As Moliflex-White Group’s power play to control the bulk of Montreal studio space has come to fruition, Martin Fontaine, general manager of Cine Cite Montreal, is busier than ever. Fontaine was the man behind the Studio Cine Cite St. Hubert when it was acquired by Moliflex in 1999. The acquisition doubled the number of stages Moliflex already had to offer the production business in Montreal.

Now, the flagship studio in the Moliflex fleet is Cine Cite Montreal, an expansive lot built on old military bases in the St. Hubert region of the island. Besides the numerous MOWs and features that are shot on the site, Fontaine confirms that "Montreal is still a good city for commercials" and that "last year [the studios] had more than 25 big [spot] projects."

Cine Cite boasts a 28-acre property complete with recreational areas, production and office space, ample on-lot parking, outdoor water tanks and even a rifle range for target practice and explosives testing. This on top of the six on-site stages ranging in size from 7,500 square feet to 18,500 square feet.

The stages themselves are soundproofed and air-conditioned, with individually controlled power grids. A cyclorama wall and catwalks are available along with a "sophisticated ventilation system for quality ambient air." The stages also boast an H2O F/X system and smoke evacuation for F/X.

Much of the commercial work that passes through the studio is local, but Fontaine says the occasional spot from France also comes in. "It’s been quite busy," the GM says.

Fontaine explains 2000 was spent "getting everybody into Montreal and showing them our facilities." From what he says, it seems his marketing efforts have been a success.

As Cine Cite becomes better known, obviously, demand for the space increases. "In January, we had some shooting this year. And I don’t think that last year we had that many commercials shooting in January," Fontaine says.

Although all the stages are generally booked up, Fontaine explains "there is some space available and we are trying to keep one stage available for commercials at all times."

Part of the attraction of Cine Cite are the numerous production services available on site. From caterers and honeywagons to animatronics, makeup and special effects, the studio complex endeavors to be a "one-stop shop." Other on-site services include equipment rentals, on-site filming locations, access to adjacent regional airport runways, customs and immigration clearances, production financial services, helicopter rentals, set construction services, graphic design and fibre-optic video transmission.

"We’d like to bring it further again by having some other departments that aren’t here right now," Fontaine says. "And also, in future to think about post-production here – also directly on the lot.

"The idea is that the more services we have, the more effective we will be. With post-production directly on the lot, we can be more attractive to producers who are making movies-of-the-week. So while they are shooting the second one, they can do the post-production on the first one." *

-www.cinecitemontreal.com