A Real Disruption, Not a Myth
The last two years were genuinely hard on production. The 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes reset how the industry pays writers and performers, and the pullback from peak-streaming spending meant fewer pilot orders and fewer staffed writers’ rooms than the business had gotten used to. Below-the-line crews, vendors, and post houses all felt the slowdown, and plenty of talented people had to find work outside the industry for a while. That’s real, and it’s worth saying plainly rather than pretending it didn’t happen.
Disruption Isn’t the Same as the End
What’s also true is that disruption forces reinvention, and that’s exactly what’s played out since. The strikes secured real, structural wins for writers and performers on residuals and AI protections — guardrails that needed to exist before the next streaming cycle. And on the production side, work didn’t vanish so much as it redistributed: into live events, branded content, independent production, and markets outside the traditional Los Angeles studio system.
How CineDrones Adapted
We felt the slowdown too. Rather than wait it out, CineDrones spent that stretch diversifying — expanding into Las Vegas for hotel, event, and residency work, relaunching in Texas as production activity grew in Austin and Houston, adding Salt Lake City, and building out a nationwide custom drone light show business for sports, corporate events, and live entertainment. None of that replaces a healthy film and TV pipeline on its own, but it meant our crews kept flying, kept getting reps, and kept building client relationships instead of sitting on the sidelines waiting for a market that was always going to look different when it came back.
What a Healthier Industry Looks Like From Here
Production in 2026 doesn’t look like production in 2019, and honestly, it shouldn’t. It’s more geographically spread out, with Texas, Georgia, Nevada, and other states with strong incentive programs picking up real volume. It leans more on live events, branded content, and independent projects alongside traditional film and TV. And thanks to the last two years, it’s more honest about what fair pay for creative labor actually looks like. That’s a more resilient foundation than what came before it, even if getting here was a rough few years for a lot of good people.
Building With You
If your production, event, or brand needs an aerial team that worked through the last few years and adapted rather than folded, CineDrones is still flying — in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and nationwide. Get in touch with CineDrones to talk about your next shoot.
