Allin1 Film Production Trailer In Las Vegas Opens For Business
Carl Nicoli has produced film, television and commercial projects in Las Vegas and Los Angeles and knows the headache of coordinating multiple departments to complete a project.
"The way we make movies and commercials is still very old-fashioned in my opinion," Nicoli said. "It's like a slow moving army of trucks, people and equipment."
He had an idea to make the process more efficient - inspired by NASCAR. And almost 10 years later, OnLocation Production is serving the film and television industry with 53-foot trailers.
The trailer combines several production departments under one roof and can be driven with a semi-trailer. It is also equipped with a diesel-electric generator to operate in remote locations.
It includes eight different production departments, including hair, makeup, lighting, sound, pen or camera, writing, production design, and editing. These sections are divided into different parts of the caravan and there are offices for about five people.
Nickoli wanted the trailer to include all the necessary parts for small and medium-sized television, film and commercials. He estimates that he can have enough equipment to support a crew of about 40 people.
OnLocation Production has more than 20,000 pieces of equipment in tow to support production, such as B. walkie-talkies, lights and cameras.
Danette Tull, Nevada Motion Picture's director of production and communications, said creating the entire trailer was an "innovative" idea.
"It's amazing to have all these items in one portable place," Tal said. "This is unlike anything the industry has ever seen."
inspiration and design
The idea for the OnLocation trailer was born in 2013 when Nicoli attended the Specialty Equipment Market Association trade show in Las Vegas. He was living in Los Angeles at the time and saw a trailer on display that was used by NASCAR teams.
"The way NASCAR builds their pit cars and puts all of their expertise into one is a mobile workshop that's everywhere. And they bring their cars; they bring their teams," he said. - It clicked immediately.
Nickoli worked with his brother Scott, a film and television composer, on the idea for a one-off trailer. The trailer took ten years to make because Carl Nicoli could not get financing.
By 2018, the brothers had moved to Las Vegas, and the couple decided to begin work on the trailer in late 2020.
It may have received financing from the Bank of Nevada to finance the multimillion-dollar trailer, according to Carlo Nicoli, who declined to disclose the exact cost.
The brothers then spent the last 14 months buying equipment and perfecting the design of the trailer.
"We designed this truck to be time and money efficient," said Carl Nicoli. “If you rent all the equipment on this truck, you're spending about $65,000 a day, three days a week; so call it $150,000 a week. We offer 30-40% less than in all areas.
Carl Nicoli said the trailer is available for rent, although prices are flexible.
Nevada's manufacturing industry
The trailer can be used almost anywhere, but Carl Nicoli said he hopes it will continue to work in Nevada. However, he stated that the business climate is not so favorable for manufacturing companies.
"They call Vegas the entertainment capital of the world," he said. "But when it comes to creating entertainment content, that's more thought out."
Toole said Nevada has lost some filming projects to other states because it doesn't have enough soundstages to support long-term production and its production incentive program isn't "as competitive as it could be" compared to other states.
Nevada offers a 15% property tax credit, but can increase it to 25% for productions that use Nevada crews or shoot in rural areas. According to the Nevada Film Authority, this tax credit is limited to $10 million per year. Meanwhile, New Mexico has a production tax credit of 25% to 35%, according to the state film commission.
Manufacturing revenue in Nevada has fluctuated over the past 24 years. In 2022, sales were $80.2 million, while in 2001 it brought in $154.9 million. According to the Nevada Film Office, the lowest total gross in 2020 was $33.6 million.
Carl Nicoli believes a better incentive program could attract more manufacturing projects to Nevada and help companies like OnLocation Production.
"Nevada is poised to steal market share from Los Angeles and New Mexico. We just have to be ready to make that kind of investment in the entertainment capital of the world," he said. "(Mark) Wahlberg has said he wants to make Vegas Hollywood 2.0 and there are very good reasons for it to be a reality. So as far as I can see there are no limits.
Contact Sean Hemmersmeier at shemmersmeier@reviewjournal.com. Follow @seanhemmers34 on Twitter.
