People

Production of film and television shows drive economic activity. To make production happen involves the coordinated work of many people – from freelancers to business owners to those working in municipal film offices. All of them are essential to support and enhance B.C. as a destination for filmmaking and for filmmakers.

Heart of the industry, focus of Creative Pathways™

Motion picture production depends on expert people. The creative workforce draws upon a labour pool of talent developed in the province over 40 years of practical experience in motion picture. Attracting people from British Columbia to choose careers in this industry is the focus of Creative Pathways and you can explore them all to find your place in the Careers section.

Understanding the context for a career in production work is helpful. While there are many motion picture companies of all sizes that make the productions, the production workers who actually bring film and TV projects into reality are largely freelancers. Organizing and supporting certain segments of this labour force of independent professionals are B.C.’s film industry unions and guilds.

In addition, beyond those who work in production are many people working to support all of the production activity. These people work across the broader ecosystem of this industry in supply and service businesses, membership associations, advocacy groups, government, film festivals and training organizations. All together, this broader ecosystem enables the core of production, contributing to B.C.’s film culture, and sustaining the province’s film friendliness.

In this section you can familiarize yourself to the system supporting those who work in production – the motion picture companies, the unions and guilds, and the broader ecosystem. In the Careers section you can explore the many roles in this industry to find your place and join us!

Motion Picture Companies

There are many complex business models in the motion picture industry.  Each film and television production is financed in a unique manner, with different partners and parent companies coming together.  No two deals are alike.  For the job-seeker, focus your search on the production title, not the production company. For those interested in the businesses behind the motion picture industry, read on.

From independent to multi-national

The size of a media company varies from a small business run by a sole proprietor operating as a creative entrepreneur to a major multinational media conglomerate (also known as a major Hollywood studio) with multiple divisions.  

When a media company produces a television show or feature film, they will typically run that production through a single-purpose production company that will be set up prior to production and wound down after the production has been completed and delivered. In a television series, each season of the series  will be produced under a separate single-purpose production company. This industry standard approach is used to effectively track all of the financial details involved with the creation of a feature film or season of a television series, and reflects the fact that no two deals are alike.

Focus your job search by production, not by company

When it comes to looking for freelance work in the B.C. motion picture industry, it’s best to focus on the production title of the film or television series, not the parent company behind the show.  Many job-seekers use the In Production list generated by the provincial film commission at Creative BC to find out what is currently shooting in British Columbia. 

B.C.-based producers and production companies

From Brightlight Pictures to Yeti Farm Creative, many companies in B.C. create and own the film and television content they create. For more on production companies operating in British Columbia, take a look at the Canadian Media Producers Association BC Producers Branch. 

Did you know?

There are many international brands doing business in B.C.’s film industry including:

Many of these companies are part of an association called the Motion Picture Association of Canada (MPA Canada).

Unions and Guilds

There are six unions and guilds representing the motion picture workforce in B.C. The majority of the workers they represent are below-the-line professional craftspeople and technicians, as well as performers and directors. Some roles are represented by multiple unions.  Some workers belong to more than one union or guild and are referred to as “dual card” workers, meaning they are members of more than one union or guild.

Producers and their creative teams hire freelance workers who are mostly members of B.C.’s unions and guilds. Most negotiating producers’ representatives in B.C. are members either of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) or the Canadian Media Producers Association BC Producers Branch (CMPA-BC), and therefore are required to hire unionized workers who fall within the of collective bargaining agreements that negotiate their rates and terms of employment. There are some smaller productions that do not fall in this category.

Unions and guilds each represent many departments and roles and play an active role in building B.C.’s motion picture workforce by providing education and training, as well as professional development.

Ecosystem

MovieMaker Magazine often names Greater Vancouver as one of the best places to make movies in North America. Beginning in the year 2017 it was named to the list, tying with New York for first place. Since then, Vancouver Film Festival and Victoria Film Festival have both been named to MovieMaker Magazine’s top 50 film festival lists. In 2021 it recognized both the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Film School in its top film schools list, and also in 2021, Greater Victoria was #5 on the top ten list of Small Cities and Towns to make a movie in North America.

These accolades reveal an ecosystem beyond the core of the motion picture industry – the productions that employ people and the unions and guilds that supply labour – upon which that core depends for innovation and success.

Did you know?

• Thomas FX is a B.C.-based company and the world leader in the manufacturing and distribution of fake, biodegradable snow
• Aircover Inflatables (formerly Shoreline) invented an inflatable green screen and won an Academy Award® for it in 2016. The invention was designed by a below-the-line worker and key grip of 15 years who wanted to lessen the dangers of an overhead frame used by lighting and rigging technicians during filmmaking. They constructed one using air and realized the concept could be modified into a wall for visual effects. The inflatable green screen was born for outdoor visual effects.
• In 2017, Portable Electric sponsored the Crazy8s film competition, creating a whole wave of film interest. The company got its first significant production, “The Man in the High Castle”, and that was instrumental in understanding what film people needed. Since then, they’ve worked with most of the major studios, and on films like BOND 25 where crews are taking their portable power units around the world, on boats and up in cranes

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