BoardFlow is a regular feature that will act as a gauge to monitor the activity of upcoming commercial production. The following chart is intended as a snapshot view of the level of "board flow" (i.e., potential scripts from ad agencies) that commercial production houses in various markets across North America experienced during the preceding month. The synopsis of each market is based on conversations with anywhere from six to a dozen production house executives in each market who were asked to comment on the number and type of "boards" they had received from ad agencies over the most recent month. The chart reflects "board flow" from mid-November to mid-December.

LOS ANGELES
A busy November led to an even busier December for Los Angeles-area production companies. Agencies looking to shoot their first-quarter ads in mid- to late January dominated the flow of projects for bidding. Boards for tires, lottery, beauty, fashion, corporate image, automotive, computers, travel, telecom and, of course, dot-com projects continued to contribute to the healthy board flow. Several companies reported frantic, last-minute calls from agencies looking to shoot in December before the holidays, many of which had to be turned away by companies already shooting millennium-themed spots. The busier than average December was made busier for companies specializing in kids advertising, especially animation, in anticipation of Toy Fair in February.
Boardometer: 9

TORONTO
Toronto production companies reported a tapering off of actual shooting activity leading up to the Christmas break. There was no "use-it-or-lose-it fiscal flurry," which usually occurs this time of year, says one producer. Most reported that December started off with a bang, but ended with a whimper. However, these same productions companies were positively hopping in December with bidding activity on boards set to go early in the new year. Producers reported not only a large quantity of boards, but lots of big jobs, too. Most everything on the slate is lining up to shoot in early January to early February, which some say means quite a tight squeeze in terms of availability of every resource, from directors to equipment. In fact, some producers are talking about the overtaxation of the Toronto production infrastructure in general.Among the early 2000 board onslaught are communications and food category projects.
Boardometer: 6

MIAMI
As the hub of television, cable and commercial production for much of Latin America, Miami's production companies reported a surge in the production of commercials for the international and domestic Hispanic market. One production company reported an increase in business derived from producing promos for Spanish-language cable channels. Boards come to the city from Latin American agencies, as well as US-based Hispanic agencies in Texas, California and Miami. English-language projects come to the city from throughout the northern US. One executive producer also identified French-Canadian advertisers as a source of business. Automotive, amusement park, home decor, vacation, high-tech, real estate, oil and tobacco boards were received by producers specializing in both English- and Spanish-language spots. December generally marks the beginning of Miami's busy season, as one executive producer notes: "Mid- to late November is storm season. After the bad weather subsides, jobs start rolling in. It's good to get jobs for January or February lined up early if you want to be able to work with your favorite crews."
Boardometer: 7