Foreign filmmakers flocking to B.C.

Made-in-B.C. TV series can develop a devoted following

Nicholas Read
Vancouver Sun

Makers of foreign television series have decided that B.C. is the place to be, regardless of where in the world it's supposed to represent.

According to figures released Thursday by the Ministry of Tourism, Sport and Arts, spending by the makers of foreign television series in the province jumped more than 45 per cent between 2005 and 2006, rising from $298 million to $433 million.

The total expenditure on TV series production, both foreign and domestic, also increased over 24 per cent, climbing from $387 million in 2005 to $488 million in 2006. That's important, the ministry said, because it provides longer-term employment for cast members and crew than do TV movies or feature films.

"B.C. continues to perform exceptionally well, despite the realities of a strong Canadian dollar and global competition," said Tourism Minister Stan Hagen in a press release. "It's been another outstanding year for our industry -- a testament to the fact that B.C. is truly a world-class production centre."

Overall spending by domestic productions rose 24 per cent from $224 million in 2005 to $277 million in 2006, even though the total number of domestic films and television series made here decreased during that time.

On Thursday, ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson announced that the filmed-in-Squamish TV series Men in Trees will return for a second season.

Men in Trees was just one of 39 series filmed in the province last year. As well, 63 TV movies of the week were shot here along with 53 feature films.

George Grieve, production manager on the science-fiction series, Supernatural, said he believes the increase is due entirely to the government's decision in early 2005 to increase the labour tax credit from 20 to 30 per cent for domestic productions and from 11 to 18 per cent for foreign productions.

"Because the government cooperated and created the tax concession, it evened the playing field as far as seeking out TV locations was concerned," Grieve said. "It kept B.C. and Vancouver attractive as a location."

Such decisions, Grieve said, are "purely financial. If it's not financially viable to come here, they won't come."

However, Lael McCall, producer of the series Whistler, said B.C.'s attraction as a TV destination was due to "all kinds of different reasons."

"Everything from the crews to the infrastructure to the tax credits to the proximity to the rest of the world, Los Angeles in particular," she said.

Pete Mitchell, a vice-president at Vancouver Film Studios, said the 2006 numbers are reflective of a "really healthy" film and production environment in B.C.

"They reflect a nice steady growth and the fact the combination of talent and public policy and capital going into it seems to be working well," Mitchell said. "It's very encouraging. That's [the TV numbers] very much a bright point in it."

Added together, the spending on film and TV production in B.C. was down slightly from 2005, falling from $1.233 billion in 2005 to $1.228 billion last year. But the drop is slight enough not to concern Mitchell.

"It's stabilized now and that's good," he said. "But it does make me wonder if we've hit some kind of plateau."

It also was significantly better than Ontario's performance last year, he added. There, TV and film production totalled only $888 million, down from $933 million the year before.

The 2006 numbers also pleased B.C. Film commissioner Susan Croome, who said the rise in TV production was especially positive for the province.

"Television is a great thing for B.C. because it provides a stable base of operation for us," she said. "It's what allows us to build our casts and crews and our infrastructure."

The situation for feature films wasn't as good. The number shot here dropped from 63 in 2005 to 53 in 2006. That resulted in an appreciable fall in feature-film spending from $623 million in 2005 to $474 million last year.

That is a concern to Croome, who said it highlights the need for the province to continue an emphasis on "customer service and providing the right product at the right price."

Grieve said there was still room to grow the TV market as long as crews were available. "I think our capacity is around 40 to 45 crews." he said.