On-location feature film production in Los Angeles declined 22 percent in the first quarter of 2007 compared to the same period last year, marking the second largest year-to-year decline on record, according to data released by FilmL.A. Inc.

But a 29.7 percent gain in TV production during the quarter helped boost total on-location production in the region by 5.7 percent.

With the exception of a 58.5 percent drop during the first quarter of 2002, the first quarter of 2007 marks the steepest decline in feature film production since FilmL.A., the nonprofit agency that coordinates film permits in the city and in unincorporated areas of the county, began compiling data in 1994.

Television continued to dominate Los Angeles-area production, with a total of 6,478 on-location production days during the first quarter – an increase of 1,482 days compared to the same period last year.

As in the past, lower-budget reality TV accounted for the bulk of television production, with 43.8 percent or 2,840 permitted production days. Dramas and sitcoms came in at 25.6 percent and 9.3 percent, respectively.

Made-for-TV movies, though, followed the downward trend of features, falling more than 50 percent.

FilmL.A. recorded 1,860 permitted on-location feature film production days during the first three months of 2007, down 526 days from the 2,386-day figure recorded during first quarter of 2006.

The feature film falloff in 2002 followed a record year in 2001, when production peaked in anticipation of labor strikes that never materialized. It also coincided with a U.S./Canadian currency exchange rate that made production in Canada attractive for U.S. producers.

Local production advocates have worried for years that production is being lured not just outside of Los Angeles, but out of California, to other states or countries with favorable financial incentives for filming. California has no state-sponsored incentives and no proposed legislation pending.