Utah Film Industry Adapts to Pandemic

Utah Film Industry

Adapts to Pandemic

By: Allie Russell

Nine Days (2021), Photo by Wyatt Garfield, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Since the 1920s, Utah has been the backdrop for many memorable Hollywood moments both onscreen and off: John Ford’s West, Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch’s stomping grounds, the birthplace of Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival, the end of Thelma & Louise’s journey, and the home of the talented East High Wildcats of High School Musical fame.

Westworld (2016), Courtesy of HBO

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019), Courtesy of Disney+

Utah’s iconic locations and local industry professionals have helped solidify the state’s place in a competitive film market. While the film industry has always been innovative, 2020 provided an entirely new kind of challenge. As COVID-19 changed every aspect of daily life and business, film in Utah quickly adapted to the “new normal.”

Like most businesses across the country, the film industry shut down in March of 2020 to limit the spread of COVID-19. The Utah Film Commission worked with state, local, and industry task forces to develop recommendations that would allow film productions to get back to work as quickly and safely as possible. New on-set protocols became an essential part of every production, including enforcing face masks, social distancing, and establishing a new department, COVID-19 Compliance.

Once safety precautions were established, small feature productions and commercials were the first to get back to work in May. As of July 2020, 58% of the Utah film industry was back to working about the same or more compared to before the pandemic.

Throughout the summer, out-of-state productions sought out Utah as the perfect filming location because of iconic locations across the state that allowed for social distance and easy accessibility from Los Angeles, eliminating the need for air travel. Utah continues to grow as a hub for television and feature film production, as evidenced by the 3% increase both in jobs and overall industry annual wages for a total of $147 million in 2019. That same year, 904 film permits were issued across the state, with 54% of them in rural areas.

While shooting on location, feature productions typically contribute approximately $150,000 per day to the local economy. Even in these unprecedented times, film production remains a reliable economic driver that positively impacts the Wasatch Front and rural Utah regions.

The year 2020 saw an increase in both inquiries and productions in Utah, including television series, commercials, and features filmed throughout the state.

As the Utah film industry continues to adapt to meet new challenges brought on by the pandemic, local crew members and small business owners are working hard to ensure the state’s film industry remains competitive and sustainable. Whatever comes next for the film industry in Utah, one thing is for sure: “We’re all in this together!”

The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020), Courtesy of Orion Classics Wireless (2020), Courtesy of Propagate©