While Vancouver’s Insight Film Studios keeps its first-place position as Canada’s largest independent producer for the second year in a row, the company saw its total production volume fall by 30% in 2008 to $125 million.

This is the first drop in volume the prodco has faced in four years. Between 2004 and 2007, Insight grew its production by 20% a year, peaking at $179.2 million in calendar ’07.

Insight president Kirk Shaw blames the drop in volume on losing its two major series, Painkiller Jane (Sci-Fi Channel/Global) and Blood Ties (Lifetime/Space).

‘Both series were right on the bubble of getting picked up for second seasons, and then it didn’t happen,’ explains Shaw. ‘We were so focused on those series and gambling on the second season that we didn’t have any other series in development ready to go.’

Insight’s drama series production plummeted 83% in 2008 to $7.8 million (from $45.8 million in ’07).

The company’s TV movie production dropped a marginal 5% in 2008 to $58.9 million, and total feature production budgets fell 23% to $53.2 million. However, Shaw points out that the company produced 35 movies last year, around the same number as it did in the previous two years.

‘We peaked in terms of the number of movies we could handle in a given year,’ says Shaw.

But in 2009, Shaw has no plans to maintain his company’s place as Canada’s top producer by volume.

As a result of the global economic downturn and its impact on broadcasters and distributors, Shaw is scaling back his production slate for 2009.

‘We plan to do 20 movies and hopefully one drama series this year for a total volume of about $85 million,’ explains Shaw, noting that he wants to be more calculated and choosy about what projects his company takes on in this volatile market.

He plans to shoot a TV movie in July that will serve as a backdoor pilot (rights are still being finalized so he cannot announce the project) for a new action series.

Insight’s movie slate includes four action films in the $8 million to $10 million range and 16 sci-fi and female thrillers in the $2.5 million to $3 million range.

The first two MOWs to shoot are thrillers with France’s TF1 – Conflict of Interest and Honeymoon Cruise – which go to camera this summer.

Insight has faced its own financial crunch as a result of the global economic meltdown. Several of its U.S. distribution partners have been hit hard by the recession and unable to make payments. Insight is also in an appeal process with the Canada Revenue Agency over its 2006 and 2007 federal tax-credit rebates.

As a result, the company is downsizing – full-time staff is being reduced from over 100 to just 20 employees.