Expenditures by filmmakers and television producers in British Columbia rose by $27 million (2.3 per cent) in 2012 to $1.216 billion from $1.189 billion in 2011.

Data released by the BC Film Commission today shows 294 productions undertaken in British Columbia during 2012 (13 more than in 2011), including:

• 159 domestic productions: 24 feature films, 58 television series (drama, documentary, lifestyle, reality and web series), 72 television projects (TV movies, miniseries, pilots, shorts and documentaries) and five animated series or projects.

• 135 foreign productions: 58 feature films (features, DVD features and visual effects-only projects), 26 television series (drama, lifestyle, reality, documentary and web series) 25 television projects (TV movies, pilots, mini-series and documentaries) and 26 animated series or projects.

View a backgrounder with financial details for 2012 film and television spending in B.C. at: http://www.cscd.gov.bc.ca/arts_culture/docs/bg_2012_filmstats.pdf

Quote:

Community, Sport and Cultural Development Minister Bill Bennett -

"I am happy that the industry performed well in 2012, coming in a very close second to Ontario, despite Ontario's unsustainable subsidies. Job growth and business success depend on vibrant film and TV production, so the positive numbers for 2012 are welcome news. However, I also note that the last quarter of 2012 saw a dramatic decline in production, and therefore, government will need to actively monitor the industry as we proceed through 2013. We will continue to work closely with the industry as we know that the future of this essential creative industry is key to B.C.'s economic and cultural growth."

Quick Facts:

• In January 2013, the B.C. government launched BC Creative Futures, a strategy to help British Columbia's creative industries continue to grow. Part of the strategy supports Creative BC, an independent, not-for-profit society that will engage government and the creative sector, including filmmakers and TV producers, in a fresh partnership.

• In response to industry preferences, Creative BC will work with the creative industries and government to develop a broad strategy for the future and combine services, including administration of tax credits, into a one-stop shop.

• The B.C. government is supporting Creative BC with over $3,200,000.

• For 2012-13, the B.C. government will provide an estimated $330 million in tax credits for film, television and digital interactive media.

• Film and television production in B.C. supports 25,000 direct and indirect jobs.

• British Columbia has more than 600 digital media companies, generating $2.3 billion in annual sales and employing about 16,000 people.

Learn More:

For a closer look at how the B.C. government helps film production in the province, visit the BC Film Commission at: http://www.bcfilmcommission.com/

Learn about BC Creative Futures at: http://www.cscd.gov.bc.ca/arts_culture/bccf.htm

A backgrounder follows.

Contacts:

Matt Gordon
Communications Director
Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development
250 896-4923

Susan Croome
BC Film Commissioner
Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development
susanc@bcfilmcommission.com
604 660-2732

BACKGROUNDER

Film and TV 2012 stats show strengths and challenges

2012 production highlights

• 294 productions (159 domestic and 135 foreign) were undertaken in British Columbia in 2012 with expenditures totalling over $1.2 billion.

• Although U.S. feature film production was slower than previous years, digital production activity proved robust with over 30 VFX-only (visual effects) feature projects in B.C. with expenditures totalling $121 million.

• Total production expenditures increased by $27 million in 2012 and the number of projects increased by 4.6 per cent to 294 compared to 281 in 2011.

• Foreign production expenditures decreased nine per cent while domestic production expenditures increased 55 per cent compared to 2011.

• Foreign feature film activity decreased 24 per cent to $324 million compared to $429 million in 2011.

• Television series production expenditures increased 22 per cent to $614 million, up from $504 million in 2011.

Domestic industry comparison to 2011

• Overall domestic spending in British Columbia increased 55 per cent to $324 million, up from $209 million in 2011.

• A total of 159 domestic productions were shot in British Columbia in 2012, including 24 feature films, 58 television series (drama, documentary, lifestyle, reality and web series), 72 television projects (TV movies, miniseries, pilots, shorts and documentaries) and five animated series or projects.

• The number of domestic feature films increased 26 per cent to 24 projects, up from 19 projects in 2011.

• Domestic television series spending increased 69 per cent to $196 million, up from $116 million in 2011. The majority of domestic TV series in 2012 were lifestyle and documentary series projects rather than scripted television series.

• Domestic animation spending increased 73 per cent to $23 million, compared to $13 million in 2011.

• Some examples of domestic feature film projects shot in the province in 2012 include: It's the Movie Out Here, No Clue, Blood Line, A Mother's Nightmare and Cruel and Unusual. Examples of domestic television series in 2012 include: Mr Young Season 3, Arctic Air Season 2, Continuum, Primeval: New World and Motive. Some of the domestic animation projects in 2012 include: Slugterra, Rocket Monkeys and Mighty, Mighty Monsters.

Foreign industry comparison to 2011

• Overall foreign production spending in British Columbia decreased nine per cent to $892 million, down from $980 million in 2011.

• A total of 135 foreign productions were shot in B.C. in 2012 including 58 feature films (features, DVD features and VFX-only projects), 26 television series (drama, lifestyle, reality, documentary and web series), 25 television projects (TV movies, pilots, mini-series and documentaries) and 26 animated series or projects.

• The number of foreign feature films (including digital features and VFX-only projects) remained the same as 2011 at 58 projects, although expenditures decreased by $106 million from 2011. There were 31 VFX-only feature film projects in B.C. in 2012 compared to 37 in 2011.

