By: Riona Harriot
We had the opportunity to have Philip Sokoloski, who is the vice president of integrated communications at FilmLA, speak to us about community relations in the film industry. Now I have to admit, I had no idea what community relations in the film industry was, so I was very excited to learn during his presentation.
What I found interesting, is that Philip started as an Executive Assistant at FilmLA and worked his way up to become a vice president! In his presentation, he took us through the beginning of his PR career which was incredibly fascinating, and then spent the majority of the presentation covering how those in the film industry have to operate when they are out filming in the communities of Los Angeles.
Some things that I found very interesting, were that FilmLA covers 16 out of the 88 cities in Los Angeles County when it comes to overseeing permits to film. It is very crucial that you receive a permit prior to filming, or you risk being reported and shut down. This can be serious because then you waste money on the people and equipment you needed for filming.
For student filmmakers, FilmLA has cheaper student permit options if you contact their office, and they sometimes even offer bus tours around certain areas of the region for filmmakers to take a look at prospective filming locations.
I came to realize that FilmLA really likes to make their presence in the community known, so that way if residents have an issue or concern, they have someone to talk to. I want to thank Mr. Sokoloski for taking the time to come and speak to us. It was a fantastic presentation from a fantastic organization.