Capitol Studios Update

The hearing of the City of Los Angeles Planning and Land Use Mangement Committee has been moved (yet again) it is now scheduled for June 10th at 2 p.m. at City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Hearing room 350.

We welcome and encourage that all Local 47 members try and attend that meeting. We would also have an enormous impact if you write letters to the members of this commission (listed below) as well.

Please feel free to use your own language, but here is a sample letter that you may copy and print if you prefer

The letter should be addressed in the following manner:

City of Los Angeles
Planning and Land Use Management Committee
City Hall 200 N. Spring St.
Los Angeles, California 90012

Attn: Councilmember Ed Reyes
Councilmember Jose Huizar
Councilmember Jack Weiss

Re: Capitol Studios
Proposed Parking Facility at 6230 Yucca Street, Los Angeles
Matter No. 08-0550, CPC 2006-7068, ZC HD ZAA SPR, CD13

Dear Councilmember ____________,

I am writing to ask you to help save Capitol Studios, from the potential closure that will result from the Proposed Parking Facility at 6230 Yucca Street, and in doing so, show real vision and leadership for our city.

Capitol Studios is vital to our community and an integral part of our Entertainment Industry. The potential closure of Capitol Studios, even temporarily, will severely impact my Ability to work, by limiting the number of studios available in Los Angeles. During the last few years, we lost Todd AO Scoring Stage, Cello Studios and the Paramount Scoring Stage, to name a few. The availability of studio facilities in Los Angeles is quickly diminishing, and while Capitol Studios has weathered the storm, it is now in danger of being shut-down by a developer who acknowledges that there will be damage to Capitol Studios, but is determined to proceed.

I urge you in the strongest manner possible to deny the request to build near the legendary Capitol Studios, and help protect my livelihood, and our city’s legacy.

Sincerely,


Name:
Address:
Phone Number:
Instrument:

Capitol - the latest

We have recently learned from Greg Parkin, Senior Director of Operations at Capitol Studios, that the PLUM (Planning & Land Use Management) Committee Meeting was continued to June 4th 2008 at 2PM, (until further testing could be done to ascertain what impact the planned construction near Capitol Studios underground sound chambers will have).

There is also a City Council Meeting set for June 24, 2008 at 10AM where the issue of the development will be discussed and possibly voted on. Since my last communication, there have been a series of test done by the Developer and Capitol to either prove or disprove the concerns of Capitol Studios and the Recording Community in General. We are coordinating with Capitol Studios to see when it will be advantageous for our membership to appear and voice their opinions.

We will keep you posted and up to date.

Response to LA Times Article

Sent to the Los Angeles Times on Friday, May 9, 2008:

Dear Editor:

I was unimpressed and disappointed by the article which ran in the May 6, 2008 LA TIMES, titled “Hot spot for U.S. Movie Scores.”

There seemed to be a distinct failure to portray the facts about music scoring in Los Angeles, and a failure to tell it like it is "LA is still the place to be" when it comes to recording quality scores for Motion Pictures, Television & Videogames.
In 2006 & 2007 the volume of titles scored in Los Angeles increased significantly over 2004 & 2005. The US Musicians union in 2005 made it even easier and less costly to score low budget films, loosening restrictions, and offering lower rates on projects with budgets of 12 Million Dollars or less. In fact, since 2005 US companies have released more Motion Picture soundtrack scores than in any other period. While globalization has indeed made it easier for companies to score their films in other countries, it has also had an effect on the entertainment industry worldwide.
Animators may now be in New Delhi, India as they toil away in realtime on hollywood blockbusters, cyber-conferencing with their taskmasters in Hollywood. In the face of continued competition, we in Los Angeles continue to hold our ground and expand our influence not only on projects initiated in the US, but we find that composers from all around the world come to Los Angeles to record their scores, using the finest musicians. Due to the weakening US dollar we now find Canadian productions beginning to flock to Los Angeles to record their music, with rates that are affordable and musicians who are world class.

I strongly suggest you research your topics more thoroughly, talk to the people who know the business and avoid publishing what is patently false. The article lacked credible sources and was terribly misleading to your readers.

Sincerely,

John Acosta
Electronic Media Administrator
Professional Musicians-Local 47
AFM AFL-CIO