Los Angeles 6/10
LA's production community is slowly making a comeback after netting a disastrous "4" rating on last month's boardometer. The rebound is mostly due to larger companies reporting high levels of business, though midsummer was not brisk for everyone, and even the couple of harried EPs we chatted with sounded a cautious tone.

"We're ridiculously busy," said one exec. "I do see clients being more conservative. They have always been conservative, but now they're even more so. I've had a couple of jobs cut back the budget 25-30%. But they still booked."

Several big jobs were in the mix this summer: electronics, sportswear, telecom, videogames, cars and Chinese market stuff - some with hefty budgets attached.

"We've had the biggest year we've ever had - biggest numbers, everybody's working," an exec boasted, before tempering that with, "The big picture has been very scary; the last couple of weeks has fucked everyone, but that could be more a fact of the July 4th holidays."

Execs anticipating a post-Independence Day rush were out of luck - but not out of business. "Usually there's a rush of boards around and after Cannes," said one producer. "But that hasn't happened yet. It's been slower than normal, but we've had enough to stay in business."

Toronto 6/10
After the past seven months of phone calls and casual chatter with Canadian production company execs, we at Boards have decided to brainstorm ideas for a book compilation of all the 2008 Toronto board flow calls. The tentative working title is Shades of Slowness. Of course, to sex it up, we'd inject our usual informative, no-nonsense prose with the odd flowery, overwritten embellishments:

"The past few months have been slow; it's been a little worse than normal," lamented one producer, his usually gruff tone diluted by a deep, wistful longing. "Budgets are crappy and the ideas are few and far between."

"New media and interactive is a dead zone," another well-placed executive insider noted, the whisper-quiet timbre of her voice adding intimacy to the conversation. "Creatives don't really know how to utilize that type of media and clients are reluctant to buy off on it."

"It's been quite good, it's been pretty busy and things are looking up," said an unapologetically upbeat producer, her cavalier laughter obliterating the memories of angst-and-regret-laden board flow calls of yesteryear. "The funny boards coming through seem to indicate that everybody is back in action."

"It's been really busy; it slowed down a bit this week but I'm happy," exclaimed one executive breathlessly, his unbridled passion and conviction subtly morphing into dry, affected bemusement when confronted with the question of creativity. "It's same shit, different day. Get me to the cottage."

New York 7/10
We're not sure, but we think "Just Do It" may already be a famous tagline, so while it adequately describes the situation that most EPs have found themselves in when it comes to completing jobs with middling creative and impossible budgets in a climate of an economic downturn, we'll have to find a new slogan... "Just Can't Say No"?

"We're doing jobs for so much less than we would have done otherwise," sighed an EP. "Clients see this and will tack on an extra spot for the same amount, and you just can't say no."

"Our directors are excited to be working," said another, before qualifying the statement. "With everything that's going on now, it's hard not to be excited to see work."

Most EPs spoke of an air of caution on the part of clients, but that also entailed an anticipated upswing that's keeping most optimistic.

"In certain sectors people are concerned and nervous," reasoned an EP. "But companies have to advertise regardless or they're going to lose market share. What may be happening is that they're just holding back and running existing ads a bit longer."

As for the product categories that dominated the new scripts, retail led the parade, followed by electronics, financial and banking jobs.

London 7/10
There was little time to enjoy the typical post-Cannes summer lull as many EPs in London reported unusually brusque board flow after a slow June with budgets described as "average". "It's weird with the recession," said one bemused exec. "We've picked up this month; we've seen 12 scripts in the last 10 days." It wasn't sweetness and light for everyone though, as at least two EPs reported that they'd seen a big drop in their workload in recent weeks.

If the signs of recession aren't radically affecting the number of scripts or budget levels per se there was more talk of eyebrow-raising demands from agencies. "You look at a script, the locations they want, the talent, and you think, 'Are you joking?'" said one EP. "Budgets are a joke," declared another. "I was asked to shave £100,000 off a £270,000 job!" One EP was sympathetic to the agencies' plight, conceding agencies are having to fight just as hard as prodcos to persuade clients to part with cash now.

Worrying signs did surface that with the Bellwether report forecasting ad spend nose-diving to post 9/11 levels, clients are becoming more jittery, reflected in safer (read: dull) creative and work nixed in research seeing a marked increase. "Everything's dying in testing. People are scared, and they're researching the arse out of everything," sighed another frustrated EP. Still, gripes aside, especially with the backdrop of a freefalling economy, Soho was for the most part content.