of our partners are based in LA, and all the meetings involved upcoming projects and initiatives where Georgia is a central topic of conversation.
Is California tuned into Georgia’s legislative session? 100%! In many cases West Coast entertainment executives are more familiar with the details of pending legislation than Georgians. We were there during the final days of Georgia’s legislative session so all eyes were on versions of House Bill 1180 and potential changes to the Georgia Entertainment Investment Act.
The tone of our meetings were very positive. It’s insightful to hear how a company like Netflix views production with a worldwide lens. As an example, yes, they are actively scaling in other regions, but it does not go unnoticed that Georgia is all in with the newest and best purposed built soundstage space in the country. On the professional and production services side, companies unanimously give props to the business environment in Georgia – expansion friendly. On improvements, there are a few issues previously mentioned that Georgia stakeholders are already addressing.
For this trip, we added an intimate Insiders Social at the West Hollywood Edition rooftop. The small gathering was a way to engage with more of our Los Angeles connections around the theme of Georgia. By chance, a few people from Georgia were already in the city on business and joined us at the Edition.
A special thanks to executives at NBCUniversal, Netflix, 3Arts, MPA, Muse VFX, Monarch, Cxmmunity Media, WhiskyTree, FotoKem, TPC, ARRI, Axos Bank and the producers/directors we met. Several are coming to our next Signature 100 event later this month at Eagle Rock Studios.
We will have more coverage from many of these meetings individually especially on the expansion of VFX, digital and post production in Georgia from West Coast firms. Plus, I am really excited to share more about our meeting with the team at Axos Bank and TPC! Jezlan Moyet (President) plans to write more about our event at the Edition and Rosa Waite (Director of Creative Operations) is drafting a special piece we will share about our incredible visit to FotoKem.
Thanks to our partners for supporting our efforts to engage inside and outside the state as we wave the flag of opportunity for Georgia.
See more pictures here.
