While a lot of companies were crippled by the recession,the film industry in Massachusetts actually grew.
By Melissa Unger
4/30/10
The recession that crippled a lot of companies did not hurt some industries. Many who worked in film industry in Massachusetts actually weathered the economic storm quite well. Economics Prof. David Terkla, who coauthored a study Film and television production in Massachusetts: An industry overview and analysis," said there weren't "many industries that grew during this recession that we have just been having. This one did!" He said many out-of-work Bay State residents went looking and found work in the Bay state's blossoming film industry. "If your industry is laying you off and if all of a sudden and you look around and say wow some of my skills I could use that over here," he said.
Rick Cambina used to work as a carpenter in the local construction union, but after being laid off he found work building props for some of the big Hollywood productions that rolled into town. He said it was hard to make a living when the recession hit. "My career in construction was looking pretty grim. I got laid off after working for the same company for 13 years and couldn't find any descent jobs anywhere in construction," he said.
Brian Malcolm, who manages Rule Boston Camera, said he has seen the interest in his internship program jump since the recession hit. "When the economy is generally down we get a lot more interest in the internship program from people who are outside of college who are trying to do some career change so yes we say that has been up lately, said Brian.
Malcolm noted that the film industry in Massachusetts wasn't simply looking to hire, but also was willing to train new people during the recession.
"As the films come into town there is a need for more people and for those people to at least come up to speed as a LA crew," he said, adding, "yes, we are going to have to continue to educate." Rick also saw his union; I.A.T.S.E. Local 481,which represents technicians and crafts, implementing new programs that would help people break into the industry. "We have actually created programs to help people get into this industry because they didn't have enough workers period," Rick said.
Work is what Rick has been very glad to find during this recession. "It worked really well for me because there were no other jobs in my trade that I could go to and gave me a job." He said his job became very important to his family once he started working. "In my household we had it; my son didn't have a job. My brother been laid off and he's staying he with us. People in my family have definitely been affected by the recession." He noted that since his wife was a realtor he had to take on more of a financial responsibility. "So this job meant a lot it carried the weight of my entire family," he said. Rick is grateful not only to be able to make a living working in the film, but he sees it as a true blessing. He says, "I even got a scholarship from the union. My son won a $2,000-dollar scholarship for his first year of college in Rome, Italy."