• The number of foreign television series rose to 26 from 24 in 2011, with expenditures increasing from $387 million in 2011 to $418 million in 2012.

• Foreign animation spending decreased 13 per cent to $72 million from $83 million in 2011, with the number of animation projects decreasing to 26 from 27 in 2011.

• Some examples of foreign feature films shot in British Columbia in 2012 include: Seventh Son, Horns, Hidden and Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. Examples of foreign television series shot in the province include: Fringe, Once Upon a Time, Supernatural, The Killing, Psych and Arrow.

• Examples of foreign animation projects in 2012 include: Ella the Elephant, Martha Speaks, Zhu Zhu Pets, The Little Prince and Max Steel.

Global context

• Motion picture production ranks among the most highly competitive global industries.

• The industry is also defined by an ever-changing technological landscape.

• New technologies and emerging business models continue to shape and transform the media environment.

• The financing of entertainment projects is also shifting, with tax credits becoming an increasingly important component.

• Unlike more traditional bricks and mortar industries, the film and television industry is highly fluid because of the mobility of labour and the focus on relatively short-term projects.

• The project-based nature of film and television production allows producers to easily pick up and leave to take advantage of cost differences in other locations. This is particularly true for feature film production.

• Film incentives strongly influence production location decisions, with productions tending to follow the highest incentives.

• In the last decade, the race to offer more attractive tax incentives escalated along with competition among jurisdictions to offer the lowest cost location.

• Escalating incentives led to growing jurisdictional concerns about the sustainability of film and television tax incentives.

• Copyright infringement and piracy also present serious global challenges. Product piracy hurts revenues for feature films more than television.

B.C. context

• British Columbia competes in a dramatically shifting global film, TV and digital interactive media environment combining considerable challenges with great potential.

• Factors that help keep film and television production in B.C. include production crew depth and quality, technological expertise, tax credits, location diversity and a critical mass of production/post-production facilities.

• Given intense national and international competition, as well as a strong Canadian dollar, B.C.'s ability to sustain over $1.2 billion in production activity demonstrates the industry's resiliency and reflects British Columbia's international reputation as a desirable and reliable production centre known for quality, value and competency.

• 2012 production data demonstrates good results given that there are more competitive tax credits in other jurisdictions, including Ontario, Quebec, Louisiana and North Carolina.

• On the domestic front, British Columbia production companies continue to thrive and grow. 2012 saw a 55 per cent increase in domestic production activity, driven largely by increases in drama and lifestyle TV series production.

• The growth of domestic production reflects the success of British Columbia-based production companies' ability to build effective relationships with national and international co-financing partners.

• The continued success of B.C.-based production companies that own the rights to their projects will help anchor the industry, increasing revenues and profits that come back to British Columbia.

• 2012 production statistics also demonstrate B.C.'s shifting production landscape and the significant growth of digital production.

• While total production expenditures increased slightly in 2012, the volume of production activity declined in some sectors, notably U.S. live-action feature films. Part of the decline may stem from production decisions to cut costs and locate in jurisdictions offering an all-spend production credit.

• In 2012, British Columbia continued to develop as an international centre for visual effects, digital animation and interactive digital content.

• A growing number of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters come to B.C. for their post-production and visual effects work, drawn because of our talented artists and technicians, as well as the DAVE (Digital Animation or Visual Effects) tax credit offering producers an additional 17.5 per cent credit on qualified labour expenditures.

• Vancouver's ability to attract large-scale digital entertainment projects demonstrates the city's growing reputation for producing quality, cost-effective work.

• The DAVE tax credit and a deep talent pool helped make British Columbia a global centre for the production of visual effects for film, television and interactive content.

• While foreign spending in B.C. decreased by nine per cent, the province attracted nearly $900 million in investment from foreign production studios in 2012.

B.C. challenges

• British Columbia will continue to offer the right mix of expertise, talent, education and government support to remain competitive in the international marketplace.

• B.C. needs to ensure continued growth and stability in domestic and foreign production sectors.

• Although expenditures increased in 2012, the $121 million in visual effects-only projects spotlights the shift in employment from physical to digital production.

• More lucrative tax credits, expanding infrastructure and capacity in competing jurisdictions impact B.C.'s cost competitiveness as a production location.

B.C. opportunities

• The ability to offer a full service production experience meeting the needs of foreign and domestic film and TV companies remains essential to British Columbia's success.

• With natural attributes and world-class infrastructure (studios, post-production facilities and equipment rental), experienced production crews, creative talent, labour stability, expertise in visual effects, animation, digital media and diverse locations, British Columbia continues to offer numerous competitive advantages.

• Combined strengths in traditional film, television and digital media give British Columbia an advantage that will become increasingly important as creation, production and distribution processes, as well as consumption patterns, continue to converge.

• The ability to purpose (create, shape and aggregate) content for multiple platforms and technologies will become increasingly important for B.C.'s creative industries.

• Opportunities for British Columbia include:

• Continuing to develop and export quality home-grown B.C. products.

• Promoting B.C. internationally as a full service production centre of excellence.

Contacts:

Matt Gordon
Communications Director
Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development
250 896-4923

Susan Croome
BC Film Commissioner
Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development
susanc@bcfilmcommission.com
604 660-2732