‘If you build it, they will come’ may be a well-worn cliche in midwestern corn fields, but it rings true for many studio operators in Canada. In b.c., the Prairies and Atlantic Canada, the film creation market is ripening at a pace that attracts capital investment in soundstages. There appears to be plenty of work to fill those empty, echoing halls

West Coast

On the West Coast, for example, there is a flurry of real and proposed soundstage activity prompted by high demand but low capacity.

The Bridge Studios in Burnaby is preparing a site for construction of its Stage 5, a 25,000-square-foot soundstage that should be operational by next March. Vancouver production company Vidatron Group spent $2 million to buy and renovate a downtown warehouse into an 8,000-square-foot stage and 5,500 square feet of office space.

In April, Bellingham, Washington-based Trillium Corporation unveiled plans for a purpose-built production studio complex – one 30,000-square-foot soundstage, and two 15,000-square-foot soundstages – in a Vancouver industrial area called False Creek Flats. Word has it that the huge A-frame building in Delta – the current set of the Titanic miniseries – will be readied for future film work.

And in Victoria, the Chamber of Commerce is working to secure a film project for a building available at CFB Esquimalt. Add to the list North Shore Studios, which desperately wants to expand, but doesn’t have the space to do it.

‘I can tell you that I would still spend to build Studio 5 even if it were my own money,’ says The Bridge gm Susan Croome, who caters exclusively to u.s. service work like the Disney feature Deep Rising. ‘We’re not in control of the market, but I don’t see it going down,’ she adds. ‘There is such a demand for studio space, we have to shoehorn people in.’

The Bridge – a facility owned and operated by the provincial government – is expected to increase gross revenue by 18% in this fiscal year over last year’s record-breaking $1.7 million tally. Net profits, meanwhile, are expected to jump 22% this year to $1.1 million, a threefold increase over 1994.

But Croome is quick to note that The Bridge enjoys a much better profit margin than that of private-sector facilities because, as a Crown corporation, The Bridge doesn’t pay provincial income taxes. ‘Running a studio is a low-margin, high-volume business,’ she explains.

With the largest special effects stage in North America (40,000 square feet) plus four studios ranging from 9,000 square feet to 15,000 square feet, The Bridge attracts a lot of business. Croome can have four features booked for a single space awaiting the first green light. It means turning away three other lucrative projects because there is no room.

Studio 5 – which is being built with $1.5 million from the province to prepare and remediate the site and $3.5 million advanced against future revenues from the long-term contract with mgm and its series Stargate – will be 25,000 square feet.

Rick Scott, the B.C. Film Commission’s assistant manager of production location services, says b.c. has about 10 dedicated, purpose-built sound studios and another half-dozen warehouses where production regularly takes place. There is still room to grow, he adds: ‘The more boxes we can put them in, the more guys will come here to shoot.’

The recent labor pact with the B.C. Council of Film Unions has worked to stimulate requests for studio space, Scott says, but the new business sparks concerns about whether b.c. has enough people to service the productions.

The Prairies

As the only purpose-built studio in the Prairie provinces, Edmonton’s Allarcom Studios is already talking about expanding its eight-year-old, $8 million facility.

Studio gm Doug Steeden says volumes are increasing as the industry becomes aware of the facility. Shows produced there such as Jake and the Kid, Destiny Ridge, Ray Bradbury Theater, Farrah Fawcett’s Small Sacrifices and Anne Wheeler’s feature Bye Bye Blues, are effective advertising for the 15,000-square-foot soundstage (with ancillary space).

Steeden says the challenge is to attract producers to Edmonton even though it offers few exterior locations (compared to Vancouver or Calgary) and is not a recognized film center.

A marketing campaign to promote Edmonton along with the requisite trade show appearances and the lack of provincial sales tax are also increasing the traffic through Allarcom’s facility.

The proposed expansion, while only in preliminary planning, would clone the existing south-side facility on the vacant lot next door.

Steeden says 80% of business comes from domestic production and the balance originates from the u.s. Revenues, while confidential, are growing between 7% and 10% a year, he adds.

In Regina, meanwhile, the Saskatchewan Opportunities Corporation is renewing for a second year its commitment to a building known informally as the Old Westank Facility or Park Street Studio.

Used for the Canada/u.k. coproduction mow Lyddie and the children’s series On My Mind, the 90,000-square-foot facility (comprising studio and office space) has been a successful experiment, says president and soco ceo Zach Douglas.

‘We’re pleased with its performance,’ he says, referring to the payback and increased revenues that come with increased production. Although studio operations are not the profit centers that other industry sectors are, Douglas says soco is ‘likely to continue its commitment to establish a permanent facility.’

