Vancouver: Paul Sharpe is continuing his investment in the Vancouver film and television industry by wrapping up a $1 million expansion of his sound engineering company across the street from North Shore Studios.

‘We need to provide studio space for new shows,’ says the sole proprietor of Sharpe Sound. ‘We have a commitment to the industry to keep growing. And we have faith in the long-term growth of the industry. Business doesn’t look like it’s going away.’

The expansion – which will be an eight-month project by the time it is completed in mid-March – involves construction of a 5,000-square-foot addition to the company’s original 9,000-square-foot offices.

A third sound mixing suite is being inaugurated by the post-production work on the feature Free Willy iii, and will feature a leading-edge jbl monitoring system. Sharpe has also added six digital editing suites to bring the total to 18 suites. The digital editing suites will mostly comprise Dawn equipment, says Sharpe.

Sharpe Sound, recently nominated for a Gemini Award for its sound work on the cbc television movie Little Criminals, employs 15 full-time people and about 20 freelancers.