AIMM Economic Impact Research
Early on, AIMM established a research committee to explore and define the environment within which AIMM was working. Several key objectives for field research were articulated. First, the research would be used to understand the economic impact of the motion picture industry on the State’s overall economy. Secondly, research would illuminate the conditions that allow independent producers to flourish, and the actions required to bring about those conditions.
Quantitative Research: Economic Impact 2005-2006
AIMM undertook a study to examine workforce statistics in motion picture production from 1999 - 2004. With funding from the LEF Foundation and the John and Abigail Adams Art Program of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, AIMM and its collaborator, the Massachusetts Production Coalition, have recently published Lens on the Bay State: Motion Picture Production in Massachusetts. The report, authored by Robert Laubacher, is a key tool with which to advocate for the significance of this creative sector of the economy.
Future Research 2006 - 2007
AIMM has several objectives for its continuing research program. First, the Research Committee will track employment levels and wages in the motion picture industry in order to monitor activity and measure economic change. For AIMM, the most important next step is to help independent filmmakers gain better access to capital and distribution for their projects. This will require research into the roadblocks independents face, as well as the resources and innovation that will circumvent those roadblocks and take finished work out into the world.