Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

General Manager of Engineering Services in
Consultation with the B.C. Film Commission

SUBJECT:

The Motion Picture Industry in Vancouver and
the City of Vancouver Film Office

 

RECOMMENDATION

COUNCIL POLICY

Council approves all regular full time staffing positions.

On April 25, 1980, Council approved the establishment of the Vancouver Film Office, under the authority of the City Engineer, to coordinate City services to the film industry.

On September 13, 1988, Council adopted the Vancouver Film Guidelines and established the use of a film schedule fee to fund staffing to service the industry.

On January 28, 1993 Council approved additional temporary staffing to respond to the film industry growth.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to update Council on the status of the motion picture film industry in Vancouver and to recommend changes to the organization of the City's Film Office to reflect the current needs of the community and the industry.

SUMMARY

Growth in the motion picture industry in Vancouver over the past 10 years has been phenomenal. It is emerging as one of the fastest growing sectors of our economy with direct spending growing at a rate of 21% per year. The economic impact of the industry on the City is estimated at $1.9 billion for 1998 and is expected to grow between 25% and 50% for 1999. Vancouver has developed a world wide reputation as being film friendly, we have an established and skilled labour force, a favourable exchange rate and provincial and federal tax incentives, all of which have enhanced the health of this industry. The Vancouver Film Office was established in 1980 to coordinate City services to the film industry. Starting with a staff of one, it has grown to five in 1998, with only 1.5 positions funded by City budgets. This report proposes an organizational structure that respond to the needs of the industry and the community, and a revised fee structure.

BACKGROUND

Film Industry History in Vancouver

The following section was contributed by B.C. Commission staff:

"The motion picture industry is the business of creating, producing, distributing and exhibiting filmed and video-taped entertainment, documentary, educational and commercial material. It is emerging as one of the fasted growing sectors of our global economy in the latter part of the twentieth century. Changes in production, delivery, and exhibition of film and television product driven by new economics and evolving technologies are creating opportunities for both established businesses and new entrants.

As a result of changing technology (which brought a proliferation of distribution channels including widespread cable and satellite delivery), and deregulation, the film and television market fragmented in the 1980's. Growth in product outstripped growth in viewers and the revenue they generate, which forced downward pressure on budgets.

Given this economic squeeze, plus some economic factors associated specifically with shooting in Los Angeles, such as the comparatively high cost of labour, and the reluctance of residents to accept filming in their neighbourhood, producers began to look to the horizon. Having little experience in other jurisdictions, they were understandably cautious, bringing entire crews on location, and shipping unprocessed film back to Los Angeles. It also meant that when they discovered a community or location they could trust, they became very loyal. British Columbia, and in particular Vancouver, has become that community.

The Industry Today

The motion picture industry is one our most vibrant economic sectors with direct spending growing at a rate of 21% per year over the period 1988-1998. The number of productions have grown tremendously over the past 15 years ; from 8 in 1980 to 171 in 1998, including 28 feature films, 26 series for television, and 43 movies for television, 15 animation projects and 59 documentaries/broadcast singles. It is today an $808 million industry employing 25,000 people and contributing significantly to the health of the B.C. economy. A further $80 million is spent each year in the province on the production of more than 100 commercials.

Within this overall context, the City of Vancouver plays a pivotal role. 85% of the productions that take place in British Columbia shoot partially or entirely within the City limits. Gastown, Shaughnessy the West End and Stanley Park rank as some of the most popular locations in North America. Audiences around the world are exposed on a daily basis to the City of Vancouver through series such as The X-Files, Millennium, and DaVinci's Inquest, features like Jumanji, Happy Gilmore, and Cousins, and countless movies for television.

Vancouver ranks #1 in North America, and perhaps the world, in terms of the percentage of its economic activity that is derived from film and television production. Wages paid to Vancouver residents directly from film and television production companies has risen from $69 million to $128 million over a period of just three years. The economic impact of the industry on the City is estimated at $1.9 billion for 1998, this figure will grow between 25% and 50% for 1999.

Vancouver has a world-wide reputation as being "film-friendly". This quality extends from the City to the residents, to merchants, to tourists who enjoy the thrill of seeing the industry in action. Probably no other city in North America allows the degree of access to streets, parks, bridges and other public property that producers currently enjoy here. That is no doubt that the health of the industry is tied directly to the manner in which it has been welcomed by the City of Vancouver.

