Lots of things have happened since our last E-Update in December. Hopefully this newsletter will provide an overview of some of our key activities and priorities over this past quarter. In particular, I want to draw attention to our Provincial Election Resource Kit (found in the Government Relations section) that we compiled to assist members with messages and activities to consider during this important provincial election campaign. I also want to welcome back Melanie Le Phan to the position of Administrative Coordinator. Melanie has just completed her studies at UBC and is joining us full-time as of this week. We are also fortunate to have Linda Hay with us as Senior Project Manager working on a part-time basis in support of Industrial Relations and Operations/Member Services activities. Linda will be known to many of you as an experienced Producer, Production Manager and Head of Production and her career spans most genres, including series television, feature films and commercials. As always, I am proud of the scope of work accomplished by our small staff team here in BC and want to thank all of them for their efforts over the past months.
Finally spring in Vancouver. Change is in the air, the weather is improving and negotiations with UBCP were successfully concluded in April. The CMPA-BC and the AMPTP reached an agreement in principal with UBCP on March 12, 2013 and I am pleased to say that UBCP members ratified the terms of the new 2012-2015 BCMPA on April 17, 2013. This means the long cycle of bargaining has ended – it began with the DGC-BC in November of 2011 and continued in 2012 with the Joint Council (IA891, IA,669 and Teamsters 155), the WGC and ACFC West and carried over with UBCP into 2013. Most of the aforementioned agreements will expire in 2015 so we will probably start prepping for the next round of bargaining in early 2014 but until then we have time for many new projects and plans and bring news of a few of those to you in the sections below.
Note – all union agreements can be found on the CMPA website.
Jenn Buchanan – Safety Committees on Productions
Jenn will be in charge of kicking off our new Film & TV Safety Outreach in May of 2013. Jenn will be conducting some polling in April and when the results are in will assess member needs and make recommendations. Jenn will be visiting sets over the next few months with Marty from ActSafe in an effort to get all of our members on board forming pro-active and responsive Safety Committees on every production.
Linda Hay – Stats Gathering and Strategy
Linda Hay has renewed her part-time contract with the CMPA-BC and is spearheading the production stats gathering project we have wanted to commence for some time now. The data will be conveyed back to the CMPA-BC Branch in the form of a searchable, flexible and inter-connected report which will then be kept up to assist in identifying trends, chart the volume of production (Service and Domestic in all categories), track BC member access to provincial and federal funding and help plan future CMPA strategies.
Gigi Boyd – new 2013/2014 CMPA-BC IR Committee
I am pleased to announce Sarah Tarry (DHX Media) has returned from mat leave and will be re-upping to Chair the CMPA-BC IR committee for the next year. IR Committee members for 2013/2014 are Andrew Williamson (Lark Productions), Brad Van Arragon, Karen Edwards (Pictopia Pictures), Marnie Young (Front Street Productions), Laura Lightbown (Terra Films), Tim Carter (Contradiction Films) and Paddy Bickerton (Reunion Pictures). Thanks to all for volunteering your time.
And many thanks to Catherine Winckler and Phillip Djwa for your time and effort on the previous IR Committee – much appreciated!
Gigi Boyd and Jenn Buchanan
CMPA Membership Renewal
April 1st marks our new 2013/14 fiscal year which coincides with the CMPA’s annual membership renewal period. Lisa Moreau our fantastic Manager, Memberships and Special Events has been sending reminders over the past months that point to our on-line registration process. On a side note, ‘BC Notes to Members’ are now being archived for your reference in the Members Only section of the CMPA website under Industry Updates.
Michael Hennessy March Visit
CMPA President and CEO Michael Hennessy visited Vancouver from March 12th – 13th. Activities included a dinner with members of BC Branch Council and BC National Board members, a presentation of National CMPA Priorities at the March Branch Council meeting, meetings with BC Film+Media, Magnify Digital, Telefilm Canada and a group session with CMPA-BC Interactive Members.
Telefilm Canada and BC Feature Film Committee
A CMPA-BC Feature Film Committee has been created and Mary Anne Waterhouse (Quadrant Motion Pictures) has agreed to act as Committee Chair. The Committee held its first meeting in late January in advance of a meeting with Telefilm Canada’s Dave Forget and Michel Pradier regarding recent changes in the Development Program. The Committee identified key issues to be discussed at the meeting with Telefilm and then circulated that list to a larger group of feature film producers who also participated in the meeting. We are set to meet with Telefilm representatives later this week to discuss upcoming changes to the Performance Envelope System which are to take effect in the 2014/15.
Banff World Media Festival – CMPA Registration Discount (June 9th -12th, 2013)
Members save $500 – this rate is lower than the Early Bird Rate!
For over three decades, the Banff World Media Festival has brought top leaders from across the evolving media landscape to the heart of the Canadian Rockies for a totally unique experience. Attracting over 150 Development Executives and a wide-ranging cross-section of television and digital media professionals from around the world, BANFF is the ideal place to make new contacts, find production partners and green-light new projects. Register at the CMPA rate here.
In addition, members can take advantage of 10% discount with Air Canada exclusively for travel to and from the Festival. Visit the Air Canada website and use code CNAXNMC1.
Advocacy Update
The issue of tax credits for the film/TV sector, and concerns about the general health of our industry have been prominent in the media over the past few months. Although CMPA-BC recognizes that parts of the film/TV sector are experiencing major challenges, our organization’s consistent message to government and media is one that emphasizes a positive vision for the future.
For the past 18 months, the CMPA-BC has been actively engaged in government relations activities focused on promoting the importance of the creative industries in British Columbia. Like other jurisdictions around the world have acknowledged, the creative industries are a key component of the development of a diversified knowledge-based economy. We have partnered with the music, book publishing and magazine industries to carry out this work, recognizing that together the creative sector represents over 85,000 jobs and contributes $4 Billion in GDP to the provincial economy. We are calling for a strategy that focuses on competitive tax policy, marketing and export development, venture capital, research & development, and skills retention/talent development across the creative sectors.
