British Columbia is rolling out the red carpet to celebrate the wide range of screen-based entertainment, which is created throughout the province, by proclaiming Monday, July 27, 2015, as “Screen in BC Day”.

As part of Screen in BC Day, the Vancouver Island North Film Commission hosted a tour of Hinterland Video Game Studio and Blue Wizard Games in Cumberland, ShelterPoint Water tank located between Cumberland and Campbell River and EarWorm Post-Production Studio in Campbell River.

The Vancouver Island North Film Commission provides liaison and location scouting services to the film, television, commercial and new media industry interested in filming on northern Vancouver Island from Nanaimo to Cape Scott, including the Powell River Regional District.

Regional film offices receive operational funding from the Province of B.C., through Creative BC’s Regional Film Funding Program, which helps support the growth of the film and television industry throughout B.C. For the current fiscal year, Creative BC will be contributing $213,000 toward supporting the Regional Film Offices, which includes $30,000 to the Vancouver Island North Film Commission.

Known for excellence in physical production, post production, VFX and animation, interactive games as well as original content by B.C.-based production companies for world markets, British Columbia is one of the top centres for screen production excellence in North America. British Columbia’s motion-picture industry supports approximately 20,000 direct and indirect quality jobs that make up a talented, highly experienced and knowledge-driven workforce.

Quotes:

Joan Miller, film commissioner, Vancouver Island North Film Commission -

"For 20 years, we have provided location support for feature films, television, commercial and documentary production. Our regional communities have been the backdrop for tent pole movies like Twilight, Superman, Godzilla and GI Joe. While this is still a large part of what we do, our communities are now diversifying and attracting game development companies, post audio, animation and independent film companies. It's an exciting time for the regions of B.C. as this vibrant sector begins to take root throughout the province."

Don McRae, MLA for Comox Valley –

“The Comox Valley is becoming a go-to location for film and TV productions. The Vancouver Island North film commission is seeing success in the industry and as government we working to ensure continued growth and success for film and TV production in communities across the province. British Columbia is quickly becoming a leader for film and TV production in North America, and a growing hub for digital animation and visual effects.”

Robert Wong, interim CEO and acting film commissioner, Creative BC –

“B.C. has become one of North America’s leading creative hubs for screen-based entertainment with a talented group of B.C. companies who are creating and selling their content to audiences around the world. At the same time, we have grown to become of the world’s largest cluster for visual effects and digital animation which has given us a competitive advantage as a global centre capable of performing the complete spectrum of services required for major productions.”

Quick Facts:

• History's Channel’s ALONE, a 10-episode television series which premiered on June 18, 2015 - was filmed entirely on location in the wilderness of Vancouver Island.
• War of the Planet of the Apes, a feature film by FOX, will be shooting on Vancouver Island in the fall 2015.
• Lewis & Clark, a television series for HBO, will be shooting for 10 days in December 2015 with prep work commencing in November 2015.
• ShelterPoint Water Tank is the only controlled water facility for filming in B.C and will be a resource for the entire motion picture community. This purpose-built tank is currently being prepped for use by HBO for Lewis & Clark.
• Hinterland Games Studios, established in 2012 by veterans of the games industry, creates thought-provoking entertainment, emphasizing story-rich gameplay experiences, and original fictional settings conceived from the ground up to exist across multiple mediums. Recent production credits include Gamereactor: Survival & Storytelling in the Long Dark, and Full Frame/Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior.
• Blue Wizard founder Jason Kapalka is a co-founder of PopCap Games (Bejeweled, Plants vs Zombies), which sold to Electronic Arts in 2011. Now based in the Comox Valley, he is involved with a number of new endeavours, including the Storm Crow Tavern, a "nerd bar" in Vancouver, the Mysterious Package Company, a secret stories-by-mail collective whose Kickstarter in July raised over $425,000, and several new video games via his new company Blue Wizard Digital.
• EarWorm Post-Production creates audio ost for film/TV/web/documentary/games sound design, voiceover (including vocalization and localization), music composition and licensing and game project management and implementation, and has numerous credits to its name such as The Bachelor Canada, Dear Mr. Gacy and SuperNova.
• Bron Studios recently filmed Into the Wood at Elk Falls Park and has opened an animation studio in Duncan.
• B.C. production expenditures reached an estimated $2 billion in fiscal year 2014-15 compared to $1.45 billion in fiscal 2013-14.

Learn More:

To learn about the Vancouver Island North Film Commission, visit: http://www.infilm.ca

To learn more about Creative BC, visit: http://www.creativebc.com/

To learn more about BC Creates, visit: http://bccreates.com/