Step aside, Hollywood…it’s Houston’s time to shine!
A recent article in the Houston Chronicle leads off with this stunning header: “Houston a major player in commercial and corporate shoots.”It looks like we made it! But before we break into a Shania Twain rendition (you know how us Texans love country rock), let’s reminisce about our journey to center stage.
Houston’s film industry took a major hit in 2015, when state lawmakers cut funding for the Texas Film Commission’s incentive program. Funds went from $95 million to $35 million; a devastating decrease. To give perspective, the article reports that the California Film Commission saw a $100 million increase to its program, which brought funds up to a whopping $330 million for the last three years. You guys, that’s hundreds of millions of dollars more than what Houston had to work with! But somehow they managed to continue landing projects with big brands.
How? Our incredibly talented industry of professionals.
An agency’s ability to afford expensive video equipment and technology used to be the determining factor for who would be awarded projects. But with equipment and technology more available and affordable today, an agency’s degree of talent is the factor that tips the scale. This is where Houston began its ascent.
This summer, ProductionHUB, a global networking group for the media and entertainment industry, ranked Houston as the 3rd fastest growing city for corporate video production. Which means we just outranked Los Angeles and Dallas. Zing!
According to the article, the economic impact of Houston’s film industry could be somewhere as high as $60 million annually. It helps that Houston is the corporate headquarter for 24 companies on the 2016 Fortune 500 list. But, as this article aims to highlight, it’s our talented professionals who should be thanked.
“The base is small enough that crew members know each other, but skilled enough to handle projects for companies like Exxon, Mobil, Apple, and Reebok.”
Additionally, this article highlights the major growth potential Houston’s film industry can look forward to. An estimated 200,000 small-to-mid-size businesses in Houston have a budget size that can handle some degree of video marketing. And Industry leaders are noticing that video is expanding into new verticals. For example, Chevron and BP have always been major proponents of video, but now organizations in medical and technology are making video a top priority.
It’s clear that Houston’s video production industry truly understands what audiences want. And Scott Szabo, president, and composer of Szabo Sound & Music, who was quoted in the article summed it up perfectly.
“The US audience is sophisticated in terms of wanting high production value…the corporate messaging has to be just as exciting as movies and TV shows.”
Get ready, Houston-based brands! This is the experience our city’s video production agencies intend to deliver. We’ve earned national attention for producing incredible corporate and commercial shoots with limited funding for incentives programs. Just imagine the impact our talented video personnel will have on the city’s economy as the local video scene continues to thrive and grow.
As a video marketing agency located in the middle of the growing production hub, Houston, we're ready to partner with you for any of your company's corporate video production needs. And if you still need help convincing your company that you need to incorporate video into your overall marketing strategy, check out this blog.
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