As used in the Filmed in Oklahoma Act of 2021: 1. "Above-the-line personnel" means producers, principal cast, screenwriters, and directors who work on production of films or television series. The qualifying salary of above-the-line personnel may be included as crew, as defined in paragraph 3 of this section, if the salaries are paid to loan-out corporations and limited liability companies registered to do business in this state or the salaries are paid to Oklahoma-based above-the-line personnel. The qualifying salary of above-the-line personnel shall not comprise more than twenty-five percent (25%) of total expenditures as defined in paragraph 5 of this section. For purposes of this paragraph, "Oklahoma-based" means a company or individual with an Oklahoma income tax requirement; 2. "Apprentice" means a person who works for a skilled or qualified person in order to learn a trade or profession for an agreed-upon period of time. An apprentice may work in any of the trades recognized by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce as necessary for a film production. An apprentice shall be required to complete safety training appropriate for the duties to be performed in connection with a qualified project and also to complete a course related to and with the objective of preventing workplace misbehavior, such as bullying and sexual harassment; 3. "Crew" means any person who works on preproduction, principal photography and post-production, with the exception of above-the-line personnel; 4. "Eligible television series" means a project if either seventy-five percent (75%) of the series season is filmed within the state or, for an episodic television pilot; 5. "Expenditure" or "production cost" includes but is not limited to: a. wages or salaries of persons who are residents of this state or who are enrolled as full-time students at a college or university located in the state offering an undergraduate degree program or an Oklahoma Career Tech Certification Program or who are on active military duty and stationed in Oklahoma or involved in a restorative workforce program and who have earned income from working on a film in this state including payments to personal services corporations with respect to the services of qualified performing artists, pursuant to the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C., Section 62(a)(2), b. the cost of construction and operations, wardrobe, accessories and related services, c. the cost of photography, sound synchronization, lighting and related services, d. the cost of editing and related services, e. rental of facilities and equipment, f. other direct costs of producing a film, and g. the wages and salaries of persons who are defined and registered as an Oklahoma Expatriate by the Oklahoma Film and Music Office; 6. "Film" means a professional single media, multimedia program or feature, which is not child sexual abuse material as defined in subsection A of Section 1024.1 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes or obscene material as defined in paragraph 1 of subsection B of Section 1024.1 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes including, but not limited to, animation, commercials, documentaries, feature films, game shows, pilots, reality television, scripted television, talk shows, national advertising messages that are broadcast on a national affiliate or cable network, fixed on film or digital video, which can be viewed or reproduced and which is exhibited in theaters, licensed for exhibition by individual television stations, groups of stations, networks, cable television stations or other means or licensed for home viewing markets. The term shall also include filming for interactive and video gaming including, but not limited to, green screen, motion capture and similar production techniques; 7. "Live audience episodic television" means episodic television filmed in front of a live audience intended for broadcast on network television, cable and streaming platforms. The audience should consist of a minimum of fifty (50) people; 8. “Loan-out corporation” or “loan-out company” means a corporation or limited liability company actively registered with the Oklahoma Secretary of State to do business in this state as a foreign or domestic entity used by above-the-line personnel and crew to report payments received from the production as Oklahoma earnings for the personnel or crew member; 9. "Multi-film deal" means a project in which a production company films at least seventy-five percent (75%) of main crew principal photography for three (3) or more films in this state within three (3) years or where the third film starts main crew principal photography within the three-year period; 10. "Nonresident crew member" means a person who is not an Oklahoma resident, hired for a qualifying production project occurring within the state and who is subject to the payment of Oklahoma employment taxes; 11. "Production company" means a person, producer or company who produces film for exhibition in theaters, on television or elsewhere; 12. "Qualified production expenditure amount" means an expenditure defined pursuant to paragraph 5 of this section; and 13. "Qualified soundstage facility" means a state-certified industry standard soundstage facility having not less than seven thousand five hundred (7,500) square feet of combined soundstage space and with a total state rental cost to the production company equal to at least three percent (3%) of the qualifying Oklahoma expenditures with respect to a production. Added by Laws 2021, c. 516, § 2, eff. July 1, 2021. Amended by Laws 2023, c. 347, § 1, eff. July 1, 2023; Laws 2024, c. 59, § 44, eff. Nov. 1, 2024; Laws 2025, c. 341, § 1, eff. July 1, 2025. NOTE: Laws 2021, c. 516, § 15 states that the provisions of this act shall be contingent upon the enactment of the provisions of House Bill No. 2946 (c. 512) of the 1st Regular Session of the 58th Oklahoma Legislature. House Bill No. 2946 was approved by the Governor on May 24, 2021.
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