The unique and defining aspect of B.C.'s motion picture industry is its very high dependence upon US sources for business. More than 75% of the activity originates in Los Angeles, the financial and creative centre of North American entertainment. This characteristic dictates that the fortunes of the industry are determined to an inordinately high degree by the Canada/US exchange rate. This differentiates B.C. from all other jurisdictions in Canada which depend primarily on Canadian government funding to trigger the majority of production.

Over the past year and a half, a number of tax incentives have been introduced by both the federal and provincial governments. Virtually every developed country , except the US, has incentives to attract the industry, keeping us competitive at the international level."

As indicated by the above B.C. Commission Report, the combination of the favourable exchange rate, the established and skilled local labour force, the tax incentives, and the film friendly location has all contributed to the maturation and stabilization of this industry. It is important that the City's film office and its structure reflect these changes.

DISCUSSION

The Vancouver Film Office

The Film and Special Events Coordination Office is located in the Projects and Community Liaison Branch of Engineering Services. The mandate of the Vancouver Film Office, as established by Council in 1980, has been to meet the needs of the filming industry while ensuring that the residents and businesses of Vancouver impacted by the filming are not faced with an unreasonable level of disruption. In dealing with issues as monitoring and approving filming locations, issuing special parking permits, street closures and traffic rerouting, staff, in consultation with industry and community representatives drafted the Vancouver Film Guidelines and these were adopted as Council policy in 1988.(Appendix A) These Guidelines have worked well as a basis for establishing fair policies and practices around filming and are still sound today. They have been shared with other cities and have served as a model for municipalities across Canada.

Film Office Community Communications

Community involvement is important to the success of a film location. Residents and businesses are notified and in some circumstances consulted in the planning stages of the filming by means of an information letter. The hand delivered letter describes the intent of the filming, possible changes to the parking regulations and provides contact names inviting people to call the Location Manager of the Film Company, the BC Film Commission, or the Vancouver Film Office. Personal contact is made in addition to the letter to those properties that are closest to the film location. Another method of communication is a poll. This is a survey requesting signatures from a larger area when companies request permission to film outside of the Guidelines or if the impact on a neighbourhood is more than minimal. These requests may be for late or all night filming, a full road closure or the use of special effects.

As filming increases so has our involvement in the day to day issues of location filming. Some of the advances made are hard to measure in terms of dollars but more easily understood by the acceptance level of the neighbourhoods. For instance, in the last few years the Film Office has edited most of the notification letters that the film companies distribute to neighbourhoods. By doing this we are able to guarantee a good standard of notification to ensure all appropriate information is being passed on to the people most affected. Stunts and special effects with noise are generally kept out of the residential neighbourhoods and will be approved in a commercial district outside of business hours.

Community Film Liaisons have been established is some areas where individuals or community groups from popular film locations have become involved and participate in the process. For example, DERA "reps" are hired for on street filming to work with the local residents while filming takes place in their neighbourhood and to assist in the notification process. The Strathcona Residents Association, South False Creek Residents Association, and Gastown are a few of the other community groups that have developed liaison roles to integrate filming in their communities.

Film Office Work Volume

Feedback from industry representatives indicate that the level of service and detail of coordination provided by Vancouver is as good as or better than any other City's film office in Canada. The demand for a quick response and turn around for requests is critical to the Film Office's success.

The above graph illustrates the growth of the workload of the film office staff from 1992 to 1998. Showing a 65% increase over that time period with a 24% increase from 1997 to 1998 alone. Furthermore, for 1999, the increase over 1998 for up to the end of May is 69% over the same time period from the year before.

In addition to the filming workload, this same staff coordinates special events and festivals and chairing the FEST committee. It is estimated that 75% of all staff time is spent on filming projects with the remaining 25% spent on special events. For the same time period, the number of special events has grown by over 60%.

To illustrate the impact of this workload, during September of last year, the Film and Special Events phone accommodated 2876 phone calls or 130 calls per day handled by a staff of 4, all of which generated follow up work.

Film Office Structure and Staffing

In 1980, a regular full time EA IV position was created to staff the Film Office. As filming requests became more numerous and complex and the number of film companies multiplied, it became apparent that additional staff was needed to keep up with the demand. In 1988, the addition of a temporary EA II was approved and was made regular full time by Council in 1993. At the same time, Council approved the introduction of the Film Scheduling Fee to offset the costs being incurred in the Film Office.

