A labor tax credit or funding program is the chief concern for the Alberta film and television industry.

Indigenous production fell 66% in 1997 to $50 million, down from $150 million the previous year. Faced with this dismal figure, a soundstage remains a distant pipe dream.

Still, talk of soundstages continues to buzz while the lobby for a production incentive continues.

Disney’s Honey I Shrunk The Kids tv series is shooting in two 50,000 square-feet warehouses in Calgary’s Currie Barracks until March.

The former Canadian Forces base is currently being handled by Canada Lands, which is looking into potential future uses for the property.

‘The hope is that the Calgary film industry will be a part of whatever happens with the barracks,’ says Murray Ord at the Alberta Film Commission. ‘The ideal scenario would be for a film studio housed on the site alongside other development.’

In the meantime, most producers in Calgary are using empty warehouses and office space as makeshift soundstages. A large curling rink has been used quite a bit in the past by American films during off-seasons, says Ord. Shooting on location is the other viable and cost-effective solution, says producer James Gottselig, who is currently shooting the feature Bad Money in Calgary.

Tom Jackson at Tomali Pictures has set aside land in Calgary for a studio which would include three soundstages totalling 80,000 square feet. But he has not yet scheduled a construction date.

In Edmonton, wic’s 15,000 square-foot Allarcom studio continues to be the main production facility. Bruce Harvey’s Illusions Entertainment is shooting a feature at the 15,000 square-foot studio as is the Minds Eye Pictures/Anaid Productions’ kid series Mentors.