If you’ve watched an evening of prime-time broadcast TV anywhere in America, chances are good that you’ve seen a commercial that was shot in Florida. From Samsung to Volkswagen, plenty of national brands have been using Florida locations for commercials and other promotional content.

“We’re very large in the commercial production market,” said business owner and producer John Cassinari, who added that many filmmaking professionals in Florida — disappointed by the lack of big-budget TV and movie production — end up finding work on the promotional side of the filmmaking industry in the state.

Cassinari’s company, Imagination Unlimited, has been based in Central Florida for 34 years and produces not only marketing videos, but also corporate industrial content and media for trade shows.

Why are brands choosing Florida for commercial content?

“We have great locations in Florida, and we have, I think, an extra 100 shooting days over California because of the weather,” said Cassinari, adding that the state also has great facilities. “We bring a lot to the party.”

A quick search on Production Hub shows nearly 300 production companies that specialize in commercials in Florida, providing much-needed jobs for those pursuing a career in film production in a state where expired tax incentives limit what’s possible to shoot here and only low-budget reality content flourishes.

However, even though there are plenty of opportunities for commercial filmmakers in Florida, as with so many other industries, the landscape when it comes to commercial filming has changed a lot in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mike Ladisa, owner of Ocoee-based Keylight Cinema Studios said while his company (which boasts a diverse client list that includes local businesses and Walt Disney World) has seen increased production over the past year, many of the clients he works with are now using video conferencing software to keep key creatives in their home states.

“Clients [used to] send their own producer from California or wherever and then just hire the local production team to run audio and whatnot. So they would send the producer and rely on us to do everything else. Now, the producers log in remotely via Zoom, [and use the software] to direct and interview.”

And while Ladisa said there are some benefits to this approach, it can be more technically challenging, as his company has to make sure there’s high-speed Wi-Fi available on shoots and he has to devote crew time to making sure that the people on the other end of the video conferencing software can see what’s going on.

”We have to move around a laptop and wireless video feed instead of somebody just being there watching you do it,” he said.

Cassinari echoed Ladisa’s comments, saying there has definitely been a “shift” in the industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and acknowledged that in addition to changes in travel, staffing issues could become a problem in the future, especially as more film professionals in the state head to Georgia chasing larger productions.

“There is an exodus that we’re seeing and it is hard to find really qualified talent sometimes,” he said, adding that he doesn’t blame people for seeking opportunities in other states. “Georgia is a big hub for production right now. We would like to have 1/10 of that kind of production in Orlando. Or in Florida.”

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