This section of the blog is intended to update you on what I have been doing in the areas of government relations, industry relations, operations and member services – all the focus areas of my position here at the CFTPA.
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April 20, 2010
Hi all,
May 25-28 is Vancouver Interactive Digital Week that includes a number of events with digital media companies that would be worth considering. Most important on the schedule is the Vancouver International Partnering Forum with a focus this year of bringing film and television companies together will digital media companies. CFTPA members are eligible for member rates of $250 before end of the April. (registration includes lunches, Keynote & international panels, Evening networking reception and access to member’s lounge for two days). You can register here: http://www.vidweek.com/vipf2010_register.html The full schedule can be found here: http://www.vidweek.com/schedule.html
The Canada Media Fund held an outreach session here this past Monday. Most of the information shared at the session including funding available, application deadlines, etc ..can be found in the CMF Backgrounder here: http://www.cmf-fmc.ca/backgrounder/Backgrounder.pdf Lots of questions remain unanswered regarding the “Experimental” side of the fund– we will post any updates here as they become available. A CFTPA overview of the fund can also be found here: Note to Members re CMF – March 26, 2010
We hosted a meeting of feature film producers last week to discuss proposed changes to the Canada Feature Film Fund. National CFTPA Board member Trish Dolman, who also sits on the Telefilm CFFF Working Group, called the meeting to get feedback from a cross section of feature producers in advance of the next CFFF working group meeting. We will report back to you on any feedback or decisions made at the working group as they impact CFFF program and guidelines.
Until next time…
April 1, 2010
Back here for a meeting at CFTPA National office.
A blog entry about our recent Social Media session in partnership with DigiBC can be found here: http://www.ayogo.com/2010/03/26/transmedia-storytelling-social-games-and-hollywood-2/
We had a full house for our HST session yesterday – thanks to Ken Ghag and Neal Clarance at Ernst & Young for making this possible. The ppt slides from Ken’s presentation can be found here: Film Production Industry Preparing for HST
There was some positive media coverage of our press release last week regarding the release of the 2009 film and television BC production numbers and our call for a government response to the downturn in domestic production. We now have a meeting scheduled with Minister Krueger and staff in the next two weeks. See links to stories here:
- Playback – Call for action follows B.C.’s stats: http://www.playbackonline.ca/articles/daily/2010325/bc.html
- CBC-B.C.’s film, TV industry in jeopardy: critics: http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewFreeUse.act?fuid=NzY3Mjc4OA
- Georgia Straight – B.C. producers association raises concerns about 40 percent drop in domestic productions: http://www.straight.com/article-300120/vancouver/cftpa-bc-raises-concerns-about-40-percent-drop-bc-domestic-productions
Until next time…
March 19, 2010
Hello from Ottawa!
March 9, 2010
A couple of initiatives we are working on currently:
- HST sessions – information sessions for producers on the impact of moving to the HST effective July 1, 2010 - watch for notices about dates for these sessions in the coming weeks.
- Screen-Based Media Study – to identify human resources gaps and strategies moving forward. The CFTPA is a member of the Steering Committee that has worked since last summer on this project. The committee reviewed a draft final report this past week and hope to have the study released soon and implementation of recommendations shortly thereafter.
- Casting Workshop – in partnership with Praxis and Telefilm, we will be offering a workshop focusing on when to start casting; when to involve an agent, marquee cast versus local talent, the difference between Canadian and LA casting, discussion of technology (Breakdown services; Workbook; the digital audition process, drop sites like yousendit as well as other casting sites), stunt casting, and after the audition: how to work with inexperienced actors once shooting begins.
- Intellectual Property Development Fund – we are developing a proposed outline for this program for consideration by BC Film and the province.
If you have any questions about any of these initiatives or anything else related to staff activities, please give me a call.
Until next time…
March 1, 2010
Go Canada Go!
What a crazy couple of weeks – returning from Prime Time, our office definitely felt like “ground zero” with escalating fan/street noise on Granville wreaking havoc with conference calls and meetings. As part of Olympic activities, I was fortunate to be present at business events hosted by the BC Film Commission, DigiBC, OnScreen Manitoba, PWC, and Metro Vancouver Commerce.
Last Friday, Rob Bromley and I met with Minister Krueger to discuss the implications of the recent tax credit changes for BC-owned companies. (We had sent Krueger a document outlining the creative and financial impacts of the proposed changes.) The Minister was clearly concerned about the situation and asked for our recommendations. We urged the government to consider implementing measures in the short term to keep BC companies competitive including an increase to Film Incentive BC, an intellectual property development fund and/or a first season television bonus tied to Film Incentive BC. I think we all realize that a long term strategy is required moving forward to better articulate the partnership between industry and government in support of the creative economy. Rob and I have written to Minister Krueger again today reiterating our recommendations and expressing our willingness and availability to meet staff.
If you have comments or questions, please e-mail or give me a call.
Until next time…
February 19, 2010
Greetings from Ottawa,
Prime Time has been a dynamic gathering this year with forward looking discussions on virtually all aspects of digital media. Robyne and I were responsible for putting together two interesting panels – Strategies to Build Audiences On-line and the Future of Storytelling.
Other highlights for me included a showcase of 3D content and an in-depth interview with the CRTC Chairman, among many others. Playback has been covering the conference content in more detail so I encourage you to check there for more info.
I am pleased to report that the CFTPA will be meeting this week with Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts Kevin Krueger. We sent him a report that outlined the implications of the recent tax credit changes and will be discussing this with him and his Senior Staff. We will send an update to members about the outcomes after the meeting.
Until next time…
February 12, 2010
This week much of my attention has been focused on documenting the implications of the recent tax credit announcement as it relates to BC based production companies for government. The CFTPA-BC has asked for a meeting with Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts prior to the provincial budget announcement to discuss these implications and possible short term solutions.
I hope you can attend a meeting with the industry working group that met with government to discuss proposed tax credit changes – unfortunately not all members of the working group are available but Peter Leitch, Warren Franklin, Neal Clarance and I are all planning on attending. The purpose of the meeting is to answer any questions you might have about the process we went through with the province and what was proposed. The meeting will take place this coming Monday Feb. 15th at Rainmaker Studios – 2025 West Broadway @ Maple.
I will be in the office on Monday 15th but then heading to Ottawa to join Robyne and rest of the staff at Prime Time in Ottawa – I hope to see some of you there.
Until next time…
February 5, 2010
This first entry is a quick summary of my first seven months on the job:
In the government relations area my focus has been on the provincial tax credit discussions as part of the working group with government, providing information and advice to NDP culture critic, Canada Media Fund consultations, and I have met twice with Mayor Gregor Robertson around the creative economy. We called a meeting of members interested in GR issues in December and will continue to do that quarterly to get your input. In industry relations/development I have met with most industry stakeholders and we have held a number of producer roundtables here at the office with a focus on digital media. Stay tuned for the next roundtable in March as well as a Social Media initiative we are working on with DigiBC. On the member services side we did initial outreach to former members during summer months and will be checking in with all members over the next six months. Operations highlights include a search (to date unsuccessful) for a co-tenant, improvements to our monthly financial reporting and our ongoing search for a new Vice-President, Industrial Relations.
My intention is to update this log weekly or more often if there is a major issue to communicate.
Until next time…
