Schenectady, N.Y. — Metroplex has approved a $60,000 grant to help attract more television and movie production to Schenectady County. In related news, Schenectady’s efforts to attract film projects will now be coordinated by the County’s Tourism promotion bureau, Discover Schenectady, and Amazon Studio’s Modern Love Season 2, which was filmed in Schenectady, will premiere on August 13th.
“As one of the original members of Film Schenectady, I am excited to now have it become part of Discover Schenectady – the County’s tourism bureau,” said Discover Schenectady President and Schenectady County Legislator Cathy Gatta. “This partnership, and the funding from Metroplex, will make it easier to market all of the great assets our county has for television, film and media production. Projects like Modern Love not only bring more visibility to our county, they also help boost our local economy.”
“Schenectady was pleased to host Modern Love Season 2. We are now ramping up our efforts to bring more productions here focusing our efforts through Discover Schenectady and building off our success with Amazon Studios,” said Ray Gillen Metroplex Chair.
Television, film and media productions provide a much-needed boost to the tourism economy with hotels, restaurants, retail and service providers all benefitting when a cast and crew film locally.
“Discover Schenectady is thrilled to collaborate with Metroplex, city and county leaders to consolidate the existing Film Commission with Discover Schenectady to market and promote Schenectady County to the television, film and media production industry,” said Todd Garafano, Executive Director of Discover Schenectady. “Schenectady County has the facilities, including a sound stage at the Schenectady Armory, and wide array of locations to suit the needs of any type of production.”
The Schenectady Armory is a NYS qualified tax credit production facility. While many communities host location shoots, Schenectady can couple unique locations like the Stockade, Mohawk Harbor, and a film friendly compact Downtown, with a qualified production facility. All of these assets combined can really mean the difference between a few weeks of film production versus a longer-term engagement. The filming of Modern Love for example brought cast and crew to Schenectady for more than four months, boosting the economic impact of local film and television production.
Donna Pennell, Schenectady’s Film Commissioner said, “I am excited that Film Schenectady and Discover Schenectady have formed this new partnership to promote our County, not only as a destination for tourism, but as an ideal location for film and television productions. We are seeing an increase in productions here in Schenectady and throughout the Capital Region, from large studios like HBO and Amazon, to a host of Indie projects. With close proximity to and easy access from New York City, Schenectady County provides a cost-effective and welcoming destination with experienced local resources and services for this important industry. Inquiries are on the rise. This welcomed collaboration adds strength to Film Schenectady as we continue to grow.”
Film Schenectady works collaboratively with the NYS Governor’s Office of Film and Television Development, New York Production Alliance, and Regional Film Commissioners.