Film and digital media companies, like Oscar-winning Moonbot Studios (shown here), have found everything they need to succeed right here in North Louisiana. Competitive tax incentives, infrastructure support and educational programs that generate skilled and qualified knowledge workers offer companies a competitive edge in doing business.
My Favorites
Add Page
Print
Share
You have 0 items saved in "My Favorites"
Use "My Favorites" to collect pages, downloads, properties, companies, and reports that you would like to keep in one place. To store a page, click on the "Add to My Favorites" button at the top of the page. To store a download, click on the plus button next to the download link. To store a property or company, click on the "Add to My Favorites" button listed next to each listing. Reports that are generated are automatically saved to My Favorites. My Favorites will be saved for seven days.
VIEW & EDIT MY FAVORITES

North Louisiana Recognized as "Hollywood South"


North Louisiana is a hotbed for television, film and digital media production. The region is known as the the new "Hollywood South." Business Facilities magazine named Louisiana "Best State for Digital Media" in June 2012 and ranked Shreveport-Bossier No. 4 in motion picture industry growth in 2010. MovieMaker magazine calls Shreveport-Bossier the No. 3 Best City in the nation for Independent Filmmaking. 

North Louisiana welcomes Hollywood with open arms, building necessary infrastructure for film and motion production such as sound stages, creating organizations to support TV and film production and making shooting on location as easy as possible. Digital media and film production companies also enjoy the most competitive incentives in the nation with a 35% tax credit on expenditures.

The landscape of North Louisiana accommodates a wide variety of settings from urban cityscapes with casinos and high-rise office buildings to swamps and cypress trees to antebellum plantations and even military installations. Our people are friendly and always eager to help. North Louisiana's great weather and excellent locations make filming year-round possible.
 

Motion Picture Industry Development Tax Credit


North Louisiana's new status as "Hollywood South" is fueled largely by the state’s generous film incentives. The State of Louisiana offers a competitive package of tax incentives aimed at the film industry, called the Motion Picture Industry Development Tax Credit. According to a study commissioned by Louisiana Economic Development, prior to the state enacting the film tax incentives, Louisiana had only 500 people employed in the motion picture industry. By 2007, the employment number increased by 33%.

 

Tax  Benefits:

  • 30% tax credit on qualified motion picture expenditures with no project cap
  • additional 5% tax credit on payroll expenditures for Louisiana residents for a total credit rate of 35%
  • tax credit is fully transferable
  • the movie company must spend at least $300,000 in a production in Louisiana to qualify for the incentive


Digital Media Industry


North Louisiana represents one of the fastest growing digital media hubs in the nation with a 100% growth rate.  Business Facilities ranked Louisiana as the #1 state for the digital media industry (June 2012) due in part to the rapid growth of digital media companies in hubs like Shreveport-Bossier.

According to Business Facilities: "Louisiana's digital media industry is one of the fastest growing in the nation, growing at a rate of more than 100%. The state has almost 19,000 skilled software developers and more than 100,000 professionals with a skill set conducive to digital media or software development. In addition, its information sector, including software publishing and telecommunications, has experienced the second fastest growth rate in the country since June 2009."

Digital media companies are attracted to our region because of the highly skilled professionals produced by the region's 12 colleges and universities,  a competitive digital media and software tax incentive package, and support from research hubs such as the Cyber Innovation Center in Bossier City, La., which focuses on developing cyber technologies and cultivating a knowledge economy.  Biomedical Research Foundation and CoHabitat also offer infrastructure support and technical assistance to digital media companies.
 

Digital Media and Software Incentive


One of the reasons digital media companies find North Louisiana such an attractive place to do business is the state's generous Digital Media and Software Incentive package, which provides the following benefits:

  • 25% tax credit for digital interactive media expenditures made in Louisiana
  • 35% tax credit on payroll expenditures for Louisiana residents
  • No annual cap on tax credits
  • Effective Jan. 1, 2012, the tax credit is available at the end of each calendar year for a refund of 100% of its value claimed on Louisiana state tax returns. Alternatively, at any time during the year, certified applicants can receive 85% of the value earned as a rebate.

 

North Louisiana Generates Knowledge Workers for Digital Media Industry
 

The region's 12 colleges and universities have developed programs that produce the creative and technically adept workforce required by the digital media sector. Notable programs exists at the following schools:

 

North Louisiana's Growing Digital Media and Technology Sector


The digital media and technology sector in North Louisiana is gaining national and international visibility, as more companies expand or move to the region.  Digital media companies on the move in the region include:

CenturyLink, based in Monroe, La. is the third largest telecommunications company in the nation. With its acquisition of Saavis, CenturyLink is positioned to become an international leader in cloud computing.   

Moonbot Studios opened its new state-of-the-art animation studio in Shreveport-Bossier, Louisiana. Launched by a group of investors which includes acclaimed animators William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg and veteran film producer Lampton Enochs, Moonbot recently won an Academy Award for its animated short film, "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore." The accompanying, interactive application has also garnered critical acclaim and accolades. 

Twin Engine Labs, based at CoHabitat in Shreveport, La., was started by twin brothers and Shreveport natives, Keith and Ken Hansen.  The small digital media company, which specializes in developing applications for smart devices, is growing by leaps and bounds.  The company created the interactive book app for Moonbot's "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore," which was named "App of the Year" by Imagine's Apps Magazine.