From 1993 to 1997, three additional temporary EA II positions and an EA I position were approved through the budget process, in response to higher workloads and additional offsetting revenue. The use of temporary rather than regular full time positions was intended to ensure that resources could be adjusted with the volume of business and that regular full time staff were not affected should the volume of business not be sustained.

Despite further growth in workloads in 1998, staffing levels remained unchanged. In 1999, the volume of work has grown even more and staff are finding it increasingly difficult to provide an acceptable level of service to the industry. Not only have the temporary positions been retained, but there is now a need to consider further resources for the office.

Proposed Staffing Changes

The following table summarizes the change in staffing levels in the Film Office since 1980 and presents a proposed structure which involves a new mix of regular full time and temporary positions.

Film & Special Events Staffing

1980 1988 1993 1997 proposed
EAIV EA IV EA IV EA IV EA IV

The proposed staffing structure is in response to the higher volumes of incoming work, but also to the level of work required. The EA IV can no longer deal with both the high volume of complex filming and festival coordination requests, as well as the FEST Committee. It is proposed that a new EAIII position be crated to assist the EA IV with this higher level work

The work at the EA II level is seen to be ongoing at least at the current level, so it is proposed that two of these positions, which have been temporary be made permanent. The Film Office will need to hire additional temporary staff at the EA II level on an as needed basis. One such additional temporary position is needed for the remainder of 1999.

The current temporary EA I position is used to support the remainder of the staff. This role is more appropriately a Clerk II role so the proposal is to discontinue the temporary EA I and create a permanent Clerk II instead.

Based on this proposal, the Film Office should be able to service the demands from the film industry. Should the business continue to expand, additional temporary resources, funded from increased film fees, will be utilized with reports to Council should there be a need to make these regular full time.

Fee History

When the volume of filming was starting to grow in Vancouver in the 1980's, the City made every effort to encourage and promote it's growth. There was a reluctance to introduce fees for filming on City streets as this industry found its feet. Industry representatives asked Council in 1988 and 1993 to be cautious when considering fees as Vancouver needed to stay competitive. In 1988, a $25 fee was applied to a work order called a "film schedule" as the mechanism of collecting revenue for the first EA II position. The film schedule is a work order completed for up to four streets at one location that requires the installation of temporary signs and/or meter hoods for film unit parking. Some productions may involve several locations to which the fee would be applied. The film schedule fee has increased over the last ten years to $65 sand has continued to fund the staff required.

In 1999, the filming industry is growing so fast that the need for service from the City for coordination is urgent. In 1998, the staffing level was not adequate to deal with the volume of incoming work and in 1999 they are starting to experience burn out. The industry would gladly pay for that service by a mechanism that reflects both the volume and type of work performed by staff. The current film schedule is applied only to situations whereby actual City street is occupied and does not generate adequate funding to support the required staff to meet the demands, nor does its current application reflect where the work is applied. In 1998 the film schedule fee generated $101,300, while the funding spent on a barely adequate level of staffing to provide service was approximately $105,000.

In addition to the film schedule fee, the industry continues to pay for labour, rental and equipment fees for services provided by Engineering, Police, Park Board, Fire and Housing and Properties. In 1998 the total charges were:

Fee Proposal

This report proposes to apply a film application fee of $50 and to increase the film schedule fee to $100. Under this new fee structure, and using the 1998 data, the expected revenue would be $170,800 annually, an annual increase of $69,500 over the current fee structure. This would cover the staffing costs of $141,200 as well as the needed equipment to service the office, including a vehicle, telephones, computers desks and miscellaneous office equipment. The film application fee would not apply to students and be refundable for those productions that are required to pay a film schedule fee. This new fee structure allows the City to be compensated for staff time spent coordinating filming activities that require up front coordination work but don't require the use of City services. Interestingly Vancouver is among the few municipalities that do not charge an application fee. Other Lower Mainland municipalities charge application fees between $100 and $300. The BC Film Commission supports the new application fees as well as the film schedule fee increase as a means to service the industry more effectively.

CONCLUSION

The current fee and administrative structures have not proven to be flexible enough to respond to the changing need of the filming industry. This office has needed five staff members to function since 1997 and it is suggested that this is appropriate as a base level of regular full time staff. Further temporary staff may be required as the activity level rises and one is required for 1999. Furthermore, the revised fee structure more accurately reflects the administrative workload by applying a fee for coordination work even where a fee schedule is not applied. There is no additional cost to City budgets and the film industry is supportive of changes that are responsive to their needs.

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