British Columbia is rolling out the red carpet in recognition of the valuable contribution that the screen-based industries add to the province’s economy by officially proclaiming Sept. 21, 2016, as “Screen in B.C. Day”

Today, representatives from the provincial government, Creative BC, the Motion Picture Production Industry Association of British Columbia, the Canadian Media Producers Association, as well as industry stakeholders, celebrated the day with the unveiling of an official proclamation. Events honouring contributions to the creative economy were held in Vancouver, Kelowna and Victoria.

As part of the day’s celebrations, Steve Thomson, MLA for Kelowna-Mission, and Norm Letnick, MLA for Kelowna-Lake Country, were joined by representatives from Creative BC and the Okanagan Film Commission, where they toured Hyper Hippo Productions, an organization that specializes in the creative development, pre-production, animation, compositing and rendering for video games. Since 2014, Hyper Hippo has released over 50 games to web, mobile, Steam and PlayStation platforms, including the award-winning and record-breaking title, AdVenture Capitalist.

The tour continued at Yeti Farm Creative, a Kelowna based studio specializing in animation design, storyboards, and writing. Yeti Farm Creative helped produce key animation services for notable children’s shows including Rocket Monkeys (Seasons 2 and 3) (Teletoon/CN), Pirate Express (Teletoon), and Babar (Nelvana).

Over the last five years, British Columbia has grown to become one of the world’s largest clusters for visual effects and digital animation companies, confirming the province’s reputation as a global full-service production centre, capable of performing the complete spectrum of services required for major productions.

Known for excellence in original content, physical production, post production, interactive gaming, visual effects and animation, British Columbia’s motion-picture industry supports approximately 25,000 direct and indirect quality jobs that make up a talented, highly experienced and knowledge-driven workforce.

Quotes:

Norm Letnick, MLA for Kelowna-Lake Country –

“It is my pleasure to be here in Kelowna today celebrating Screen in B.C. Day. We know the digital media industry has seen strong growth in British Columbia, and is currently comprised of over 1,100 companies employing over 16,000 people. Companies like Hyper Hippo and Yeti Farm Creative are the heart and soul of Kelowna’s creative sector, and I wish them continued success as they grow and expand, yielding more job opportunities for the local community.”

Steve Thomson, MLA for Kelowna-Mission –

“It is great to see first-hand some of the amazing businesses we have right here in Kelowna that are creating and selling their original content to audiences around the world.  These businesses are truly strong contributors to our provincial creative economy, helping to further solidify British Columbia as one of the top production jurisdictions in North America.”

Jon Summerland, Okanagan film commissioner –

“It is my pleasure to be here in downtown Kelowna today as part of Screen in B.C. Day, celebrating the contributions of British Columbia’s creative industries. Business is booming—with productions booked well in to next year, it is great to see job opportunities opening up for the many talented skilled workers we have in the local area.”

Ashley Ramsay, co-founder and CEO, Yeti Farm Creative –

“Kelowna is the next big animation hub in Canada and we have, in part, to thank the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training for their tenacious and holistic efforts to incentivise digital media production in the Okanagan region. Four years ago, Yeti Farm Creative started small in Kelowna and has quickly become one of Canada's fastest growing animation studios, from having a capacity of five to now 120.”

Sam Fisher, Hyper Hippo –

“Specialized training and bold attitude are really important traits to have for our employees. When you’re making games as fast as we are, you have to wear a bunch of different hats. One day you can be doing player support for one game, the next you can be doing the musical score for another. We expect to double our workers in less than a year. The jobs we’re creating are great jobs, and people love coming to work because these are their dream jobs. This is an important part of B.C.’s future economy, and British Columbia is the best place to start up.”

Quick Facts:

• Hyper Hippo has several major titles in its portfolio of family-friendly games, including AdVenture Capitalist, which has been played over 1 Billion times by players around the world since its launch in 2014.
• Hyper Hippo recently expanded their mobile offerings with the launch of Runescape: Idle Adventures, and is set to release new games and products for the Hello Kitty brand, in partnership with Sanrio of Japan.
• Yeti Farm Creative specializes in developing animation material across all major platforms: interactive, web, mobile, advertising, TV shows, and viral campaigns. 
• In 2015, YetiLABS, a division of Yeti Farm Creative, produced two original digital-first productions, Knobs, an edgy youth based comedy aimed at 14-18 year olds, and Sweet Tweets, a web based episode series that takes a fresh approach to nursery rhymes for young children.
• British Columbia is the third largest full-service production centre in North America with an outstanding infrastructure of studios for physical production as well as a deep pool of experienced cast and crew can service more than 50 projects simultaneously.
• B.C. film and television production expenditures reached an estimated $2 billion in fiscal years 2015-16 and 2014-15, compared to $1.45 billion in fiscal 2013-14.
• This year, Creative BC approved tax credit certifications for 297 projects, up slightly from the year before.
• British Columbia’s technology sector is growing faster than the overall economy. In 2014, it grew at a rate of 3.3%, a higher rate than the 2.9% growth observed in the provincial economy.
• The digital media subsector is also experiencing strong growth in B.C., and is currently comprised of over 1,100 companies employing over 16,000 people, generating total revenue of $3 billion annually.
• This immense growth is one reason why the digital media subsector will be highlighted as one of four new sectors to watch in the upcoming BC Jobs Plan 5 Year Update.

Learn More:

Creative BC: http://www.creativebc.com/

Okanagan Film Commission: http://www.okanaganfilm.com/

#BCTECH Strategy: https://bctechstrategy.gov.bc.ca/

B.C. 2025 Labour Market Outlook: http://ow.ly/ihWM304484I

Resources for job seekers and employers in B.C.: https://www.workbc.ca/