LOS ANGELES: 5/10
Los Angeles seems to be suffering from what we at Boards like to call SKS or, Solange Knowles Standards. Recently, the R&B singer proclaimed that her sophomore record was doing well, "by my standards". It moved about 46,000 in its first week, compared to sister Beyonce's last disc, which sold 541,000 copies in its first week. Judging by the comments elicited from EPs during this round of board flow, commercial production in LA is also doing well by Solange Knowles' standards.

"Ther's a decent amount of boards but not interesting creative work," lamented an EP. "You used to bid on five projects to get one or two, now you're bidding on two to get one."

"It's been terrible," added another. "You just listen to the news and you just have to completely freak out. Every year has been better than the one before except this year. We're going to be lucky to break even."

On the bright side, almost every single renowned ad director was shooting - including many of Britain's top directors. But whether the creative is equally A-list is up for debate.

"There are more available directors these days," said an exec. "The high-end guys are getting booked first and then it's a trickle-down."

The best work seemed to be for only a handful of marquee brands, with cars, apparel, telecom, retail and Christmas dominating the mix.

TORONTO 7/10
To put it extremely bluntly, if swallowing shit was an Olympic sport, Canadian commercial producers would be standing atop the podium. Business is fairly brisk for some producers in Toronto in spite of the economic slowdown, but those busy few find themselves reworking jobs just to keep their directors engaged.

"I can't complain enough about the creative," said one exasperated exec. "It's never-ending schlock. It's as if Canadian agencies have forgotten they have to entertain their audiences."

"I haven't seen a script that I would throw my body on a sword for," said another. "Lately, it's about getting a script and saying, 'How do we make it better?'"

If the depressive malaise that beset the Toronto International Film Festival was an indication, it's not the most exciting time to be in the film industry. Perhaps that's why some A-list directors are flocking to Canada to shoot commercial work. Many producers also reported a welcome jump in service work this fall.

Despite the gloom and doom, board flow picked up in September after a slow summer, with scripts for pretty much everything making the rounds: beauty, cars, airlines, packaged goods, retail and PSAs. But finance and banking were suspiciously absent.

"The financial crisis is a bunch of bankers selling their legs to themselves," remarked an EP. "Once we get these guys out of the way, we'll be back in business by spring."

NEW YORK 7/10
"Let not work get in the way of a good Labor Day hotdog." If we could rewrite history, we'd go back to 1882 and make this the official decree of the most laziest of holidays. Certainly, it was one that prodcos were following to the letter as most experienced a lull in early September due to a frenzy of shooting done expressly before the holiday hit.

But with prodcos shaking off the summer and getting back into the swing of things for fall, it looks like most are going to be pretty busy during the final quarter.

"I feel like people didn't spend at all in the third quarter and they're seeing that they have money left so they're looking forward to the last quarter," said an EP, who noted enthusiastically that an increase in leftover spending has also led to an increase in scripts with "lofty ideas."

As for the scripts making the rounds, most EPs were name-dropping the big brands, with lots of retail being seen as well as electronics. Sadly, there was one sector that, in today's financial climate, simply dropped off the radar.

"All the bank stuff kind of died," said an EP. "Big projects from banks just went on hold or completely went away."

LONDON 6/10
After suffering a tiny drought toward the end of August, an oasis of board flow was spotted on London's horizon. But as parched EPs clamored over the quality scripts, inching ever closer to their thirst-quenching reward... alas! The oasis turned out to be a mirage.

"It's been a trial trying to get things confirmed at the moment," said one frustrated EP. "Jobs are shifting constantly. They're not booking as fast as they used to. I'm bidding three or four things at the moment and they're not awarding; it's just a much longer process these days."

The hold-up can be placed at the feet of the US credit crisis and its worldwide ripple effect, which is leaving certain clients incredibly gun-shy. "Every time something gets in the headlines," said the EP, "we get held back another two weeks."

The scripts that are coming in, mainly for telecom, are originating from the States; and as work is getting approved, EPs remain optimistic for what they see as a slow but sure pick up in board flow.

"I think people had been holding back through the late part of the summer," observed an exec. "But it's starting to pick up quite a lot."