Good thread. I pre-ordered. (Gaming)

by Cody Miller , Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Thursday, October 25, 2018, 17:12 (2312 days ago) @ Kermit
edited by Cody Miller, Thursday, October 25, 2018, 17:20

Sure, unionize, and see game development move to more flexible locales. (It's why film crews often move to right-to-work states.)

No. The reason is that these states often have tax incentives for large productions. Filming is still covered under the union contracts.

You're the expert. Tax incentives are a big draw. Perhaps things have changed since the 80s in NC, when several friends of mine got jobs working on productions because they weren't union--at least that was what I was told.

A lot of lower budget films go halfway where the actors are SAG but all the below the line is non union, so perhaps it was that type of situation.

That being said… there are some exceptions. Like, if you can't find a qualified local union hire you can go non union in a right to work state, so perhaps that's what your friend's situation was.

A few years ago, there were no qualified local union assistant editors for a film I worked on in Boston, so one was flown in from LA. MA has no right to work law.

But tax incentives are the biggest influencing factor in where to shoot other than a bona fide script requirement. Most give you huge portions of your budget back and save you more than anything else would.