HCP’s Senior Partner Named Advisory Board Chairman of Newly Formed Tampa Hillsborough Film & Digital Media Commission

TAMPA, Fla. (October 6, 2014) After a three year hiatus in promoting film production in Tampa, a group of leaders with the City of Tampa, Hillsborough County, Visit Tampa Bay and Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation came together with a plan to revitalize the film and digital media industry and launch the newly formed Tampa Hillsborough Film and Digital Media Commission.

Chairing this new advisory board is HCP’s Senior Partner and Strategist, Sean Coniglio. “I am very excited to be part of this newly formed organization. After more than two years of planning and preparation, it is time to bring together many of the talents we have in this community and work together so the next generation of talent has a choice to be educated and employed in the Tampa Bay region.”

HCP’s research team conducted a study commissioned by Visit Tampa Bay in the fall of 2012 right after the RNC. The study provided local leadership with some sobering statistics, which made them realize how deficient we were as a community, and it hadn’t always been the case. It was evident that over a period of time our talented production crews were leaving and not coming back as a result of the lack of consistent work. That information and the growth of digital postproduction work was the catalyst for recognizing the region’s obligation to look more closely at the program and create a solution that positively impacted our community going forward.

A taskforce of local public officials was put together and a plan developed, which included reaching out to the professional community and to build an Advisory Board of individuals willing to work through many of the regional challenges. The Advisory Board will look at all the issues for the region and the state to include local and state incentives, education and job growth. The mission is to quickly advance the region to be on a level playing field with Orlando and Miami. “We have to take a step back before we go forward in order to build the appropriate infrastructure necessary to have an active and thriving film and digital community,” Coniglio said.

For more information on the Tampa Hillsborough Film and Digital Media Commission, visit, Film Tampa Bay www.filmtampabay.com.