TRIAD -- Jack Pennington is an independent video producer who’s based in the Triad. 

"Businesses, smaller brands, local artists, who need promotional video, that kind of thing, I produce it all," said Pennington, who’s company’s called Green Sneakers Media.

There was steady work for film crews in the area, until the state ended its tax incentive program in 2014.

"Somebody said, it’s going to take about a year for all that stuff to actually work itself out,’’ said Pennington.   “It was literally a matter of days, maybe weeks, and I looked around and all the sudden everybody I knew was in Atlanta, or back in New York, or moved out to L.A.”

The Governor’s Office announced this week that Home Depot is going to shoot some national ads around High Point, thanks to a grant from the state’s film commission.

"I'm really pleased to say this is one of the first set of projects that has benefitted from the film grant that's actually going to be shooting here in the Piedmont Triad," said Rebecca Clark, the executive director of the Piedmont Triad Film Commission.

Each of the planned 5 commercials are expected to create 70 jobs.

"It's definitely going to help," said Clark.

While the $2.5 million expected be spent making the Home Depot commercials will boost to the economy, it's nothing like the nearly $30 million spent in 2014 on film and commercial production here in the Triad."

"I'm just hoping that North Carolina, at some point, might again, in the future, will see how worthwhile the film industry is to the state," said Clark.

Other southern states have reaped the benefits of film incentive programs.

"It's a billion dollar industry in Georgia," said Clark.

Pennington plans to continue working in the Triad on his music and documentary production.  He feels an obligation to pay back what he learned at the School of the Arts.

"I kind feel like that's kind of a big investment for me to take and go to LA or New York, I feel like the more jobs we have here, the more of that investment can stay here in North Carolina, that's one of the biggest reasons I decided to stay here," he said.

You can see a couple of Pennington’s projects on YouTube: One Day in My Life – James Vincent Caroll.

There’s also “Don’t Let Nobody Change You – How to Turn Bullying Against The Bully.”