By Belle Allen

The film industry in New Mexico offers numerous opportunities for entrepreneurs to get in on the “lights, camera, action!”

To share information about state resources and growing industry trends with filmmakers, producers, accountants, studios, vendors, crew, actors and emerging media innovators, the New Mexico State Film Office hosts the New Mexico Film and Media Industry Conference.

Established players in the state’s vibrant film industry aren’t the only ones who could benefit from the workshops and sessions: The event is a setting for savvy creatives and go-getters to find a niche in established service areas and to learn about unmet needs their products, properties and talents might fill.

Nurturing a Growing Industry

Production crews that make movies, TV shows, video games, webisodes, apps and commercials in New Mexico have obvious needs: places to stay and eat (including on-set food services), office and building supplies, furniture rentals, digital support services and travel agents, as well as location scouts to identify sites that match the needs of their script or project.

But there are less apparent needs that New Mexico production crews often struggle to meet, and that’s where an ambitious business or individual can get a toehold.

Movie and TV crews frequently need to build sets and acquire props. They need costumes and stylists. When the landscape needs rearranging (and later, restoring), they require heavy equipment and people to operate road graders, backhoes and front loaders. Offices, production locations and sets need to be cleaned and maintained, and garbage needs to be hauled away on a regular basis. Adding to the extensive list of vital services are portable toilets, massage, chiropractic and other basic health care. Crews need dry cleaning and laundry services; florists, couriers and pet groomers; security personnel and traffic controllers.

In New Mexico, there are many creative inroads into the film industry. Parking lot owners have rented their properties as staging areas for urban shoots. Barricade companies have provided signs and message boards to detour traffic, close streets or communicate other safety information. Art galleries have rented out paintings or photographs used as set dressings, and antique stores have done the same with period props. RAKS Building Supply credits the film industry’s need for nails, lumber and other set-building supplies with helping it survive the recession.

Fortunately, the film industry shows no signs of cooling off in New Mexico. But the opportunities and the repeat business will go to those who are agile and flexible enough to do a high-quality job under the high-pressure and time-sensitive circumstances of show biz.