Bob Kowalski wants you to know you have options. When you’re looking for unexposed raw film stock, he’s got fridges full of the stuff and he’s ready to sell it – ‘from 20% to 70% off Kodak’s price.’

Launched in February, Stock Options claims to be the first company in Toronto to provide unexposed raw stock at more awkward hours and lower prices than Kodak.

Kowalski is managing the company for its creator, cinematographer Steve Vernon. A Torontonian, Vernon has worked out of Los Angeles for the last several years.

According to Kowalski, Vernon’s inspiration was the success of u.s. companies providing the same service. ‘In New York and l.a. they’ve had this service for decades now. And there’s never been anyone in Toronto.’

Spurred by its Toronto success, Kowalski says the company plans to open shop in Vancouver this summer and Montreal by the end of the year.

So far, Stock Options has been ‘very, very busy.’ Kowalski credits the company’s instant popularity to its 24-hour, on-call service and the rigid testing standards it employs on all three types of stock it purchases: unopened, recanned and short-end.

‘Even if it’s unopened, even if it’s factory-sealed, we have to test it. Because if that film was stored incorrectly… There’s basically only three things that can go wrong with the film. The obvious one would be light and the other two are heat and time.’

Kowalski explains that about 40% of the film they test fails. Stock that doesn’t make the grade is often donated to schools. ‘Just because it fails doesn’t mean that it isn’t any good. It just doesn’t meet our standard. It has to fall within Kodak’s recommended parameters.’

The Stock Options manager, who also has a background in film, has acted in the past as a camera assistant, camera operator and then a director of photography and lighting director. Most recently, he worked at The Source Shop, selling lighting and grip equipment to the industry.

Now the industry comes to him. Commercials, feature films, mows are just a few of the productions being serviced by the company.

One of the first clients to knock on Stock Options’ door was the cbc. ‘We saved the cbc,’ says Kowalski. ‘They had viewed their rushes on a Saturday and couldn’t use what they had shot. And they couldn’t get any more film because Kodak was closed. The producer was driving by our [King Street West] shop here, saw the sign, phoned us and said, ‘Are you for real?’ ‘

Stock Options, of course, is for real and provided the last-minute raw stock to the production. ‘So they called and assembled the crew and the cast and finished the shoot with our film,’ Kowalski explains.

Another advantage of the service is that it works both ways. Stock Options must first track down, test and purchase raw stock before it catalogues and sells it, and on occasion its clients also become suppliers.

Kowalski explains: ‘[The cbc deal] kind of turned around a couple of weeks later. They called and said they had some film for sale. So we purchased their film, or about 60% of it.

‘There’s been some production people who have come to us, the assistant camera people or whatever. They end up with the film and they’ve been bringing it to us. And, of course, we test it and offer to purchase it from them.’