Film London 'Gets Into Its Stride' For Olympics

Film London, the film and media agency, has announced measures which aim to ensure productions continue to choose London in 2012.
Next summer the capital will be hosting the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Film London, working with the Mayor of London and the delivery bodies is putting infrastructure in place to maintain London's position as one of the world's most popular cities for production.
The Film London Portal will deliver a single online gateway for filming in London.
For the first time, the Portal centralises and streamlines the system for the entire capital, allowing productions to apply to shoot in London without requiring prior knowledge of the city, such as borough boundaries or postcodes.
Although built to manage non-Olympic related, commercial filming before and during the 2012 Games, the Portal will provide a legacy for London, giving the capital a permanent, London-wide online filming application system for all filming, accessible on handheld devices and smartphones.
The Film London 2012 Microsite
www.filmlondon.org.uk/filmingin2012 will provide advice on filming in London during 2012, with practical information on areas which will be out of bounds and alternative locations on offer within the city.
Adrian Wootton, Chief Executive of Film London and the British Film Commission said: "The overriding message to the domestic and international industry is that London is open to film-makers throughout the whole of 2012.
"Film London is here to make a shoot – big or small – possible. All of the city's studios will be open for business as usual during the Games, and with Film London's support we can guide productions around the Games and make sure they can access the best of what London has to offer: world class talent, facilities and locations.
"We have already successfully assisted a number of big productions shooting in the capital in 2012, ensuring their schedule works around the Games. The Portal is also great news for the industry. Although part of our Olympic strategy, it will leave a fantastic legacy for the city and is the obvious next step for us in simplifying the process to shoot in the capital," he added.
The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "We will welcome the world in 2012, which will be a momentous year for the capital and the Games offer a unique opportunity to showcase our city's creativity on an international stage.
"Film production generates over £860m for London each year and we want to attract major stars of the movie making firmament throughout next year, by making it as easy as possible to film here. We also want to ensure London maintains its status as the most creative and culturally rich city on earth and this service will help support film making in the capital long after the Games are over."
The London Media Centre (LMC) is expected to service up to 6,000 international and UK media professionals during the Games and part of the service will be to manage filming requests.
Film London staff will work with the LMC broadcast team to assist news crews, as they capture the best of the city while they are in London for the Olympic (open 9 July – 14 August 2012) and Paralympic (open 27 August – 10 September 2012) Games. Once registered for the LMC, media will have access to stand up film locations, the LMC broadcast guide and permits to film in certain London locations.
(BMcC)