Pinewood would have been deadwood and the February Freeze would have been iced if the Ontario tax breaks hadn’t been introduced and ‘saved our asses,’ said Paul Bronfman, chair of Pinewood Toronto Studios, at the one-day trade show event held at the megastudio on Feb. 9.

‘We wouldn’t be sitting here today at all,’ said Bronfman during the annual gear show where over 45 equipment suppliers were on display for some 1,100 attendees, ranging from producers to cinematographers and curious crew. ‘But,’ he added, ‘we need to have a healthy balance with American work because that allows us to keep the gear up to speed with first-class technical support and all the bells and whistles.’

He says the province is now ‘neck and neck’ with American states offering tax credits — including Louisiana, New York, Connecticut and New Mexico — and the future looks brighter. The tax credit was increased in Ontario last summer.

There are four American shoots in Toronto now and two others are coming soon, which is good news for equipment suppliers at the trade show, about one-third of which were Americans.

‘Everyone is searching to find productions right now,’ said Don Phillips, VP of sales for lighting supplier Mole-Richardson. His company came to sneak-peek the prototype for its new ‘film friendly’ LED that will be for sale at this year’s NAB in Las Vegas.

Meanwhile, Toronto-based 3D Camera Company was showcasing 3D clips, including one from the upcoming Saw VII (the first of the franchise to be shot in the format) and footage of Mardi Gras in Rio de Janeiro, although company topper Bill White believes it will be sports that will drive the expected 3D TV revolution.

‘It’s the crazy sports guys that will drive the market,’ says White, adding that ‘when the price points come down [on 3D screens], then everyone will have one.’ Consumer-level monitors are currently in the $4,000 to $8,000 range and have yet to really hit the market.

White also believes that upcoming advances in editing will also give the 3D phenom a new thrust.