For the Toronto commercial production industry, it’s a classic good news, bad news scenario: budgets bite but a newly invigorated creative and work ethic has in many cases produced better spots; while globalization has taken away some of the work coming out of Canadian agencies, that same phenomenon has positioned Canada in the international spotlight as a production center.

Although no one is exactly complaining about an unmanageable surplus of work or a wanton show of ’80s-style neo-profligacy, there does seem to be energy in the air. It’s a guarded optimism about the future of the industry, and the buzz of activity as companies gear up for change – moving in different business directions as well as toward striving for quality – working within the economic realities of the market, rallying to bring new ideas and services to agencies, increasing their relevance and looking outward to world markets.

Reports of overall volume levels arising from the country’s commercial production center inevitably vary. A kind of consensus says volume is generally up, yet budgets have not risen commensurably. But questions of volume have been replaced with other issues; questions of attracting as well as contributing to quality work, and providing the best finished product within the financial allotments.

The Partners’ Film Company head Don McLean says work volume has been fairly consistent over the past few years and is still very much tied to the directorial talent offered.

As Partners’ celebrates its 20th year in the market, McLean says the company continues to focus its efforts on finding and building new Canadian talent as well as bringing in u.s. directors. Partners’ has had success with imports who have relocated to Toronto, including Clay Staub and Michael Cerny, and McLean says a deal is in the works to bring another u.s. name into the market.

While production companies are forced to do more for less, McLean says the industry has developed a stability and says the level of creative talent in the market has reached a new height.

‘There is as much raw talent in agencies as ever,’ says McLean. ‘And there are more good young directors now than I can ever remember.’

Strategically, Partners’ is concentrating on building local talent and scoring quality jobs, with more effort toward promotion and communication.

While not a production newcomer herself, Sarah Ker-Hornell’s recently introduced Toronto production company Angel Films is in the unique position of experiencing birth and growth in the austerity of the late 1990s.

‘For me it’s all about taste and quality,’ says Ker-Hornell. ‘I think directors are finally less concerned about volume and are now more concerned about the quality of the boards they are going to work on.’

Philip Mellows, head of The Players Film Company, says the crunch time of the past few years has made everyone involved work more effectively. ‘The days of going out and shooting a million images and giving it to an editor to make a commercial – i. e., advertising by mistake – are gone,’ says Mellows.

‘Agencies and clients have to be smarter and more results-oriented, and ultimately that can result in better creative.’

Creatively, the Toronto landscape has reaped the benefits of the work-smarter mandate of the industry as well as the blossoming of small, creatively driven, start-up agencies. Cyclical ad trends have spun toward high-quality comedy/dialogue spots. ‘There’s a lot of call for comedy these days and the spots are getting better,’ says Barbara Walker, executive producer at Apple Box Productions in Toronto. Adds Ker-Hornell: ‘We are finally seeing more dialogue, real conversational dialogue of days gone by.’

Spy Films executive producer Carlo Trulli cites the mounting challenges facing agency creatives trying to put fresh ideas on the air. There is an ongoing struggle to not only keep accounts in the country, but with more pressure from major clients to use u.s. adaptations, to also maintain a Canadian ad-entity, says Trulli. In addition, he says creative ideas are increasingly being ‘researched to death,’ subjected to more and more testing, which ultimately may dilute the original charm of the concept.

Walker says although profit margins are slimmer and competition fiercer than ever, there is general optimism in the air in Toronto’s commercial production community, citing the reappearance of government ad campaigns after a long absence as a positive indicator.

Walker says while the phenomenon of globalization has siphoned off some made-in-Toronto advertising, it has also brought international productions to the city. Apple Box is undertaking a marketing push into the u.s. and Latin American countries and plans to grow the current 10% of its business derived from outside the country.

On the spot prod talent side of the equation, while nurturing young local talent remains a long-term priority for many, production companies are also looking to international markets, making deals for representation with u.s. talent and marketing their own roster to the world.

Players, a Toronto player for seven years, recently added some major u.s. names to its roster as well as building the scope of the reels of local directors. Mellows says the shop is being positioned to attract bigger and better creative work.

Trulli says there is not enough top-drawer work for everyone, and as a growth strategy his company is looking outward not only at the u.s. but also European and Asian markets.

‘The reason we can look to other markets is our directors, like Pete Henderson and Javier, have established themselves to the level that they are in an export situation and are getting the attention from other markets,’ says Trulli. ‘You have to have the ammunition to compete internationally. We couldn’t have done it two years ago; we can do it now.’

Wayne Fenske, head of LTB Productions, says his shop has long pursued the ‘global village’ model of commercial production. Fenske says profit margins have been steady, albeit low, and the reality over roughly the past four years is that there is simply less money with which more must be done.

While Fenske devotes considerable time to world markets, ltb has also been busy reorienting itself to the Toronto market, tuning its roster and focusing on the particulars of local work.

Toronto shops are also branching out into different directions within the tv framework, with longer-format work and different approaches.

Fenske has a history of working in short- and long-form projects and ltb recently completed an infomercial-sitcom for Altamira Mutual Funds. Fenske is also in the process of shopping an imax project called Fireworks.

Earlier this year Imported Artists made its official intentions known to branch out into long-form projects with its Clarence Square Pictures arm, headed by Imported president Christina Ford, director Richard D’Alessio and producer Jeffrey Berman.

In addition to creating new strategies for the tv market, Toronto production companies are keeping a close collective eye on emerging multimedia opportunities and a few are gearing up for action in the field.

Mellows plans to launch a new multimedia company within the next few months. The new entity will be run in association with Players and will aim creative multimedia solutions at agencies and clients, as well as offering Web site design.

Apple Box is also looking toward multimedia opportunities, with discussions underway to produce cd-roms for clients in the context of commercial production.

Underlying the forward-thinking strategies of most shops is an earnest desire to support the outstanding Toronto industry infrastructure to ensure the longevity of the city as a production center. With post-production and effects now a cornerstone of many spots, Toronto facilities are now recognized as among the best anywhere and said shops are being drawn into the ad production process much earlier.

Ker-Hornell says this means that directors must be ahead of technical changes and that as suppliers’ roles evolve so must the production company. ‘The process is now more of a collaboration. Production companies and directors need to bring new production solutions to the table. This means we have to work much harder, but that’s what we do, isn’t it?’