Vancouver: The Best Place On Earth (for Film Students)

Thoughts on the Vancouver Film Industry and Some Advice for Beginners

I’m feeling the need today to express my love for my hometown. I know so many people who have negative feelings toward their own hometowns for one reason or another (or more), but as for myself? Vancouver has really been a great place for me, and I’m now going to explain why.

For starters, I’m just going to clarify for anyone who doesn’t know, I’m talking about Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Yes, Canada. Not Vancouver, Washington or anywhere else. I mean the city that hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics; the city with a [mostly] cool Skytrain system (it’s a train! in the sky! like the Disney monorail but for mass-transit!); the city nestled between the Salish Sea (formerly Georgia Strait) and the tall coastal mountains; the city at the mouth of the mighty Fraser River; the city that’s home to beautiful Stanley Park with its towering trees; the city that is - yeah, I suppose you get the point now.

While obviously I’m putting quite a lot of bias here by listing all the wonderful things about Vancouver and omitting the not-so-great things (of which there are a few), what I’d like to focus on now is just how great Vancouver is for young filmmakers and film students. Why?

If you watch TV or go to the theatre and watch films on a reasonably regular basis, then I can guarantee you’ve seen Vancouver many, many times. Sure, the city may be hiding behind a foreign disguise (Budapest, Mumbai, London, Seattle, etc...) or a fantasy one (Metropolis, anyone?), but it’s all still Vancouver. Some of you may have heard the term “Hollywood North” used to describe Vancouver, and it’s quite true. The only rival for that title would be Toronto, but really - who wants to be on an outdoor film set in -20C...?

There are some great TV series and films that have been based out of Vancouver, or have at least spent a large amount of their time in principal photography here. Where TV series are concerned, there are many, including Supernatural, Fringe, The Killing, Psych, Alcatraz, Fairly Legal, Falling Skies, Once Upon A Time, The Secret Circle and, now in pre-production, the Vancouver-based spinoff of the awesome UK series from ITV1, Primeval (yes, I am deliriously excited for this one! I’m a big fan of the original series... and now there’s a Canadian spinoff!). Recent films that have shot here are the new Superman film, Man of Steel, and Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol, to name but two. Out of everything in that list, the only one that is shooting in Vancouver and actually takes place in Vancouver will be Primeval. The rest use Vancouver to replace somewhere else. (I haven't even mentioned the great webseries that shoot in Vancouver, too... that's a topic for another post, I think!)

I particularly enjoyed seeing MI4 in theatres recently because of how they used Vancouver to supplement their international locations. One shot will be in Moscow, the next shot, within the same scene, will be in Vancouver. Early in the film, Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg and Paula Patton are in a van driving around Moscow... or are they? If you look out the windows of the van, you’ll see a place that really isn’t in Russia - it’s just outside of Vancouver. It is actually a place I know well: an industrial area in which is located the Canadian Motion Picture Park (CMPP).

With all this big film business happening, it means that there’s definitely some work to be found if you know where to look and where to begin. The film industry is a difficult one to get into if you’re new and don’t know anyone who can help you get started - my advice is, take chances. If even the faintest hint of an opportunity comes your way, jump on it, grab it and do not let go. The smallest of possibilities can lead to some great experiences if you’re persistent, enthusiastic and have a good attitude... it also helps if you can stand in rain for fifteen hours straight and not complain.

The best place for film students to start if they don’t have a clue where to begin or where to go is as a Locations Department Production Assistant (PA) on a big set. If you’re fresh out of film school, it’s definitely the place for you. As a locations PA, sure, you’re at the bottom of the ladder, but it can provide some amazing experiences. The hours are long and hard, yes. But in those hours, if you use them wisely, you can learn. Watch the crew around you and listen to the radio (you have to listen to Channel 1 on the radio in any case, but pay attention to what is being said beyond “roll sound!” and “cut!”). I learned so much more on set in one day than I did in two years of film school. Only now in my third year (of four) are my instructors getting to the important on-set things that anyone working in film should know. 