As part of our activities, we released a report “From the Margins to the Mainstream: Moving BC’s Creative Industries Forward” proposing that the creative industries be recognized alongside other key industry sectors by government. We recommend the adoption of a cross-sectoral approach in BC, including funding of a “BC Media Development Corporation” entity, and a cross-ministry provincial working group.
Creative BC Announcement
On January 31, 2013 the Provincial Government announced the creation of a new agency “Creative BC” responsible for promoting and championing the creative industries in the province. According to the government, “the agency will take a strategic, consolidated approach to policy development, tax credit administration, industry partnership, promoting emerging markets, innovation, and the development and marketing of BC’s creative products and services. Creative BC will bring together funding for film, television, digital media, music, and book and magazine publishing in one agency”.
The new agency will merge the services and programs of BC Film + Media and the BC Film Commission along with existing programs across the other creative sectors. The agency is tasked with creating a five-year strategic plan for the creative industries and a review of the effectiveness of existing government programs. Creative BC is operational as of April 15, 2013.
Chair Brian Hamilton took part in the announcement and you can read his remarks here. In addition, we released a joint statement with other creative industry associations stating our support for the agency as a first step towards keeping BC’s creative industries competitive.
We Create BC
At an Industry Town Hall meeting in January, MPPIA launched a public relations campaign targeted at both the general public and government to “raise the profile of the province’s motion picture production industry: jobs, people, families, students, our investments and accomplishments, and our future potential as the backbone of BC’s creative economy.” A dedicated website has been launched and active Facebook page. CMPA-BC is contributing to the campaign by creating a series of “I Create BC” vignettes that showcase both youth working in the industry and those interested in working in media. Thanks to Paperny Entertainment, who have created a sample vignette.
Provincial Election Resource Kit for CMPA-BC Members
On Tuesday, May 14, 2013 British Columbians will go to the polls. As an industry association, CMPA-BC has been advocating on behalf of our industry with both elected officials and senior staff within Government and the Official Opposition.
As the election nears, there will also be opportunities for members to engage at a local level as candidates for all the main parties will be actively campaigning in your community. While the CMPA-BC will not endorse or support any specific political party, we do encourage members to get involved and be a voice for our industry.
We have compiled this Provincial Election Resource Kit to equip you with the resources, tips, and information you will need to ensure our message is heard in the upcoming election. We have also provided some information on the main political parties in BC, and some of their recent statements regarding the film and television industry.
We hope you find this information helpful and thank you in advance for participating on behalf of our industry.
BC-UK Co-Production Forum – February 3-7, 2013
In partnership with BC Film+Media, the BC Film Commission and MPPIA, CMPA-BC coordinated a targeted co-production session in London and Manchester/UK. The intention was to update producers on soon to be announced changes to the UK’s tax incentives with respect to dramatic television series and to build co-production relationships with UK companies and broadcasters. 13 BC production companies participated along with representatives from 5 Canadian Broadcasters, BC Film+Media, Telefilm Canada and CMPA-BC.
The Creative Dynamic in Episodic Television – Let’s Talk
Held at the Shangri-La Hotel on February 16th and jointly produced with the DGC-BC. Three separate panels discussed the creative relationship between Directors and Producers and the challenges and rewards this creative dynamic brings to series television. The panel discussions were informed by the results of a survey which was sent to all CMPA-BC and DGC-BC Director Members in advance of the event.
We are happy to report that the event was very successful and we have had lots of positive feedback. Here are a few quotes from our attendees:
“A rare opportunity to have Directors and Producers in the same room …”
“Loved the calibre of speakers and organization.”
“Such a great chance to get close to our peers …”
“ … good food, classy presentation all really contributes to a sense of pure professionalism.”
Definitely a worthwhile day by all reports. We hope to make events like The Creative Dynamic – Let’s Talk an ongoing series of interactive panel discussions. Next up – a Producer/Showrunner/Director version with WGC, DGC and CMPA-BC members. More details will be sent out through our Notes to Members once confirmed. We hope to see you at our next event!
Opening the Book on Film 3 – March 27, 2013
After two successful conferences in 2008 and 2009 bringing film and television and book publishing/literary industry representatives together, we again hosted with BC Film+Media and the Association of BC Book Publishers our third event on March 27. This half day session provided opportunities for business to business meetings and a networking reception. Keynote speaker Robert Tercek’s inspiring presentation “Inventing the Future” can be viewed here.
Copyright Forum – June 8, 2013
CMPA-BC is partnering with Music BC, Magazines BC and the Association of BC Book Publishers on a session to update members on the implications of the Copyright Modernization Act – Bill C-11 now in effect. Roanie Levy, Executive Director of Access Copyright will be the keynote speaker and Kyle Fogden of Fogden Chandler will present material related to the film, television and digital media sectors. Location and timing for the event will be finalized in the coming month.
Merging Media Conference 2013 – October/November TBC
Our fourth annual Merging Media Conference programming will focus on “Going Global”. More details to follow as we are in the process of changing the Conference venue and this may effect dates. If you missed last year’s Conference, videos of the excellent panels and speakers can be found in the Merging Media Library.
April 25-May 5 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival – Toronto, ON
May 3-12 DOXA Documentary Film Festival – Vancouver, BC
June 9-12 Banff World Media Festival – Banff, AB
http://www.banffmediafestival.com
June 24 MPPIA Stephen J. Cannell Classic Film Industry Golf Tournament – Vancouver, BC
For staff contact details, please visit the CMPA website.
