The Movie Industry in Vancouver

The movie industry in Vancouver dates all the way back to 1913 and is ranked in the top five North American cities for filmmaking. Due to the lower prices and vastly beautiful scenery we have here in Vancouver, many movies that we know, and love have been filmed around our very own neighbourhoods. Some that you may not even know about. However, there are many ways to keep track on what is currently being filmed in our city. Many projects and their locations can be followed on Twitter or by finding signs handing around the city.

Vancouver is well known for providing dozens of programs on filmmaking, acting, production, marketing and distribution and Vancouver has established a record for production excellence. There are approximately more than 50 movies and 60 TV shows being filmed in Vancouver annually, along with hundreds of commercials and other productions. Some recent film productions that were filmed in the city include, Deadpool 1 and 2, Star Trek Beyond and The Predator. As well some pretty well-known TV series such as Supernatural for as long as 15 seasons, Once Upon a Time and X-Files. Vancouver has grown a reputation for being the third largest production centre in North America, not just only for its great sceneries but there are many benefits to filming in the city. Productions can take advantage of the tax credit incentives in Vancouver, such as the British Columbia Production Services Tax Credit, the Film Incentive BC TaxCredit, the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the BC Digital Animation or Visual Effects.

I started working as a movie extra at age 16. Working on movie sets was such an interesting experience and taught me a lot about the industry. Most of the time was spent waiting around for scenes to filmed before they needed us, and that gave us the opportunity to meet new people and make new friendships. It was a great first job to have and it was easy money. Even though I learned a lot about set etiquette and how things run on a movie set, that whole world is still so mysterious and interesting to think about. However, It is perceived as quite mysterious and low-key because that is exactly how they like it and they know it makes the movie industry so intriguing for the outside perspective. It also gets people more excited for the final product when they don’t know much about it. Sometimes the whole production would be halted, and actors would hide for hours in their trailers when there were too many paparazzi’s and people waiting outside to see them. At first, I thought that was quite self-centered for actors to refuse to be seen or refuse to talk to their fans, but then I began to understand the frustration. No one who has woken up in the early hours and spent hours and hours on their feet, memorizing lines, and redoing takes would have the patience or be in the mood with deal with so much publicity. I began to understand why productions try so hard to be discreet when everyone had to spend hours waiting for the crowd to be cleared so that we could resume shooting. Disruptions can set back an entire day of shooting.

Sometimes productions will go as far as creating a fake name for big movies so that less people will be inclined to check it out. Fifty Shades of Grey was a great example of that. Even though I was hired to work on the set of that movie, I did not know that is was for such a big and well-known movie until I got there and heard the excited whispers about “Christian Grey” being there. To keep things even more secretive, sometimes workers on set are required to have their phone cameras tapped up to ensure that nothing about the movie, the production or the actors ever gets leaked online. Along with long and serious contracts outlining all the ways they could sue you if you were to ever leak anything about the production. They take things very seriously on movie productions and it can be quite intimidating.

As intimidating as it can be, it was the most fun I ever had while working. The long hours of filming the same scene, pretending to have the same conversations and doing the same movements over and over again can feel exhausting. You end up bonding with all the other extras or workers over how desperate you are for a break, what you hope they will feed you for lunch and if anyone wants to carpool home later that night. I made some great friends that I still have contact with to this day and that is how you begin to make long lasting connections that might help you in the future.

The movie industry is all about connections. The connections you make doing smaller jobs, such as being an extra, can take you to higher places if you keep contact with your coworkers and are pleasant to work with. And then there are connections within families and friends that can offer big opportunities right away, but those are harder to come by and it takes luck to land yourself in a room with important people that can get you there. A lot of actor’s struggle with this reality and find that the industry can be quite rigged.

The movie industry in Vancouver will continue to boom even after things calm down with Covid-19 and they may resume shooting. It is a beautiful city to film in that resembles many different parts of the world. I have seen movies that are based in England but if you look close enough, you can see the streets of Gastown. It’s a fun game to play when you know something has been filmed near you, trying to pinpoint all the locations. I think the industry will always remain a little mysterious and intrigue the public because it is such an interesting and hard job to get into. Everyone can say they wish they could be in a movie or have the skills to work in such a fun and bustling business. I was guilty of that for a long time since I was a kid. However, I’m happy to know that Vancouver is such an entertainment and talent filled place, it makes where we live very exciting.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *