Special Report: The Year in Review: B.C. sets the stage for future growth

For the b.c. film industry, 1995 has been a year of steady growth in the areas of television series work and mows, with hit tv shows such as The X-Files, Highlander, The Outer Limits, Strange Luck and Poltergeist shooting in-province.

1995 has also been a year of expanding and reshaping the infrastructure of the industry through corporate takeovers, strategic partnerships, educational advancements and the formation of new companies to meet the demands of new technologies.

– In the corporate takeover department, New World Pictures purchased Los Angeles-based Cannell Studios and has stepped up its tv and mow production efforts in b.c. via its wholly owned Vancouver subsidiary, Cannell Productions Services.

– Thanks to a strategic partnership struck between Vancouver’s BLT Productions and Toronto-based Alliance, the producers of ReBoot recently announced a second 26-episode computer-generated series called Transformers II: Beast Wars.

In addition to this, ReBoot has aligned itself with Electronic Arts for the production of interactive games.

– The Vancouver Film School has received a lot of interest with its May opening of the world’s most advanced multimedia production training center.

– As to new companies, Rainmaker Digital Pictures became a public entity on the Montreal Stock Exchange in May of this year. Anchored by wholly owned subsidiaries Gastown Film Labs and Gastown Post, the company is a film-based, digital post-production house with newly formed subsidiaries Rainmaker Imaging and Rainmaker Interactive specializing in digital effects and interactive software development.

These examples of growth, commitment and vision appear to give one the impression that b.c. is well positioned to ‘go to the next level’ in the providing of expertise and services to meet the demands of its international client base. However, we must meet the challenges that exist in the areas of labor relations, community acknowledgment and international marketing.

The lack of growth in high-end feature film production has been attributed to the major u.s. studios (e.g. Paramount, Disney and Sony) being frustrated with the bargaining practices of our film unions. As one producer candidly put it, ‘I came up here to shoot a picture, not to become an expert in Canadian labor law.’

The meeting of this challenge has begun with the Labour Relations Board of b.c. taking the lead. After establishing the issues to be resolved, the lrb held a hearing with the unions in late October. (Many of the major u.s. studios were represented at the hearing and were happy with the progress.)

Subsequently, in mid-November, the lrb produced a draft restructuring the collective bargaining structure in the film industry. This draft was to be reviewed and commented on by all interested parties by Nov. 22, with a final decision to follow shortly thereafter.

Key in the negotiations to bringing back the Hollywood studios will be the co-operation of the actor unions, ubcp and actra.

As our industry grows, location burnout can become a reality if not properly monitored.

Over the last year, under the auspices of the B.C. Film Commission, a position to handle community liaison was established to monitor the use of locations and get involved with issues involving the community and film production.

On an ongoing basis, the stakeholders realize that they must continually educate and market the community about the film industry. Many of them believe that the time has come for the city of Vancouver to have its own film commissioner.

b.c. has been successful in the past because its stakeholders have primarily marketed the existing infrastructure and the relative advantages of shooting in b.c. as opposed to their specific services or areas of expertise.

To maintain this momentum, Pete Mitchell, the new director of the B.C. Film Commission, has undertaken, with the support of B.C. Trade, to head up a marketing alliance comprised of key industry stakeholders who are committed to maintaining community harmony, educating the public, and supporting the infrastructure at large.

tom locke is chief financial officer of Rainmaker Digital Pictures, Vancouver.