The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau is teaming up with the local chamber to fund a Web site for The Woodlands Area Film Commission.
Since launching last year, the new entity, which is operated by the South Montgomery The Woodlands Chamber of Commerce, has had some success in attracting film and television to the community. It hopes to use a Web site to link to similar groups in the Houston region and Texas and to expand offerings here.
“There have been some productions come our way,” said Nelda Luce Blair, chairwoman of the convention bureau and the township “We think the Woodlands creates a great backdrop. We believe the film commission is very important in The Woodlands. “It’s a whole nother industry.”
The Woodlands is being scouted as a site for commercials for a national sporting goods store and a bank. It also will be the site for local productions, such as a short action drama film called “Delinquent Duty” by Roy Ford and a music video by R&B Artist AJ Alderete,
To date, the production have resulted in $86,600 spent in the community, said Connie DeGuerre of the chamber, who is heading the film commission.
While DeGuerre has been courting location scouts and getting the word out on the new industry, a web site would help link the community with the Houston and Texas Film Commissions. In the future, the site could identify new locations in the community, list Screen Actor Guild member or extras located in The Woodlands, and provide information on support services available here.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg of what we can be doing,” said Nick Wolda, president of The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The bureau’s board of directors Wednesday approved $5,000 for the design and development of a Web site and some marketing materials for the film commission.
DeGuerre said that the moving image industry has brought more than $1.2 billion to Texas in the past 10 years and that a 30 second commercial could bring as much as $1 million to local coffers through the use of local businesses.
Blair said she would like to encourage partnerships with other agencies and cited another successful program between the convention bureau and the chamber. The chamber provides visitors centers at The Woodlands Mall and Market Street, which has touched more than 85,000 visitors from all 50 states and 79 countries in 2009.
“The visitors center took only a little funding from the CVB and a lot of staffing from the chamber,” Blair said. “It is a nice marriage and a good partnership.”
The Woodlands Area Film Commission
The Woodlands Area Film Commission is part of The South Montgomery County The Woodlands Chamber of Commerce. It is operated by Connie DeGuerre, director of information centers. She can be reached at 281-367-5777.