That’s showbiz

With any luck, editorials such as this will one day sound gratuitous.

With any luck, it will one day be a given that the Canadian production industry has become part of the Canadian business Establishment and that producers can make a living molding their visions into programming for domestic and global consumption.

Luck, of course, has very little to do with success after a certain point. But perseverance, imagination, co-operation, and staying abreast of tomorrow’s trends – both in terms of technology and financing – take lead roles.

Look how far we’ve come. Look at Nelvana, the latest to proclaim its intention to go public. Launched in 1971 by two York University filmmakers and an animation director (whose degree is in design and kinetic art), Nelvana waited six years for what is labeled its ‘first commercially successful half-hour television special, A Cosmic Christmas.’ Then, when the special caught u.s. phenom George Lucas’ attention, Nelvana was on its way to becoming an established supplier to the u.s. nets.

Today, Nelvana reports 1993 revenues in excess of $30 million and defines itself as the largest company of its kind in Canada. It has a diversified library and can tackle a wide range of tv and film projects, from one-off specials to spectacular (if also one-off) pioneering World’s Fair films for the reaches of the imax/Omnimax domed screen.

Still, it is not the first, but the second animation company, behind Montreal’s Cinar, to go public. And the public roster is getting lengthy, a testament to the size and strength of those included on it who could not have contemplated such a move a decade or even five years ago.

By no means is this demonstrable pride in growth limited to production companies, or focused in one region of the country. Television series production, ‘the engine driving the industry,’ to quote one industry observer, has brought a sense of hitherto unknown stability to provinces like Alberta. More and more, opinion leaders in Ralph Klein’s privatized backyard are expressing the conviction that the likes of North of 60 and Destiny Ridge have meant talent, crews, post-production houses and foreign producers are attracted to come and stay. The challenge now is for funding agencies to keep up with demand, and for the powers that be to remember that public/educational broadcasting, serving the locals, remains a valid ingredient in the mix.

Broadcasters, beyond the network level, are also recognizing the imperatives of the made-for-market world symbolized by those newly public companies. In the run-up to CanPro, the annual domestic tv station fest, delegates should prepare to schmooze less and work more this year, honing programming, promotion and sales skills (domestic and foreign) at the feet of some of the best in the business.

Of course, soon, all of this will be a given.