{"id":179617,"date":"2026-02-25T12:45:42","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T12:45:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/179617\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T12:45:42","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T12:45:42","slug":"hays-film-board-hosts-location-workshop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/179617\/","title":{"rendered":"Hays Film Board hosts location workshop"},"content":{"rendered":"

HAYS COUNTY FILM ADVISORY BOARD<\/p>\n

The Hays County Film Advisory Board hosted the \u201cLights! Camera! Community!\u201d workshop to provide an overview of location marketing as well as insights into regional film production from industry professionals.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s workshop is all about locations,\u201d said Anita Aznet Collins, Chair of the Hays County Film Advisory Board, in her opening remarks. \u201cIt\u2019s how to put your business or your residence on a location hub so that when film production companies come into town, they have a database to go to with all these different places that they could film.\u201d<\/p>\n

Collins is a San Marcosbased screenwriter and filmmaker. In addition to her work with the HCFAB, founded in 2022, she has served on the San Marcos Arts Commission and supported the San Marcos Cinema Club and the Lost River Film Festival. The Texas Film Commis- sion awarded Collins with the Community Builder Award in 2024.<\/p>\n

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The workshop featured three panels, each with a different perspective of the local film industry. The \u201cFilm Friendly\u201d discussion featured tourism representatives from throughout Hays County talking about how their communities attract production companies and work with them to facilitate filming.<\/p>\n

The workshop also included the \u201cLocation Scouts and Location Managers\u201d panel, with insights, stories and tips from industry professionals. To wrap up the workshop, representatives from the Austin and Texas film commissions provided an overview of industry incentives and the thriving motion picture industry in Central Texas.<\/p>\n

The \u201dFilm Friendly\u201d panel featured tourism representatives from the five major population centers of Hays County: Sarah Smith – San Marcos; Victoria Vargas Kyle; Pam King – Dripping Springs; Lysa Gonzalez – Buda; and Michelle Woods – Wimberley.<\/p>\n

Smith, the Marketing Specialist at Visit San Marcos, discussed the City\u2019s enthusiasm for working with film productions, helping them to find the right location and navigate the process of setting up a shoot.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have the perfect place in mind\u2026 we can help you solve that puzzle,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWe\u2019re happy to help piece that together. We know our community super well.\u201d<\/p>\n

San Marcos has many great film locations, including area schools and parks, according to Smith. However, flexibility can be key in securing a location.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe San Marcos Academy, the San Marcos Consolidated ISD and Texas State University, are all just begging for people to utilize their spaces when they\u2019re empty, especially the San Marcos Academy,\u201d she said. \u201cIn the school districts during the summers, they\u2019re always like, if you need a gym, if you need a classroom, the library, whatever is yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while popular parks and recreational areas are in high demand as film sets, less-visited parks can provide more availability and flexibility for a shoot, she said.<\/p>\n

Smith also said that while San Marcos doesn\u2019t charge an application fee for location permits, she asks that film productions let her know where and when they will be filming.<\/p>\n

Collins said another one of the advantages of filming in San Marcos is the close proximity of a wide range of location options. \u201cWhen we were filming in San Marcos, my AD (Assistant Director) said that she loved filming here because it was almost like working on a studio set because everything was so close, so we filmed one scene and it took 15 minutes to get to the next location.\u201d<\/p>\n

Event attendee Andre Evrenos, an independent filmmaker and San Marcos realtor, agreed that San Marcos is the ideal place to make a film.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has all the things of a big city without being a big city. If you need to get across Austin, you\u2019re looking at an hour drive. From a production standpoint, it just eats up a ton of time transporting things. You\u2019re competing with way more folks for the same spaces, for the same caterers, and you probably have to schedule way further in advance. San Marcos is a lot smaller community, and so you\u2019re more easily able to access that stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the second panel, professional location scout Chris Hilsabeck confirmed that the proximity of sets is important, but so is the availability of resources such as lodging and other infrastructure support necessary for a film production.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there enough parking around your house or your building or your business to accommodate all the trucks coming in through your house? Do you have other things in the house that are advantageous to the film production? Are there rooms that they can use to set up a temporary office for the producer? Is there a room that\u2019s a spare room that you can set up as a makeup and hair facility so that they don\u2019t have to pull in a trailer?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Hilsabeck\u2019s production scout credits include \u201cThe Long Game,\u201d \u201cThe Alto Nights,\u201d \u201cBones and All,\u201d and \u201cThe Stand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michelle Lipscomb, a professional location manager based in Kyle, said that films are not necessarily looking for a location that is an exact match to the production that they are scouting, but one which can be adapted to meet their needs, preferably in an area with production incentives. She noted that she helped to make Louisiana resemble the Middle East for the \u201cG.I. Joe: Retaliation\u201d movie, primarily because of the incentives and cheaper cost, even though the production had to build extensive sets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking for houses, restaurants, courthouses, police departments, schools, nurseries,\u201d Lipscomb said. \u201cThere\u2019s all kinds of locations that we\u2019re looking for. And trust me, we can transform anything to make it Hollywood glitter\u2026 We like to keep our locations close together, but there\u2019s so much variety that we\u2019re looking for. And each and every one of you have something to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lipscomb also stressed that residents, businesses and homeowners planning to list their locations with film production hubs should take daylight photos which accurately reflect their properties, regardless of the condition they are in.<\/p>\n

