Producers in Saskatchewan are in no hurry to jump into the soundstage business.

The recent announcement of a 35% provincial film and tv labor incentive has bolstered optimism in the local industry and predictions for this year’s production volume are ringing in at the $35- to $40-million range, a marked jump over 1997’s $23 million.

Still, the production community remains cautious of doing too much, too soon.

‘It is a daunting prospect for one company to consider,’ says Minds Eye Pictures’ Mark Prasuhn. In the not too distant future, he says, the Regina company will likely look into partnering on a facility with a consortium of producers and the private sector putting money into the pot.

Edge Entertainment in Saskatoon is considering the idea of going it alone on a soundstage, but not for at least another year or two. The main impetus is the difficulty in finding warehouse space for rent. The Saskatoon economy is booming and the commercial vacancy rate is roughly .04%, says Edge president David Doerkson. But when space is available, rental rates remain comparitively low, roughly $10.00 per square foot. For example, on the Summer of the Monkeys movie, Edge paid $6,000 per month for 14,000 square feet of space.

The company has sent out an offering memorandum for private investment to raise $10 million. Some of that cash is being earmarked for a studio. Doerkson anticipates buying a seven- to 10-acre lot outside Saskatoon to accommodate a 10,000-square-foot stage which will also house the Edge’s management and production offices and its off-line editing facilities. The estimated budget is about $1.7 million.

Rental company needed

Saskatoon is in dire need of an equipment rental company, says Doerkson, who must go to PS Production Services in Regina which ‘is always swamped’ with work. He would like to invite William F. White or P.S. Production Services to set up shop in the future site.

Audio post facilities specializing in film are not available in Saskatoon so this is another service Doerkson would like to see housed in the facility.

Although rental space is far more available in Regina than Saskatoon, Prasuhn notes that the commercial real-estate market ‘has started to tighten up over the last year.’ Rates have remained steady over the past few years with unfinished Regina warehouses running roughly $1,000 per week.

Minds Eye Pictures’ Incredible Story Studios is currently shooting a second season in two old schools where gymnasiums have been converted into soundstages.

The local CBC studio is another option for Regina producers. The 8,000-square-foot stage accommodates small tv dramas, documentaries and commercials. Its rates are negotiable and depend upon whether production office space, control room access, equipment and cameras are part of the package. Heartland Motion Pictures’ kids series The MAXimum Dimension will shoot at the studio for a second season this fall.

‘A studio is not in our business plan right now,’ says Regina-based Partners in Motion principal Ron Goetz. ‘As we add more drama to our slate over the next couple of years, then it will make sense.’

Partners In Motion’s summer sked includes the 13 half-hour alternative health series Beyond Medicine, the three one-hour tlc series Survivors, the one-hour doc Birdman and the two-hour doc Northwest Assignment. Both docs are for History Television.

Location shoots will make up the majority of these projects. When interior shots are required, Goetz rents commercial and warehouse space that is temporarily vacant, picking up cheaper rates by renting space in two- to three-week blocks. Goetz says he can often make deals of $100 to $300 per day.

Shooting on location also continues to be the main stage for most of the province’s feature films. A set has been built on a First Nations reserve for Big Bear (Alliance, Tele-Action, Kanata, Blue Hill) and the Minds Eye/Trimark picture Inconvenienced is filming entirely on location outside Moosejaw. Edge Entertainment’s $2 million Dream Time, directed by Michael Story, is scheduled for a Regina location shoot in October. Revenge of The Land, a coproduction with Regina’s 4 Square Productions, shoots mid-August in the Moosejaw area.