As people walked down a long red carpet, they were welcomed by the flashing lights of the cameras, forever capturing their Hollywood-like experience. They were there to make film industry connections and see a special behind-the-scenes screening of Taylor Sheridan’s Western TV series, “1883.”
This scene wasn’t staged in Los Angeles. It was an event at the northeast campus of Tarrant County College in Hurst, hosted by the Fort Worth Film Collaborative. The collaborative is a partnership between 101 Studios and Tarrant County College to train the future film workforce in their own city without having to leave Fort Worth.
The film industry has grown in the area since Fort Worth created its own film commission in 2015.
Tarrant County is No. 4 among the top 20 counties ranked by the number of projects, according to the Texas Film Commission. Film industry professionals, such as David Glasser, CEO and co-founder of 101 Studios and the Fort Worth Film Commission, see expanding the workforce capacity as the next step to amping up the business of making movies and television in Fort Worth.
The Fort Worth Film Collaborative, started in fall 2023, has 10 graduates specializing in three certifications: hair and makeup, gaffer and grip, and light commercial construction. Now, they have 40 more students enrolled. Glasser said his company hopes for a lot more graduates.
“Anybody here right now who is looking for a job in the film community in Texas at this moment in time … we need those jobs in whatever division you want, and we’ll start to extend the program,” he said.
The film industry’s economic impact on Fort Worth
The film industry has created a $655 million economic impact, creating more than 20,000 jobs since the Fort Worth Film Commission started in 2015, Jessica Christopherson, Fort Worth’s film commissioner, said.
The economic impact of a film production stretches to various sectors, from safety and security to business support and construction, Christopherson said. While there has been a steady flow of commercial, independent films and unscripted reality TV show productions in Fort Worth, Taylor Sheridan’s shows and movies have had the most impact.
“His projects by far have created the most impact and job opportunities on a consistent basis,” she said.
Taylor Sheridan’s “1883,” for example, resulted in 13,325 hotel room nights. “Lawmen: Bass Reeves,” resulted in 20,108 overnight stays. And workers associated with “Landman” benefited 11 hotels in Fort Worth, she said.
Other opportunities have developed along the way, such as the new “Dr. Phil” studio based in Fort Worth, the new Probably Monsters video game studio, and the establishment of the new Virtual Production Institute at Texas A&M University’s campus in Fort Worth.
“It’s going to be fun to watch that develop and see what type of opportunities it provides,” Christopherson said.
Red Sanders, founder and CEO of Red Productions and Backlot Studio, who helped found the Fort Worth Film Commission, said 19 years ago there were only a handful of production companies in town. Now, he can’t keep count of the number of production companies and independent producers in town. He sees the difference when he goes to film-related events in the city.
“There’s so many people coming out that work in different positions in this industry now, that either didn’t have those jobs years ago or didn’t even live here,” he said.
The most significant change to the film landscape comes from the state level. The Fort Worth Film Commission led the charge in advocacy at the Texas Legislature increasing the incentive program to lure films to the state from $45 million to $200 million last year.
Sanders said when the program was $45 million, the state ran out of incentive money six months into a 24-month budget cycle. Sanders said he was in Austin every other week talking to lawmakers. When groups come from out of state, they often ask about incentives and studio infrastructure of the location.
“Our message in the last session was really to share the Fort Worth story specifically with the legislative body there, and make sure they understood that like, this is not just a thing that benefits Austin,” Sanders said. “These are state incentives. And when a big production comes to town they hire from all over the state.”
Sanders said Fort Worth is overdue for a large sound stage given the amount of production happening in town.
Training the film workforce
While the 88th Texas Legislature approved the $200 million, the stipulation was that the majority of the workers on a set have to be Texas residents.
As the program coordinator and faculty liaison for the TCC film program, Sean Foushee said the program is a fast track. Many of the classes are four weeks long, and students can be certified in as little as three months.
The new Texas A&M campus also hopes to play a role in the city’s burgeoning film industry, with the establishment of the Virtual Production Institute in Fort Worth.
David Parrish, director of the school of performance, visualization and fine arts at Texas A&M said the institute will be home to virtual production stages that TV, movie and video game studios use. It has established a partnership with video game studio Probably Monsters and will share a space with the company, teaching out of the building that is doubling up as a game creation facility. Parrish said 101 Studios and Red Productions have expressed interest in the institute.
“They’re very interested in us providing them with a workforce … They have trouble finding enough people in Texas to work on their productions,” Parrish said. “They are dedicated to working in Texas and growing our industry here.”
A passion for storytelling drew Landry Brazeal, a graduate of the class of 2022, to TCC’s event. He studied 3D animation but said he also saw himself in the TV industry as an editor.
Brazeal said he was particularly excited as someone who grew up in Fort Worth and anticipates the future of film there too.
“Even if I do end up going to other studios to further my career, I know I can come back to Fort Worth,” Brazeal said. “Or to the DFW area and still have places I can work on this kind of stuff in and get a job.”
Seth Bodine is a business and economic development reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at seth.bodine@fortworthreport.org or follow @sbodine120.
Olla Mokhtar is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at olla.mokhtar@fortworthreport.org.
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