Ottawa region examining viability of large-scale production facility

A study looking at the feasibility of a creating a multimedia production centre in the Ottawa region kicked off this week with the help of $30,000 from the Ontario Media Development Corp.'s Entertainment and Creative Cluster Partnership Fund. Commissioned by the Ottawa-Gatineau Film and Television Development Corp. (OGFT) and undertaken by the Nordicity Group Ltd., the consultation is the first step towards making the National Capital region a more attractive and capable location for film, television, and particularly digital media production."We know there are companies presently developing cutting-edge new media technology and they already require a space where they can shoot scenes that caters to specific technical aspects, and they can't find that here in the area at all," says OGFT GM Roch Brunette. "So the idea of the multimedia production centre, my thinking is it's going to be very unique. I don't think there's anything that exists in Canada today like what we have in mind for a production centre yet."Brunette recognizes it's very early days in bringing such a centre to Ottawa-Gatineau. He says the first step will be Nodicity's consultation with stakeholders in the Ottawa region as well as companies interested in coming to Ottawa if the appropriate infrastructure existed. The second step will be generating a proposal for the production centre. And step three will be choosing a location and setting up a setting up a working governance model for the centre. Of course, Brunette says it's all contingent on the study determining the necessity for such a studio in the region. He's confident it will. "Our feeling with the phone calls coming in here and the requests and the history of the production community, based on that we're saying there is a need for what we used to call a soundstage or a studio," he says. He envisions such a centre housing space for small and large studio productions at the same time. And office space will be available for on-site productions to provide a home base for companies shooting in and around Ottawa. The location has to have ample parking and needs to economically accommodate companies that want to come in, set up, film, and leave in short periods of time. "We don't want it to be an overhead nightmare," he says. "We don't want a Mirabel Airport, we want something that's decent that will fit in, and will position Ottawa and the National Capital area as a film-friendly shooting area."Brunette mentions old schools and warehouses as possible locations for the production centre, or possibly a new facility all together. While too early to get into specifics, he has a few musts already. "Its has to be transparent, and it has to cater to all sorts of needs, especially digital media. Ottawa is a hub of new animation technology and we want to promote that and push that ahead.""There are companies in the Ottawa area doing production for LA-based companies," he adds, "and we're saying ‘we don't want you guys to move to LA, we want you to stay here, so what do you need?'"

Ottawa region examining viability of large-scale production facility

Broadcast | January 10, 2008

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