In September, the Westank/ Park Street studio will play host to an unnamed Canada/u.k. coproduction feature.

Atlantic Canada

Backers for the long-awaited Electropolis studio proposed for a decommissioned power plant on the wharves in downtown Halifax are expecting the go-ahead any day.

Bernie Smith, cfo for Salter Street Films, is circumspect about the details, wary of disrupting delicate negotiations with provincial and federal financing bodies and the power company that owns the site.

Salter Street is working in partnership with Citadel Productions and Cochran Entertainment to get Electropolis operational. The facility is supposed to include four stages ranging in size from 2,250 square feet to 10,500 square feet – all with 70-foot ceilings.

Smith says Electropolis will provide a permanent home for Nova Scotia’s thriving industry, which is growing at a faster rate than Ontario because of its increased profile in the industry and an established tax credit for domestic producers.

Electropolis will be the only dedicated film studio in Atlantic Canada, he says, and will offer an alternative to the slapdash warehouses that have been used for production to date.

The rest of Canada

Compared to the vitality of the soundstage business in the other regions, Ontario and Quebec pale.

While general production volumes increase because of tax credits, dollar exchanges and critical mass, there is little, if any, expansion planned.

The industry in the two provinces, while strong because of domestic initiative, appears to have plateaued for some compared with the fresher regions of Canada.

Jody Gale, gm of Wallace Avenue Studios, says the first half of 1996 has been slow, but with two new series beginning work, the second half of the year is brighter.

Because Wallace’s three main soundstages are small, it doesn’t try to woo the big features, and instead focuses on commercials, which have been slower in Toronto this year.

‘We know our niche,’ Gale explains. ‘We don’t try to compete (with the large-scale studios).’

But as a small studio, Wallace is not beholden to the whims of the industry and has found a growing market in cd-rom and multimedia projects that use blue-screened special effects. ‘We’re doing two (blue-screen projects) every two weeks,’ says Gale.

Studios that offer full-service packages – including catering, set design, equipment, etc. – tend to keep the customers coming back, she adds.

Peter Lukas of Toronto’s Showline Studios says overall 1996 has been a better year than last, with success based on such elements as studios, crew and a post-production infrastructure.

Lukas, a vigorous proponent of the Toronto production and studio industries, says high rates of taxation and hydro costs make it difficult for Toronto facilities to compete, and that governments have made few concrete efforts to encourage the industry.

Lukas is also concerned about the provision of a level playing field in terms of maintenance and quality of studio space. Lukas, whose Trinity Studios were expropriated in a joint housing venture by the provincial and city governments in 1988, points to a situation where city-owned warehouse space is occupied at a reduced rate by New York-based production company Grosso Jacobson, which in turn is seeking tenants for the space.

Ross McLean of Toronto commercial production house The Partners’ Film Company says the primary issue for any production company is safety. He says Partners’ ‘has acknowledged there is an issue and will be making inquiries’ to Toronto film commissioner David Plant.

Eric Mischuk, an owner of commercial production-oriented Lakeshore Studios in Toronto, agrees that the volume of advertising work is down. On average, commercial production represents 80% of his business, but this year, that has dropped to 60% – an anomaly, he says.

Features take up the balance, but it’s a hard-won fight. With tighter budgets, features have been hesitant to pay studios’ rates, says Mischuk, opting instead for cheaper warehouse space. But fickle as the film industry is, the trend seems to be reversing, he says, especially with stars like Bette Midler (of recently shot That Old Feeling) specifying in contracts that they will only work in real studios.

Meanwhile, Jean Claude Hutcheson of Studio La Salle in Montreal says he’s working at 65% to 70% of capacity after one year of operation. Most of his work comes from Montreal, Quebec City and Toronto and is split evenly between film and video work. A small percentage of his work comes from the u.s.

‘We could be busier,’ Hutcheson says of his facility, which includes three soundstages between 10,200 square feet and 14,400 square feet.

Others in Montreal are more content. While he doesn’t expect to expand his facilities for at least a year, Michel Trudel – owner-operator of the five-stage Cite du Cinema, and single stage Northcliffe and St. Martin – has all the work he can handle, with revenues up 40% over last year.

Between now and the end of the year, Trudel has 25 series and features booked, including the big-budget feature The Jackal.

Trudel points to the standard factors in attracting business: exchange rates, prices, tax credits, customer service, etc. But he also has his own well-worn, capital-oriented credo: ‘If we don’t have it, we’ll buy it.’