SourceOregon Production Directory Released

Union member listings enrich Oregon’s film, TV, commercial & interactive media production directory

Oregon industry members celebrate the launch of their 2014 production directory
Oregon industry members celebrate the launch of their 2014 production directory.

To help studios and producers stay on top of crew and resources and to promote Oregon’s unique production advantages, the trade group Oregon Media Production Association (OMPA) has released the 2014 SourceOregon, a directory of the professional crew, talent, vendors and support services that make up Oregon’s bustling industry. Industry parties in Portland, Eugene, and Ashland are scheduled in April to celebrate the directory’s launch.

The 130-page printed directory is bound with a 32-page magazine, plus Standards & Practices supported by association members, all of which is also available online at www.SourceOregon.com

The SourceOregon directory includes Oregon professionals who make movies, TV shows, commercials, web videos, music videos, and video games.

New this year is the inclusion of every single member of the IATSE Local 488 union which supports the industry. This insures that from crew and actors to production and post-production companies, the directory is a comprehensive place to find Oregon’s professional talent.

IATSE 488 union members who have not previously listed in the directory are encouraged to log-in and update their contact information, which currently points users to contact the IATSE 488 business office. IATSE members will be able to receive their username and password through their union or by emailing [email protected].

“Oregon has an abundance of talent to fill the roles in media production, and SourceOregon includes every resource you need to produce here,” says Tom McFadden, Executive Director of OMPA. “This includes the technical aspects… as well as the labor of manufacturing sets and props, directing and acting in scenes and the business that supports all this production: legal, hotels, advertising and marketing.”

OMPA has published a directory since the association was founded 32 years ago to promote Oregon as a place to do production business. In that time, Oregon has earned recognition as a world-class production center. As the industry has grown, the directory has let more and more studios and other clients world-wide know about the wealth of resources in Oregon and the standards of excellence that are supported here.

“We use SourceOregon because it helps us find great Oregon talent,” explained Liz Brandenburg, Production Coordinator/Supervisor on Electric Entertainment and TNT’s Leverage series, Untitled Bounty Hunter, and Brain Trust pilots.

Oregon’s unique qualities, qualifications, and an abundance of looks make it a popular location for shooting major budget television shows, films and commercials. Recent highlights include NBCUniversal’s Grimm which has been picked up for its 4th season of shooting, and like several shows before it, takes full advantage of using Oregon as its backdrop; Electric Entertainment’s Leverage (with production offices in Clackamas, Oregon) which changed its script to be set in the Portland area; Portlandia which would be nothing if it couldn’t use local talent to mock Oregon’s inimitable character; and Oregon’s only full-time motion picture studio LAIKA (ParaNorman, Coraline) which is on track to release a project every 1-2 years. (The studio’s next stop-motion feature Boxtrolls is set to release on September 26.)

Oregon now boasts over $120 million per year in spending from high-profile film and TV projects like these, but media production’s total impact on Oregon’s economy is calculated at $1.39 billion per year according to an ECONorthwest economic analysis of the Oregon film & video industry. That includes income from commercial, documentary, industrial, corporate and education videos by domestic producers; film and TV recruited from out-of-state; television broadcasters in cities statewide; and an economic multiplier of about 1.96 on dollars spent in this industry in Oregon.

To keep up the pace with production business, the industry has expanded jobs in both union and non-union positions. Charlie Carlsen, Business Manager of the IATSE Local 488, says the union has “trained people within our ranks to take on more jobs with increased responsibilities.”

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