From the Texas Film Commission guidelines for location photos: \u201cTake multiple photos, from multiple angles of each location you are submitting. A single photo of a location will not \u2018sell\u2019 a location or adequately show filmmakers all that the location has to offer. \u2026 think big picture and wide angle shots\u2026 and don\u2019t focus on people, pets, events or details.\u201d<\/p>\n

Different types of movies seek out different types of locations, Lipscomb said. \u201cZombie movies may be looking for run down houses rather than pristine homes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lipscomb shared an example of one owner making unwanted changes to her house after it was chosen for a film production.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were filming \u201cPremonition\u201d with Sandra Bullock, and the director fell in love with a house. The woman got so excited that we were coming to town that she painted her house. She redid things on the inside. She didn\u2019t tell anybody.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo when we brought the director in to do our tech scout, they\u2019re looking at us going, \u2018What just happened? And she said, \u2018Well, I knew y\u2019all were coming, and I thought I would just redo the floors and the walls.\u2019 However the peeling walls were what attracted the director to the house in the first place.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what happens?\u201d Lipscomp said. \u201cWe still film there. But guess what we did? We peeled the paint and we put in some dirty carpet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Hilsabeck and Lipscomb stressed that film productions are responsible for repairing any damage to a location and for returning the house to the same condition they found it in, or in many cases, better condition.<\/p>\n

The Film Commission panel wrapped up the Location Workshop, with Texas Film Commission Production Specialist Alex Payne and Kim Le-Blanc, Film Marketing Manager for the Austin Film Commission. Both stressed the importance of registering locations on Commission websites to take advantage of the booming film industry in the Central Texas area.<\/p>\n

LeBlanc said the Austin Film Commission regularly promotes Hays County as a leading destination for film, television and commercial production. She also encouraged filmmakers to sign up on their website for grants and incentives, which can include everything from student film stipends to hotel sales tax exemptions for larger productions.<\/p>\n

Payne said one of the big attractions of basing film productions in Texas is instant cash rebates rather than the tax incentives available in other states, which are often not paid out until years after the completion of a production.<\/p>\n

Another important incentive is Texas Senate Bill 22, passed in July of 2025, a film industry incentive bill which establishes a $300 million fund, renewable biennially through 2035 \u2014 to attract film productions to the state, according to Payne.<\/p>\n

Although the specifics for the distribution of this fund are still being worked out, to qualify at least 60% of a film project must be completed in Texas, and 35% of the paid crew\/cast must be Texas residents, according to Payne. He added that productions would receive an extra 2.5% incentive for projects filming in rural areas, at historic sites, or for productions with 5% or more veterans on crew.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Senate bill increases the maximum grant rebate to 31% of qualified in-state spending. Our state\u2019s program jumped from 22.5% to up to 31% rebate, which is big jump,\u201d LeBlanc said.<\/p>\n

The Senate Bill gives the Texas film industry the ability to beat out other states for film productions, LeBlanc said.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsistency of investment has been our missing puzzle piece,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ve always had the crew base, we\u2019ve always had the diversity of locations and we\u2019ve always had the hospitality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Anita Collins gives the opening remarks at the \u201cLights! Camera! Action!\u201d Hays County Location Workshop.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Michelle Woods, Wimberley Tourism Director, on the \u201cFilm Friendly\u201d Panel. Daily Record photos by John Clark<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

From left: Location Scout and Location Manager panel: location scout Chris Hilsabeck, location manager Michelle Lipscomb and moderator Randy Polk.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

From left: Kim LeBlanc, Film Marketing Manager with the Austin Film Commission, Alex Payne, Production Specialist for Texas Film Commission, and moderator Fred Poston.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Jeffrey Brown, who runs the First Tuesday Film Series in San Marcos.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Film Friendly Panel, from left: Sarah Smith – San Marcos; Victoria Vargas Kyle; Pam King – Dripping Springs; Lysa Gonzalez – Buda; and Michelle Woods – Wimberley.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HAYS COUNTY FILM ADVISORY BOARD The Hays County Film Advisory Board hosted the \u201cLights! Camera! Community!\u201d workshop to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179618,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":{"0":"post-179617","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-austin","8":"tag-austin","9":"tag-austin-headlines","10":"tag-austin-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}