Sudbury film industry getting a studio

Quiet on the set – four words in which the film industry puts great value, and four words Hideaway Pictures will take to heart when it sets up temporary shop at the Barrydowne Arena.

That was one statement Hideaway Pictures CEO and president of production David Anselmo made April 16 at a city planning meeting to address concerns of residents in the area about an increase in noise levels. The planning committee unanimously approved a temporary zoning bylaw amendment April 16 that will allow the local motion picture staging and equipment rental company to use the arena for three years.

The plan is to set up a temporary sound stage, as Hideaway Pictures, as well as a number of other companies, proceeds with plans for a permanent location, Anselmo said. The new location would be called Northern Ontario Film Studios. There are three or four locations at which Anselmo and his group are looking to set up a permanent shop, although details of those locations aren't being made public yet, except to say they are within Greater Sudbury. Furthermore, the new location would be similar in size to Barrydowne Arena, and would likely take a good year to build, with construction slated to begin in 2013.

“A temporary studio at Barrydowne Arena will allow us to become operational for the first three years while we build our permanent facility,” he said.

Hideaway Pictures “wants as much quiet as the residents,” he added, in addressing noise concerns.

A resident who is building a fence on the weekend, for example, would create more noise than the studio, he said, and the company is taking measures to soundproof the facility, which will erase any noises coming from the inside, as well as noises coming in from the outside.

Hideaway Pictures was founded in November 2008. Its principal purpose is the creation and development of theatrical motion pictures, television shows, documentaries and other media-based projects in northern Ontario.

“This is a good opportunity for the community and for all of northern Ontario,” Anselmo said. “It will begin to build our reputation as industry professionals, and it demonstrates Sudbury is serious about filmmaking. This will potentially create a hub for northern Ontario for the film industry.”

The economic impact of the film industry is something few people really know about, but it touches every single facet of a community, Anselmo said. When a film comes in, a lot of times money is spent on hotel rooms, purchasing equipment, food, entertainment, car rentals and hiring local people as extras or as staff.

Anselmo studied psychology and law at Laurentian University where he stumbled into acting. He has acted in several film roles including the highest grossing Korean film of all time, The Host. He left because he said there weren't many opportunities in the film industry at the time.

He returned to Canada from South Korea to forge Hideaway Pictures. He moved back to Sudbury about two years ago, “just to make films, because of the incentives that are here.” However, he said he quickly realized that if the industry is going to take any kind of step forward, there needs to be adequate infrastructure in place.

There are three levels to creating a film industry, he said. The first is having a transient location where people come to shoot because of the incentives. The second is building the infrastructure and training personnel to be able to work and take over the field. The final level is ultimately creating a northern film industry “where we see local people, after they've been trained, creating northern content for the film industry.”

There have been a lot of films that have come to Sudbury from L.A., Toronto and Vancouver, to shoot, and then they leave, Anselmo said. A studio will set the stage to train northern people who want to continue working in the north.

“In the last six years, we've seen an increase in the film industry here in Sudbury,” he said. “The industry is starting to stagnate, if not for infrastructure being developed. (The booming industry) has allowed me to come back home and be able to build something for the future, so that when students of the film industry want to stay in the north, they will have a place where they can go and work.”

A permanent facility will also provide for year-round filming, he added. Right now, the situation in Sudbury is that the industry is busy through the majority of the year; however, when the snow flies, it slows down considerably.

“By having this facility, it will allow us to attract even bigger productions than The Truth, even in the winter,” he said.

Even television shows could be filmed at the studio. The show Friends is set in an apartment building for the majority of the time, he said. It looks like a real apartment, but in reality, it's a set in a facility probably a little bigger that the arena, but similar.

“There have been several TV shows shot in Sudbury, but we know from talking to producers coming here that if we had a facility, we'd be able to do a more elaborate show,” he said.

In further addressing concerns raised by residents, Anselmo said all activity will take place within the arena, and the parking lot will be used solely for parking purposes, with 30-40 vehicles at peak times. As well, the walking paths and access to those paths are not being touched or manipulated in any way.

There will be someone at the facility at all times, and plans include the installation of security cameras, which would act as a deterrent to anyone looking to vandalize.

“We know there has been issues with people spray painting on the walls of the arena,” he said, and added plans are in the works with local schools to paint a mural on the building that will stay long after Hideaway Pictures is in its new, permanent location.

The next logical step for Hideaway Pictures is to start training the next generation of filmmakers. Anselmo said quite a bit of training can be done out of the temporary location, as well as the permanent location once it's built. The company will partner with various institutions in the region to work toward that end.

Music and Film in Motion, for instance, has been a vital component in the industry for the past 10 years, “and we are excited to work with them on this project and future projects to come,” he said.

Posted by Mark Gentili