North Louisiana has become such a hotbed for TV and film production that the region has come to be known as the the new "Hollywood South." MovieMaker magazine calls Shreveport-Bossier the No. 3 Best City in the nation for Independent Filmmaking. Business Facilities magazine named Shreveport-Bossier No. 4 in motion picture industry growth in the United States. North Louisiana has welcomed 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. 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 to military installations. Our people are friendly and always eager to help. Our great weather and excellent locations makes filming possible year-round without any interruptions.
The increase in filmmaking in Louisiana is fueled largely by the state’s generous film incentives. The state 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%.
North Louisiana hopes to achieve the same success with the digital media industry. North Louisiana is positioning itself to capture its share of a growing $134 billion industry as estimated by PricewaterhouseCoopers. 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.
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 include:
The digital media 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 Savvis, 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 debuted its short movie and smart phone/pad application "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore." The short movie and application garnered international attention and critical acclaim. Twin Engine Labs , a small digital media company, started by twin brothers and Shreveport natives, Keith and Ken Hansen, specializes in developing applications for smart devices. The company, which created the app for Moonbot's "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" is growing by leaps and bounds.
One of the reasons digital media companies find North Louisiana such an attractive place to do business is the state's generous the Digital Media and Software Incentive package, which provides the following benefits: