Winter 2011
Ten Places in the South where Digital Media has Clustered
This industry sector has been around for about a decade or more, but it has taken it almost this long to find its favorite places in the South to cluster and do business.
Digital media includes the categories of film, music, gaming, animation, simulation, security, commercials and design, among others. Once a place secures a large workforce of folks who work in these industries, that place has established a digital media cluster. There aren't that many at this point in the South, but the ones profiled here have indeed earned cluster status.
Austin, Tex.
Austin’s reputation as the Live Music Capital of the World and epicenter of online gaming has generated a thriving and diversified creative media industry. This industry growth is spurred by an excellent business infrastructure, technology incubator, municipal and state incentives, telecom network and low cost of doing business. However, what truly accounts for rapid growth in the creative media industry is unbridled talent.
The convergence between film, video games, music, web and interactive software is no coincidence in Austin. The University of Texas, brilliant people and innovative companies are developing new technologies that push the boundaries of traditional product design and digital publishing.
Austin can not only attract the creative media industry’s best and brightest, but keep them rooted. Austin’s attractive lifestyle and progressive culture, combined with affordability, create a unique environment that entrepreneurs and executives can rely on to provide the most cost-competitive talent in the country.
Nashville, Tenn.
While the healthcare industry is larger in metro Nashville, it can be argued that the music business is the No. 2 industry in Middle Tennessee. Music and all of its digital forms accounts for an estimated 54,000 jobs in Middle Tennessee.
The Nashville region is home to more than 80 record labels, 130 music publishers and about 5,000 working union musicians. A recent study done by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and Nashville-based Belmont University showed that the music business in Nashville is worth over $6 billion (that’s with a “B”) to the region’s economy each year.
Atlanta, Ga.
Atlanta continues to build and grow the digital media and gaming industry. Companies like CCP North America, Hi-Rez Studios, Transgaming, Menue and Tripwire Interactive are examples of the more than 60 digital media companies that call Atlanta home. The tax credit program has proven to be an attractive marketing tool for these companies. Digital media and video game developers that make a minimum investment of $500,000 receive a tax credit of 20 percent and up to a 30 percent credit if they place the Georgia peach logo in the game.
The educational institutions have also taken notice and developed video game development courses to provide a growing talent base for the Atlanta region. Over 2,000 students are now enrolled in courses or degree programs geared toward video game development. The Savannah College of Art and Design campus in Atlanta is also offering a Master’s degree program in Interactive Design and Game Development.
Baton Rouge, La.
As the long-term benefits of fostering the digital media industry become apparent, more communities are beginning to jump into the fray. In Louisiana, it is more than one city or region, it’s the whole state. Through a focus on talent development, competitive incentives, and aggressive recruitment efforts, Louisiana, and especially the Interstate 10/Interstate 12 corridor (i.e., the Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and New Orleans regions), has impressively jumped on most digital media companies’ radar screens.
The I-10/I-12 corridor has made large-scale infrastructure improvements with the addition of the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise (LITE) Center in Lafayette and the creation of the Arts, Visualization, Advanced Technologies, and Research (AVATAR) program at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. These additions, in turn, have led to companies like EA, Firebrand Games, Pixel Magic, and TurboSquid making the corridor a true digital media hotspot.
New Orleans, La.
Greater New Orleans is experiencing a transformation. Thanks to an influx of new talent and attractive tax incentives, the digital media industry has played an integral role in this economic renaissance. Just last year, The Receivables Exchange -- an online marketplace for accounts receivables -- expanded its operations.
During the same time, Graphite -- a full service brand strategy and design agency, Orphmedia -- a web design and online marketing firm, and Jackson Square Group -- a market research technology holding company -- all established offices in the city. Tax credits, which can refund 25% of qualified in-state expenditures and 35% of project payroll for Louisiana residents, have compelled companies to locate and expand in New Orleans; however, the region has always been an attractive destination for creative innovators and artists.
Savannah, Ga.
Many of the world’s best known game development, digital media, software development, film, animation, and visual effects companies regularly recruit in Savannah. Why? Because Savannah is home to the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) with more than 8,000 students, over 300 of which are enrolled in the Interactive Design and Game Development program alone.
Also, the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Savannah campus offers a computer engineering program with great capacity for expansion in related fields. Both SCAD and Georgia Tech are on the Los Angeles Times list of top 10 schools in the world favored by game industry recruiters and included in US News and World Report’s list of “America’s Best Colleges”. These renowned institutions combined with the other 18 area colleges and universities ensure a qualified and growing talent pool.
With a business community that is ready to embrace the creative economy, Savannah is poised to not only become a place to recruit, but a sought after location where start-ups will continue to grow and companies will relocate.
Wilmington, N.C.
With the largest film studio facility outside of Los Angeles -- EUE/Screen Gems Studios -- Wilmington consistently ranks as one of the top filmmaking locations in the nation. Since the industry's beginning in 1983, filmmaking activities in the Port City include more than 350 feature film, television series, movie-of-the week, and mini-series productions. Also, numerous music videos, television commercials and still photography shoots have utilized the area's amenities. Filmmakers have access to a broad base of local talent and professional film crews along with the facilities at Screen Gems Studios, and, of course, fabulous natural scenery.
Three new productions have begun at EUE/Screen Gems studios in Wilmington, N.C. An ABC Studios pilot titled "Revenge," a Warner Bros. pilot called "Hart of Dixie" and a feature titled "Hick" have all started filming. That makes a total of eight productions either in the process of filming or just wrapping up in the Wilmington area as of the end of March.
Lafayette, La.
Business and community leaders in Lafayette, La. have a fundamental appreciation of the vital role of technology in Lafayette’s success. Along with statewide tax credits for digital media production, Lafayette has a variety of community-wide initiatives that have fostered the development of technology-intensive businesses in the region.
Not only is Lafayette home to a state-of-the-art, publically accessible super-computing and visualization venue (Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise- LITE), Lafayette is home to one of the nation’s largest municipally-owned Fiber-to-the-Premises networks which offers 100 Mbps symmetrical Internet access at extremely reasonable prices.
Community collaborators, led by the Lafayette Economic Development Authority, recently launched the Opportunity Machine (OM), a business accelerator and incubator that leverages all of the region’s technology assets in one place for start-ups and existing firms. OM member, FiberCorps, is spearheading the initiative to make Lafayette a community of the future through the development of next generation applications for the Internet. Responding to the community’s historic focus on digital media led by the University of Louisiana and the more recent Blue Ocean initiative led by Louisiana Economic Development, Lafayette stands poised to create a stronger, more diverse technology-driven economy.
Orlando, Fla.
Orlando is becoming a major hub for the digital media industry. Orlando offers an environment ripe with creative talent, supporting resources and boundless potential for continued development. Close to 400 companies in digital media call Metro Orlando home, including Electronic Arts’ (EA) Tiburon studio, makers of one of the world’s top selling video games, EA Sports Madden Football, among numerous other best-selling titles.
To meet the demands of an increasing workforce involved in digital media, Metro Orlando is home to several educational institutes, including the University of Central Florida’s Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA), recently recognized as the #2 video game graduate school in the country by The Princeton Review, Full Sail University, Digital Animation and Visual Effects (DAVE) School and more. The City of Orlando is currently developing an area of downtown called the “Creative Village” geared toward supporting creative industry professionals and is centered on House of Moves, the only professional motion capture studio on the east coast with fully integrated film, video and audio facilities. Supporting further development are entertainment incentives offered from the State of Florida which includes digital media projects.
Canton, Miss.
Canton, Miss. was one of the South’s pioneers in recruiting filmmakers. Back in 1995, officials in Canton, which is located just north of the capital in Jackson, began efforts on what was then a one-of-a-kind type of economic development; recruiting Hollywood studios to persuade them to make major motion picture films in the historic town.
It worked. Over the last decade-and-a-half Canton and Mississippi have been recognized as a major force in the film industry, attracting major motion pictures, television documentaries, commercials and independent filmmakers. The productions have been the catalyst for building an experienced crew base that is vital to the future growth of the film production industry in Mississippi.