Indiana will become a more film-friendly state after this year, and Ball State University's award winning telecommunications programs could reap the benefits.
Ball State's Department of Telecommunications was honored as the TV School of the Year on March 3, and a bill passed this year could bring in more TV talent, internships and job opportunities for students.
"We want to kick-start the film industry and get Indiana on the map in the film industry," Nathan Feltman, secretary of commerce and chief executive officer of Indiana Economic Development Corporation, said.
House Bill 1388 gives production companies that film in Indiana a state tax rebate if production costs exceed $100,000, Feltman said. This could showcase the state and increase revenue, he said.
Ball State Department of Telecommunications Chairwoman Nancy Carlson said the bill would benefit the university as well as TV and movie companies.
"A robust film industry in Indiana will create a bigger interest in high school students," she said, "so I predict enrollment will go up around the state in the areas of film and TV."
Ball State was named the TV School of the Year by the Indiana Association of School Broadcasters for the third consecutive year, Carlson said.
The university won the collaborative award for receiving the most points at the 2007 IASB College Competition, she said.
Ball State won awards for nine individual entries and three student organizations, according to the IASB Web site.
These awards and the bill increase Ball State's and Indiana's reputation for film and therefore attract more students, Carlson said. After graduation, some of these students may work for production companies attracted to Indiana by the film bill.
Governor Mitch Daniels said production companies have incentives to come to Indiana because of the bill, but the tax break shouldn't be used to attract every movie company.
"We don't want to offer incentives if we can help it to operations who would come here anyway." he said. "But if we can be smart about the way we craft them so it leads to two or three movies a year to choose Indiana who would not otherwise, that's a winner."
The companies tend to hire local crews, so filming in Indiana could be part of the state's economic development strategy, Daniels said. But while more businesses and jobs will help Indiana economically, the state needs to proceed carefully, he said.
"It would be easy to overdo and oversubsidize," he said, "but at some point it would be a winner for Indiana to have more films made here."
Despite potential problems, Daniels said one of his main concerns is to put more dollars in the pockets of Hoosier businesses, which he hoped this bill would do.
"There's nothing we work harder on than bringing jobs to this state," he said.
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