Video production in Arizona is very interesting. When cowboy movies and TV shows were popular, Arizona had a thriving industry. Movie sets were built outside of Tucson and used continually. The good guys wore white hats and road white horses. The bad guys always wore black.
The western movie industry in Arizona began to fade as heroes became dark, tortured souls fighting for redemption or revenge. Very few TV shows were set in Phoenix or Tucson because they lacked distinctive characteristics.
In 2010, the Arizona Legislature passed SB 1070 which, according to Wikipedia, was the “broadest and strictest anti-illegal immigration measure passed in the United States.” This ignited a firestorm of protest and drew many boycotts from various industries. Hollywood and most of the film industry boycotted Arizona. Jobs in production went away. About the same time, the Arizona Film Commission was closed for lack of money in the state budget.
A couple of members of the Arizona Legislature fought and won a battle to eliminate tax incentives for productions in Arizona. They claimed that Arizona tax incentives were bringing California porn movies to Arizona. New Mexico still gave liberal tax incentives to production companies filming in New Mexico so business went east.
These events limited video production in Phoenix to TV commercials for local businesses and training videos for local companies. Only now is video production and film production beginning to return. There are scores of extremely talented people trying to make a living in the Arizona video production industry but money is scarce. Only the companies that offer superior service, value and quick response are making it.
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