Film and television production aren’t the only successful screen-based media being produced in Toronto — interactive digital media is coming on strong and has the potential to help define our city as an international capital in the field. This was one of the messages that came out of the Creative Capital Initiative (CCI) focus group held February 10 at City Hall, where industry leaders came together to share their suggestions for how to enhance Toronto’s culture policy.
Initiative co-chair Robert Foster (left, with Jeff Melanson, Mayor Ford’s special adviser on arts and culture) informed those in attendance that a parallel economic report is being drafted simultaneously: “Our hope is to integrate their work with our Creative Capital Initiative,” he said. “We really believe that the way to sell this to City Council and particularly to the Mayor’s office is to demonstrate the clear linkage between the successful creative city and the economic city.”
Foster stated up-front what many participants confirmed: “This is a tough, competitive race — we are not the only city that has figured this out. The other day Richard Florida (a CCI special advisor) told me that London, New York, Shanghai and L.A. are widening the gap, aggressively pursuing a creative city agenda. So we have to play and we have to do well, failure is not an option.”
Toronto Film Commissioner Peter Finestone addresses participants
As with all CCI focus groups, the discussion was expertly facilitated by MASS LBP. The conversation was confined to five principle subject areas; Toronto’s Position as the Screen-Based Industry Capital of Canada, Measuring and Valuing Culture, Access, Inclusion and Arts Education, Big Opportunities and Quick Wins and Urgent Messages. Following is a brief summary of the many excellent points that were made . . .
Toronto is presently North America’s fourth largest design centre, trailing Los Angeles, New York and Boston, while the province of Ontario ranks third in the creative industries behind California and New York. Municipal, provincial and federal culture and investment policies all play a role in either supporting or undermining a healthy Toronto screen-based industry and several participants called for a coordinated and collaborative approach between the various levels of government. It was strongly stated that Toronto needs to challenge federal and provincial policies that channel financial support to production operations outside the GTA.
Invest Toronto, the City’s global investment quarterback was cited in nearly every conversation as having the potential to assist and guide the sector. “We need to communicate with Invest Toronto and establish an understanding,” said one participant. Financial support needs to be directed to businesses, not to projects, suggested another. “Can investment firms be incentivized to support these industries?” asked someone else. “Can we create a digital entertainment venture capital fund?”
In years past, Toronto’s film and television production industries benefited from a low Canadian dollar, but with the U.S. currency now trading around par, the financial incentive to film here has been impeded. Interactive gaming and mobile app development, on the other hand, is exploding in Toronto; one focus group participant suggested the local industry is growing at 30 per cent per year.
Screen-based media leaders included (clockwise from left) David Steinberg (Starz Animation), Kim Davidson (Side Effects Software), Vass Bednar (Martin Prosperity Institute), Jim Mirkopoulos (Cinespace Studios), facilitator Ruth Silver and Reynolds Mastin (Counsel at the Canadian Media Production Association)
“Internationally, there is no Hollywood for gaming and Toronto can be it,” stated one attendee. “The City can play a role in elevating our status by supporting a showcase to facilitate the flow of international buyers.” Timing such a show to coincide with the Pan Am 2015 Games would allow us to “showcase municipal and provincial assets to the world,” an opportunity that would require all cultural industries to work together.
“We have the ingredients to make Toronto a top digital city, but we’re navel gazing,” stated one participant. “We need to buy into the dream at all levels and get on with it.”
Further to Robert Foster’s point about stressing the economic advantages of the sector, one attendee noted that “when measuring the jobs the industry creates, we have to include the number of indirect jobs we support like the hotel workers who benefit when film crews are staying here.”
Robert Foster stresses the need for business, the arts community and City staff to work together.
Partnership and collaboration were cited as keys to success in the digital media realm and Toronto is leading the way with coordinated efforts like the Consortium on New Media, Creative, and Entertainment R&D in the Toronto Region (CONCERT). Founded in 2007 with funding from the Province of Ontario, CONCERT was kick-started by the Ontario College of Art & Design, Ryerson University, and York University. CONCERT’s goal was to bring multinational, mid-sized and small companies in the entertainment, screen-based and other creative industries together with academia, government and industry associations in order to build a consensus on regional priorities. The good news is that more than just buzz has been produced; Toronto is home to development champs Xtreme Labs, Polar Mobile and Five Mobile, among others. Concurrently, Ryerson’s Digital Media Zone and OCADU’s Mobile Experience Innovation Centre were both launched and are touted as educational success stories.
A leader from an interactive gaming company acknowledged that the City has a role to play in tracking and measuring sector growth and determining overall policy direction but added that “as entrepreneurs we should lead the charge and take the city with us.”
Another participant suggested that the best way the City can add value is to champion the industry and promote its successes. “The messaging should include diversity and inclusion,” she added. The City of Toronto should pursue a UNESCO designation as a “City of Film”; currently only Bradford, U.K. claims that distinction. Toronto is the film festival capital of the world boasting more than 100 festivals each year, from the mammoth Toronto International Film Festival to smaller players like Cinefranco, InsideOut, ReelAsian, ImagineNATIVE and Worldwide Shorts, to name just a few.
Someone suggested that the paradox of globalism is the increasing desire to celebrate regional and local identities; participants agreed that Toronto needs to better promote its diversity, neighbourhoods and cultural strengths. To this end, one participant called for all television shows and movies shot in Toronto to receive a location credit at the end of the program.
On the facilities front, it was noted that while Toronto boasts the country’s largest film and television production complex (Pinewood Toronto Studios), many smaller studios have closed in response to zoning and gentrification pressures. “We need to invest in facilities focused on smaller productions to ensure that we can continue to capture and service this work.”
Among Toronto’s many screen-based success stories is Starz Animation, one of the highest profile independent studios in the world. With a 45,000 square foot facility in the heart of downtown, Starz employs 300 artists, most of them graduates from digital media programs at OCAD, Ryerson and York U and Sheridan College.
Some attendees called for a renewal of the Toronto Film Board as a forum for communication and the development of film policy.
Social bookmarks
Scroll to the Form to leave a comment.
Currently there are no comments related to article "Creative Capital Initiative: Screen-based Industries".