Shawn Williamson seems to be echoing former prime minister Pierre Trudeau’s sentiments about sleeping next to an elephant when he speaks about Canadian movie producers’ efforts to deliver high-quality films.
“In English-language Canada we are competing with the United States, and that sets the bar very, very high with regards to production value and stars and story,” said the president of Burnaby-based Brighlight Pictures. “[Audiences] see no difference between a Canadian film and an American film. We’re always struggling to bring budgets up to try to compete as best we can with American product.”
And Brightlight, which produced Seth Rogen’s 50/50 and the Michael Keaton supernatural thriller White Noise, wants even more high-budgeted intellectual property (IP) of its own, according to Williamson.
Last month it struck a joint venture with MVP Entertainment in a bid to raise capital for more domestic productions.
“As a small Canadian company, we aren’t capitalized at the level of a U.S. studio, so it makes it very difficult for us to compete,” Williamson said. “If they’re able to raise the money that they’re currently looking to raise, it allows us to acquire or build IP or scripts … at a level that we can’t currently.”
Creative BC CEO Prem Gill, whose agency promotes the province’s entertainment industry, said viewers’ expectations of quality have pushed local original content producers to become increasingly entrepreneurial.
At the same time, the owners of Vancouver-based production companies creating original Canadian content have even expanded their offerings by selling off their own IP.
In 2014, Nerd Corps animation studio was sold to Halifax-based DHX Media, while Toronto’s Entertainment One (LSE:ETO) (eOne) bought Paperny Entertainment and Force Four Entertainment.
“[We’re] right in the centre of the entertainment district of Toronto, which of course is where most of the buying goes on in our industry,” said David Paperny, whose company produces reality shows like Chopped Canada and Yukon Gold.
While Paperny Entertainment remains based in Vancouver as an independent subsidiary of eOne, the production company’s co-founder said he now has access to offices and resources previously out of reach to a smaller production house.
“It’s allowing us to potentially work with new talent, big talent, new partners, larger networks, potential buyers and producing partners and a larger distribution network,” Paperny said.
After DHX Media acquired Nerd Corps 18 months ago, the new parent company set out to construct a 75,000-square-foot animation studio to house 750 to 800 workers based at multiple offices in Vancouver. That studio is scheduled to open in the fall.
“In terms of developing IP, very much so Vancouver and B.C. is a huge part of our operation,” said Ken Faier, senior vice-president of the DHX Studios division. “The physical space in the building we’re moving into should allow us to expand the number of projects we do over time.”
Nerd Corps, which produces children’s cartoons like Slugterra, was Faier’s home base for a decade before he took a new position at DHX.
He said the acquisition hasn’t changed the heart and soul of the studio. Instead, it’s simply allowing local content creators to play on a bigger platform.
But Williamson said big capital investments aren’t the only factor when it comes to cultivating homegrown IP.
Top-of-the-line workers – actors, writers and directors, as opposed to service-oriented positions like best boy grips or makeup artists – are flooding out of local film schools and staying in Vancouver, he said.
“There’s been a maturation of the industry overall here, specifically with regards to the talent depth,” he said. “Those are the ones that ultimately create the work.”
