Next time you’re watching the Fox television show “Sleepy Hollow,” take a close look at the tavern and the tunnels that snake through the set. It’s the handiwork of Conyers resident John Principe.
Shortly after production for the hit TV show moved from Wilmington, N.C. to Conyers last summer, Principe was part of a rigging crew that set up stages, props and lighting and generally transformed the old Hill-Phoenix building in the warehouse district of Conyers into the spooky environs of the 1780s.
“It’s great energy when you’re on set. There’s a lot of camaraderie,” said Principe, who left restaurant management two years ago to pursue a career in Georgia’s film industry. “It’s a very rewarding experience. It’s a lot of hard work but the hard work really creates a certain magic. It’s a beautiful thing to be a part of. Whatever I end up doing in the future will be in film.”
A lot of people’s futures are ending up in film.
Making films, TV shows and other entertainment-related productions has become a $6 billion-a-year business in Georgia - thanks in large part to thousands of people like Principe working behind-the-scenes to keep Hollywood happy and looking good. Some 248 film and television shows were produced in the state in the last year alone, putting Georgia third behind California and New York - and fifth worldwide - in film and television show production, according to the Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office.
About 78,000 people work in the film industry in Georgia, according to the Motion Picture Association of America and Georgia’s entertainment czar Lee Thomas estimates a significant number of those people once worked in other fields.
“Every time I go to a set, I meet people who were in other industries but are now in film,” said Thomas, deputy commissioner of the Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office, a division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
The second-act workers - those who’ve left other careers - account for a fast-growing segment of the Georgia film industry, industry experts say.
The head of one of the largest film-related unions in Georgia said half of his members are people who once worked in other fields. Membership in The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 479 in Georgia has grow from about 600 in 2006 to about 4,000 today, according Michael Akins, business agent of IATSE Local 479.
Many of the newcomers are finding locations for movies and tv shows, building and dressing sets, coiffing and dressing stars, chauffering and feeding crews and stars and providing other creature comforts to Hollywood. The work is often long and grueling. Twelve to 18 hour work days are not uncommon. It’s sporatic and many workers work as freelancers. But that hasn’t stopped them from becoming part of the industry.
Consider:
• Tharun “T.J.” Joji. The Stockbridge resident got a biotechnology degree to make his parents happy but now is working on films, videos and other entertainment industry productions. He recently worked as first assistant director on a small independent movie called “The Interns.” The thriller-drama is about police interns who solve murders. It is due out next year.
• Dianne Davis of Jonesboro and Woodstock resident Susan Tanner. Both are set dressers. Davis, a former home stager in the real estate industry, recently worked as set decorator for a web-based project called “Black After These Messages” and art director on the set of “Underground” a play that was part of the Atlanta Black Theater Festival. Similarly, Tanner was a manager of a pet store whose set dressing work can be seen in Universal Pictures’ “Ride Along 2”, the Sundance Channel “Rectify” series and Tyler Perry’s television drama “The Haves and Have Nots.”
“In my wildest dreams I never thought I could find something that is so fulfilling,” Tanner, 47, said. “It’s fun. You get to work with the most creative people in the world. We try to make it as authentic as possible. You can really make-believe all day long.”
• Greg Fischer’s work as a real estate appraiser segued nicely into his new line of work as a location scout. He recently found a craftsman-style home in Inman Park that’s now being used in a pilot TV show called “Not Again” being shot by TV One. The show is due to air sometime early next year. Fischer also found other homes, a dentist office and arcade which are being used in a “Definitely Divorced,” a movie for TV One. “Real estate appraising is not the same industry it was 10 years ago,” said Fischer who lives in Macon. The (downturn in the) economy and new legislation where you’re not able to choose your own appraiser anymore means a lot of opportunities for me went down the drain. I wasn’t in control of my own destiny anymore.”
The influx of filmmaking giants like Pinewood Studios along with people seeking industry prompted state government and education officials to address Hollywood's need for a well-trained, home-grown, behind-the-camera workforce. While filmmakers and tv show producers brought some of their workers with them, there still was a need for more workers. The film industry is in constant need of grips - people who handle lighting - as well as electricians, sound mixers, construction crew, script supervisors and wardrobe personnel, Thomas said.
“I recently met with some of the producers from Marvel’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and was told that they needed 60 more set builders and many dozens of hairdressers,” Thomas said.
Consequently, colleges and universities are provide training. Davis, Principe and Fischer, for example, are graduates of Clayton State University's digital film tech program. The Georgia Film Academy is set to open its two-course certification program this month
For Davis, working as a set decorator brings her full circle. Before working as a home stager, the Los Angeles native was a talent agent representing such stars as Marla Gibbs of “The Jeffersons” and Regina King, a regular on the 1980s sitcom “227” and more recently the “American Crime” TV series.
Even rubbing shoulders with Hollywood stars couldn’t compete with Davis’ first love.
“My oxygen was always home-styling and set design.”
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