In the recent global hit movie "Avatar Water Way", "Hallelujah Mountain" occupied a lot of shots, showing the world the beautiful scenery of the peak forest landform of the Wulingyuan Scenic Area of Zhangjiajie, where the location was taken. From the Americas, Oceania, Europe to Asia, it has been common in recent years for film and television productions to be set on fire, and the industry calls it the "fireworks effect" - film and television works are like brilliant fireworks, illuminating the scenery everywhere. However, the role of film and television filming locations is not limited to driving the popularity of attractions, from film and television IP superimposed on the cultural tourism industry to boosting the development of the local film industry, many places have found an outlet for take-off through this emerging industry.
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Relevant data in foreign media reports show that taking the 200 highest-grossing films in the past 20 years as a sample, about 60% of the films shot in one country are completed, 23% of the films are filmed in 2 countries, and 12% of the films are filmed in more than 3 countries, with an average of 1.6 filming locations.
For example, New Zealand was used for both the film and drama versions of The Lord of the Rings, with more than 150 locations filmed in total, from the rolling verdant hills of Matamata in the North Island to the snow-capped Remarkable Hills of Queenstown. In particular, the "Hobbiton" built by the film crew on the basis of Matamata Town is a must-see signature attraction for tourists, and has now been upgraded to a film and television theme tourism town, attracting a large number of tourists who come in the name of "Middle-earth" every day, becoming a "pilgrimage place" in the hearts of "Lord of the Rings" fans around the world. The successful integration of film and television IP and tourism has successfully transformed New Zealand from an ordinary tourist country to a characteristic tourist destination representing Tolkien's fantasy country, and magnificent natural beauty is not uncommon, but the vision and imagination brought by the "filter" of film and television works make New Zealand unique.
In return, the New Zealand government has also provided quite attractive financial subsidies for film and television shooting, and the drama version of "The Lord of the Rings: Ring of Power" broadcast at the beginning of this year, during the filming of the first season, spent a staggering 650 million New Zealand dollars (about 465 million US dollars) in New Zealand, of which about 25% came from subsidies from the New Zealand government, and according to the agreement with the producer Amazon, New Zealand can use the in-play footage for tourism promotion, and can also arrange a certain proportion of local film and television practitioners in the production process. From script adaptation, pre-shooting, post-recording, editing and production, to the production of film props and the development of special effects software, New Zealand's local industrial chain has been quite perfect. According to statistics, during the filming of the first season of "The Lord of the Rings: Ring of Power", the crew employed more than 1,200 local employees, and about 700 people were hired by providing services for the production of the TV series.
The filming location of the drama version of "The Lord of the Rings" - New Zealand
Stuart Nash, New Zealand's Minister of Economic Development, once concluded in an interview, "Of course, we welcome film and television works to shoot in New Zealand, the crew creates jobs in the local area, provides orders for local businesses, and brings a new round of international tourism branding to the country. ”
If you launch a "Which is the hottest American drama in the past 10 years?" among the audience? HBO's series "Game of Thrones" is likely to be at the top of the list.
This world-famous series not only boosted tourism in Northern Ireland, one of the filming locations, but also contributed to the continued development of the UK's creative industry.
Game of Thrones has a large number of scenes taken from Northern Ireland: Dark Hedges, Kings Road, Ballintoy Village, King's Landing, Iron Islands, Forest Park, Tolimore, Northland Forest, and Ward Castle, where Stark's castle Winterfell, are popular locations for Game of Thrones fans.
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Official British statistics show that during the nine years of the eight seasons of "Game of Thrones", the number of trips to Northern Ireland has increased by an average of about 4% per year, bringing about 180 million pounds (about 228 million US dollars) of economic benefits to Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, and driving the development of related creative industries such as fashion design, film and television production.
International Trade Secretary Mark Fox concluded that Game of Thrones not only sent Northern Ireland's exports and investment soaring, but also brought great opportunities for talented people from across the UK in the film and television and related industries to be seen by the world, "For almost 10 years, Game of Thrones has provided UK creative industry businesses with the opportunity to showcase their products, services and talent on the world stage. ”
Budapest, the capital of Hungary, is also one of the classic examples of the development of the filming real estate industry in recent years, it is a European important city for Hollywood overseas production, known as the "European Hengdian ", "Blade Runner 2049", "The Dante Code", "Cardinal", "Dune" and many other films have been filmed in this city.
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However, Budapest's positioning itself does not stop at acting as a "shooting backdrop".
Compared with the United States and European cities such as London and Paris, Budapest has a significant cost advantage due to its relatively low labor costs - the same project in Los Angeles, California, USA, is at least 25% more expensive to shoot than Budapest. In addition, as early as 2004, the Hungarian government introduced relevant preferential policies, foreign film companies can get financial rebates for the expenses used to hire local employees, which has a direct impact on the industry. In 2010, the independent production company Raleigh Productions and the Hungarian Orrigo Film Group jointly invested a $77 million film studio in Budapest. Located in the eastern suburbs of Budapest, the 18-hectare plant, including nine sound stages, remains the center of overseas filming in Hollywood.
In recent years, the Hungarian National Film Fund has also launched an education and internship program dedicated to cultivating the reserve force of the Hungarian film and television industry, relying on the country's many years of experience as a film and television filming location, technology accumulation and policy support to strengthen the local film and television industry.
With the rise of streaming media platforms in recent years, content such as film and television works, online dramas and even reality shows can become phenomenal works that have swept the world in a short period of time. Therefore, the marketing of film and television works is also becoming an emerging platform for tourism promotion, and many countries and regions have incorporated it into the tourism economic development strategy, after all, the attractiveness of successful film and television works is unmatched by other marketing methods - the plot of film and television dramas makes people have an immersive sense of substitution, coupled with the application of special effects and star effect, can make the image of the location and even the entire city be strengthened, and the brand effect is subtle and irreplaceable.