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» The rise of the BC film and TV industry

Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

 

ancouver and the rest of

British Columbia are well-
known for their part in the film
and television industry. BC is
the third largest production
area for foreign production in
the industry after New York City
and Los Angeles, and the fourth
largest for domestic (Ontario
being third), earning the
nickname “Hollywood North.”
Almost everyone in Vancouver
has been involved in or knows
someone involved with the
entertainment sector—whether
working behind the scenes or on-
camera.

The BC film industry has a
long and successful history, with
its first films being shot not long
after the introduction of the
medium itself in 1910. Its first film
development office was opened
in 1977, and it has maintained
a steady pace since. Fifty-nine

: per cent of all foreign movie
: and TV production in Canada
: is done in BC. About 34,000
: people are directly employed
: by “Hollywood North” between
: the motion picture and digital
: effects industry—and that’s not
: including the thousands who
: benefit indirectly through the
: business boom via media and
: tourism highlights as a result.
: BC enjoys a variety of domestic
: and foreign media production
: (indicating any show or film not
: made by a Canadian production
: company).
There are several reasons
why Vancouver is so popular in

: the biggest one is the financial
: benefit. Many tax credits are

: offered by the province and

: different US states to develop

: movies and shows here, including :
: profile films shot in BC include

: Fifty Shades of Grey, Godzilla,

> and The Interview. Futuristic

: films that have been shot or are

: being shot here include Warcraft,
: Deadpool, Star Trek 3, and Steven
: Spielberg’s The B.EG.

: 217.5 percent refundable credit

: on digital media producers,

: and refunds as high as 30 per

: cent in some US states. Another

: incentive is the US dollar value—
: while fluctuating in the last year

: it has maintained an average 1.25
: multiple value in the Canadian

uster

ea. on * |

 

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Image from @VanMayorsOffice on twitter

business 1n Vancouver

: market. Vancouver is also

: reasonably close to Hollywood

: via plane—about three hours—
: allowing quick travel commutes,
: and falls in the same time zone.
: Finally, Vancouver’s natural

: resources play a huge role in

: making for some ideal locations.
: BC offers mountains, forests,

: ocean, beaches, and a consistent
: cloudy weather which allows

: for easy manipulation in sets to

: create diversity in scenery and

: lighting.

Vancouver's film industry

: is only set to grow bigger in the

: coming few years. From 2013-14,
: there was an increase of almost
: the movie-making world. Perhaps :
: boosting BC Film to a foreign

: film industry of $1.8 billion.

: The movies being shot here are

: becoming even higher in budget

five per cent in the market,

and blockbuster. Recent high-

The television industry

: in Vancouver is even more

: prestigious than the movies
: industry. Many extremely popular :
: shows are shot in the area, :
: including Supernatural, Once

: Upon a Time, Arrow, and The

: Flash. In the past, popular shows
: included Stargate, Battlestar

: Galactica, and The X-Files. The

: latter was one of the biggest

: shows of all time and provided

: a major lift in popularizing

: Vancouver as a desirable shooting !
: location. Its gloomy atmosphere:
: and abundance of forested area

: made it perfect for supernatural
: and crime elements. Fans and

: the industry collectively rejoiced
: when it was announced recently
: that the revival of The X-Files

: would be shot in Vancouver this
: summer. Another major show

: shot in Vancouver announced is
: the spinoff to The Walking Dead
: titled Fear the Walking Dead—

: already green lit for two seasons
: toshoot and air for this summer. :
: In fact, between February to April :
: this year—known in the industry
: as “pilot season”—nine new show :
: pilots were shot in Vancouver, all:
: of which will potentially become

: series to increase the industry.

The digital media sector
of Vancouver works with

: blockbusters which are even

: more prominent than the ones

: directly shot here. Studios in the
: area create special effects, CGI,

: and motion capture for large

: blockbusters like Iron Man 3,

: Transformers: Age of Extinction,

: and X-Men: Days of Future

: Past. This sector employs 15,000

locals directly and further reaps

: benefits for major studios in

: outsourcing and tax cuts. In fact,
: two BC locals were nominated at
: the Academy Awards this year for
: their excellent visual effects work
: in Godzilla and X-Men: Days of

: Future Past.

Projections show BC is

likely to keep this level of work

: up in the industry for the next

: few years—hopefully leading to

: more blockbusters and Academy
: Award nominations centred

: in Vancouver. It’s good for the

economy, for the industry, and for

: thousands of people employed by

the industry.