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Louisiana took third last year behind California and New York for producing the most films in the United States, and Baton Rouge ranked third behind New Orleans and Shreveport for major productions in the year since Katrina.

And despite some high-profile productions that brought the likes of Hilary Swank, Sean Penn and Jessica Simpson to Baton Rouge, the Capital City often finds itself on the sidelines to Shreveport and New Orleans.

But now, Baton Rouge is gearing up to go head-to-head in film and digital media.

Mayor Kip Holden recently called for the establishment of a film commission for Baton Rouge. “We are not putting up a storefront operation. This is a serious business, and we are going to get as much business as we can,” Holden says. “Instead of us trying to re-invent the wheel, we will be looking to local industry professionals to guide us in what we have to do to compete with anyone in the world.”

Local government officials and the selected industry professionals were expected to meet and begin planning the new film commission.

The locations, equipment and system of support needed for making films in Baton Rouge certainly is a work in progress. Soundstages, buildings designed for the unique visual and audio needs of filmmakers, are vital for attracting both big and small film productions. A soundstage is an expansive and controllable location that gives productions full control of their set, which is built inside the soundstage. Everything from commercials, infomercials, feature films and music videos are made in soundstages, which are soundproof and air-conditioned.

The Celtic Media Centre and Hooperwood Studios are two new major players in this arena. Sterling Studios has teamed up with HK Pictures and Most Wanted Films and plans to acquire a local facility to convert to a state-of-the-art soundstage.

“You don’t know what state of the art is until you’ve seen the major Hollywood studios,” says Linda Leblanc of the Celtic Media Centre. “To give us a proper perspective we visited big studios where they film Boston Legal, CSI, Commander in Chief and many other top productions. State of the art is how Hollywood is put together.”

CMC’s facility has more than 300,000 square feet of soundstage and professional facilities. It will be managed by Raleigh Studios, the largest independent soundstage in America, and operational by the spring.

But first out of the gate is Hooperwood Studios. “I don’t know what the other two soundstages are doing, but I’m sitting in my building,” says owner Roger Hooper. His studio plans to rent facilities to movie productions and to offer training programs to grow support in the jobs needed to make films in its facilities.

Joe Traigle, CEO of Sterling Studios, says his company is a self-contained, independent movie studio with complete control over script selection, post-production and marketing.

But it takes more than ready sets and soundstages to compete for serious film business. As Brad Froman of Cool Blue Pictures points out, “We need transportation, make-up trailers, film labs, major lighting and grip companies, in addition to a local insurer who specializes in the motion picture industry.” And a five-star hotel to cater to Hollywood stars.

For once, the film and digital media industry may succeed because the necessary infrastructure finally has the support of state government, big investors and industry professionals.