Omnifilm Entertainment is best known for its multiple 1-hour original Canadian primetime series like CBC’s Arctic Air, hit kids/family programming like Disney Channel series Gabby Duran & the Unsittables, and its post-production work on projects like Fakes and Warrior Nun for Netflix.
Now Omnifilm Entertainment is expanding further into providing production services to clients worldwide.
The Vancouver-based production company is leveraging all of its experience across multiple genres to help outside clients produce premium drama and comedy series in a service capacity.
“We are a hidden secret in terms of the production services we can offer to third-parties,” says Brian Hamilton, Partner and Executive Producer for Omnifilm Entertainment. “We’re ideally placed to be the bridge for companies that may not be familiar with shooting in Canada, maximizing incentives and finding the best crews and facilities at a time when production is busy.”
Crew lighting the ‘Ice Wall’ behind season 3 of the drama series Arctic Air.
Due to Vancouver’s beautiful landscapes, world-renowned talent pool and extensive production infrastructure, the Canadian city is a great place to film series and movies. Of course, lots of productions already know that, which has made it difficult to find crews and space for new projects looking to shoot in Vancouver, says Hamilton. That’s where Omnifilm, which has been in operation in B.C. for 40 years, can really shine by assisting incoming studios and production entities.
Turn-key services that Omnifilm offers include finding crews and studio space, navigating production tax credits and financial incentives, providing creative consultation, handling physical production and completing all stages of post-production work in its own Vancouver-based facility. The company also has a decades-long track record successfully selling to Canadian buyers, for clients interested in exploring additional financing options.
Omnifilm has signaled its expansion into additional premium service work by hiring two new senior executives: Nicole Shizuka Oguchi as Head of Physical Production and Phil Klapwyk as Business Development Executive.
“We don’t just parachute in on Day 1 of official prep,” says Oguchi. “We’re here from the very beginning and we are here after camera wrap and after the rest of the crew leaves — even after the last invoices are paid, we’re still here liaising with government to make sure all of the tax credits are received and transferred to the client.”
Omnifilm has already successfully provided production services for multiple U.S. studios, overseeing more than $200 million in production in the last several years. You can check out their work on Disney Channel series Mech X-4 to see all of these capabilities come to life. On that 44 x 30-minute action-comedy, Omnifilm brought together the crew, supervised the live-action filming as well as the extensive VFX required, and put it all together in post afterwards. Omnifilm and Disney also co-sponsored a program supporting up-and-coming women directors breaking into television, resulting in the launch of several promising episodic directing careers.
“We have the facilities, capabilities and connections and we’re now applying all of that background into service work for international premium dramas and half-hour comedies,” says Klapwyk. “With our longevity and our connections, our team brings four decades of experience in local production to ensure that clients and partners experience the best that Vancouver and Canada have to offer.”