One of the biggest things you will learn as a PA on set is set etiquette. This is so important to know, and yet it seems most film schools do not teach it properly. I’ve heard many stories of students from a particular film school in Vancouver (which shall go nameless, but I will say it is not a university film school...) who, once graduated, found themselves jobs as PAs and then lost those jobs through arrogance, bad attitude, and extremely poor set etiquette. For example, one PA from this certain school took it upon himself to inform the Director of Photography on a big film set that he was lighting a scene wrong. Honestly. This really actually happened. A PA told the DP that he was doing his job wrong. The PA apparently explained his reason for believing so as “well my film instructor told us that it should be done this way.” That PA was then relegated to parking lot duty (sitting in crew park and keeping an eye on everyone’s cars) for the rest of the day and then was never asked to come back to that set.

Let this be a lesson to any film students reading this: never, ever presume to tell someone how to do their job on set if you’re new. Even if you completely believe that you are 100% right, just don’t do it. When you’ve moved up in the ranks you can do it the way you believe it should be done (as long as your supervisor agrees that it is correct, of course) but when you’re a PA you just simply do not say “you’re doing that wrong.” The one exception would be if there’s a safety concern, and at that point you talk to your supervisor (most often the Key PA). 

Along with being a great place to learn these very important rules and guidelines for being a crew member on set, being a PA also gives you the opportunity to observe all the different roles and jobs that you can do as part of a film production. It’s perfect if you don’t really know what it is specifically that you want to do as a career in film (aside from the obvious “I want to be a director!”). Very often, if a PA expresses an interest in a particular department, that PA will quickly be “stolen” out of Locations by that department if they have a need. I’ve seen it happen many times. (I worked as a Key PA on a set a little over a year ago where my PAs were continually being stolen by other departments to the point where I had to start chasing off those departments and telling them to leave my PAs alone otherwise I’d have none left! This was, of course, on a volunteer show so this kind of department-hopping is much easier than it would be on a full union show.)

Even better, if you’re a PA with the right attitude and enthusiasm for your job, that gets noticed. Honestly, being on set is one of the best places to network and find other work, and move up in the industry. The opportunities that present themselves to positive “keeners” can be absolutely wonderful. As well, the relationships that you make while you’re working on other peoples’ sets can help you out big time in the long run, too - fellow filmmakers are often quite happy to help you make your own films if you’ve helped them make theirs! 

This doesn’t mean you stop having to work hard - this entire industry is about working hard, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. However, working on a film production is one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever known, and Vancouver is, in my opinion, the best place to get started.

My first day on set! (Yes, I'm in there somewhere.)
I found this photo online a day or two later.
(c) Nigel Horsley 2010

It was on a street in downtown Vancouver where chance, luck, fate, whatever you want to call it gave me my big start in the film industry. Every time I pass that alley I remember my very first day on a big film set, how wide-eyed and overwhelmed I was, desperately trying to learn a hundred things at once but absolutely thrilled to be there. If all goes well (as it seems to be), I’ll be working in the film industry here for many years to come. The people are great, and I have made many good friends while working in film here, and have many fond memories. Sure, like with anything, there have been a few low days and a few people who weren’t so great, but in general my experiences working in the Vancouver film industry have been fantastic. I can’t imagine having the same kind of experience in a place like Los Angeles, and I’ve heard from people that have been there and worked in Hollywood that they prefer Vancouver and, despite getting paid more in LA, they moved back here because “it’s just so much better.”

In conclusion, Vancouver is awesome - as a city, and as a place for beginning filmmakers and film students to get their start in the film industry. There is so much more I could say about Vancouver's film industry, but that will have to wait for another post, on another day. 

**Hey! Are you a current/former film student looking to get started in the film industry in Vancouver? Wondering how you can get a job as a PA? Check out this website: http://www.dgcbc.com/ie4/permitees/structure.cfm This is the “Permitee” program run by the Directors Guild of Canada in BC, and it’s where new PAs should start. However if you’re a current film student I’d definitely recommend waiting until you’ve finished your program before getting into working on set, since balancing that job and school doesn’t always work out very well (big time commitments for both, and there’s really only so many hours in a week - trust me, I know from experience). Of course, there’s always summer for PA work... :)