Transitioning between film and television and video-gaming industries may seem old hat these days, but Sean Murch saw the opportunities early.
After completing a philosophy/English degree at the University of Western Ontario, Murch moved to London, U.K., where he and a friend launched a film studio, Passion Pictures/Red Rover, in 1992. It was a huge learning experience crowned by the successful negotiation of a major film development deal with Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope.
When he moved to Vancouver sight unseen in the mid-’90s, he found a film and television production scene but not “a lot of deal-making going on.”
He was subsequently invited to check out Radical Entertainment, which ended up offering him a job.
“Given the opportunities that were available in the other entertainment sectors, it seemed like the most interesting and potential growth area in the city,” said Murch, who joined Radical as a producer in 1996.
But by 1998, film and television had pulled him to Toronto where he was director of development and sales for Nelvana En-erprises, which was sold to Corus Entertainment in 2000. The draw of the West Coast proved too strong, and Murch found himself in San Francisco as managing director of design firm Deepend in 2000. It was a role he held until returning to Vancouver to work with Electronic Arts as director of development/department head in 2002. In 2006, he struck out on his own as CEO of independent games publisher Playful Entertainment and subsequently merged the company with Next Level Games where he is currently head of business development.
“More and more as time goes on I’ve found I like variety in my diet from a professional standpoint,” said Murch. “Whenever I have been in a role that requires doing the same tasks for multiple years, I generally grow bored.”
His varied experience has seen him contribute as a member of New Media BC and the Canada Film and Television Production Association as well as play a mentorship role to students.
“The longer you work in an industry, the more you see things that aren’t ideal,” he said. “It’s very difficult as an individual in one company to affect any real change on an industry-wide basis. But if you unite with other folks who are similar minded, you have an opportunity to actually change the industry as a whole.” •
