What happened: Report reveals B.C.’s broad film sector spent $4.1b last year
Why it matters: Much of the B.C. film industry was put into stasis mode in 2020 at outset of pandemic
A new report is shining the spotlight on B.C.’s entertainment economy, estimating the film, TV, visual effects and animation sectors generated $4.1 billion in spending in 2019.
The Vancouver Economic Commission (VEC) pegs spending on physical productions at $3.1 billion, while animation and post-production activity accounted for the remaining $1 billion last year.
The October 21 report comes as filming has been ramping up once again after an initial lockdown brought on by the pandemic lasted from March to July.
It remains unclear how much the pandemic has cost the B.C. film and TV sector in 2020.
At first glance, the VEC’s $4.1-billion estimate stands somewhat in contrast with recent data from the Canadian Media Producers Association’s (CMPA).
The industry group’s Profile 2019 report, released in April, estimated film and TV production volume in B.C. reached $3.4 billion in the 2018-19 fiscal year.
That $700 million gap can likely be attributed to the CMPA examining the fiscal year, while the VEC examined the 2019 calendar year.
The VEC also based its findings on payroll spend while the CMPA based much of its findings on tax credit data from the Department of Heritage.
Meanwhile, the VEC notes there were 41 productions in progress before the COVID-19 crisis ground the economy to a standstill in March.
Fast-forward to October and it estimates more than 60 projects are now in “some stage of production.”
The VEC does not break down projects in the pre-production vs. production vs. post-production phase compared with the 41 projects in progress at the outset of the pandemic.
Post-production and pre-production work in B.C. continued throughout the pandemic, owing to the deployment of staggered shifts and PPE at post-production facilities as well as some employees’ ability to work from home.
But on-set and on-location filming only resumed in B.C. over the summer.
Last month, the CMPA and Association québécoise de la production médiatique (AQPM) called out the federal government for not offering enough assistance with insurance issues plaguing many productions trying to get off the ground following the lockdown earlier in the year.
The industry groups said at the time 124 productions were ready to roll cameras but had all hit walls because insurance companies aren’t offering insurance against the novel coronavirus.
The CMPA and AQPM said the the lack of COVID-19 insurance was putting at risk $1 billion in production volume and 19,400 direct jobs across the country.
The producers say they approached the federal government in June about creating a government-backed insurance program but nothing materialized.
A spokesman from the Department of Canadian Heritage, which provides support for the domestic film industry, told BIV the government understands the urgency of the situation and is hoping to provide a solution in the near future.
Update: And earlier version of this story compared the VEC’s $3.1-billion physical production figure to the CMPA’s $3.4 billion estimate. The CMPA also includes VFX, animation and post-production in its estimates — similar to the VEC’s $4.1 billion figure.
