Camosun College’s plans for film studios, sound stages and related classrooms at its Interurban campus took a leap forward Thursday after it started discussions with a Toronto-based company to design, build and fund the project.
Geoff Wilmhurst, Camosun’s vice-president of partnerships, said the college has selected Visionary Education Technology Holdings Group Inc., a private education provider and real estate developer, to help turn plans for an on-campus film studio with education components into a reality.
The selection of Visionary Group is the result of a request for pre-qualifications last fall that drew interest from multiple companies, said Wilmhurst.
He said Camosun expects initial talks with Visionary Group will result in a formal agreement that will finalize the scope, timeline and cost to build the film studio in exchange for a 99-year lease on the five-acre property.
Discussions about the number of buildings on the site and the courses for students are still in the initial stages.
Camosun would have to submit potential plans from the Visionary Group to Saanich council and rezone the site, which is behind the PISE sports field on the southeast corner of the campus. Older buildings would be demolished. An access road off Interurban Road is planned, and some geotechnical, environmental and engineering work has been completed.
Wilmhurst said the project will increase opportunities for students. He said several micro-credit, diploma and degree courses in digital media are being developed for students who would train at the complex and eventually work there when film crews use the studio complex.
Existing Camosun courses in carpentry, metal and electrical would be complementary to the film industry in areas such as production and set design, he said.
The film complex is expected to contain sound stages, editing facilities, green screen environments, classrooms, production offices and workshops for wardrobe, carpentry and props.
Visionary Group chief operating officer John Kuhn said the company is excited about starting talks with Camosun.
The company already operates MTM College of Animation Art and Design in Toronto, offering diploma programs in classical and computer animation and production for film and gaming.
Details can’t be provided yet, said Kuhn. “But we do know studios will be substantial with all the sophisticated equipment that will attract students. These jobs in the industry are much in demand and with a studio in Victoria, they can stay and work in Victoria … there may even be people in Vancouver who come to study and work in Victoria.”
The initial steps with Visionary Group was great news for South Island film commissioner Kathleen Gilbert, who’s been pushing for sound stages for a decade and has been part of a consulting team at Camosun. “I’ve said it so many times, but I’ll say it again — sound stages will be game changers for our local film industry.”
Sound stages are big soundproof buildings with high ceilings that allow movie makers to create sets inside. Victoria is well known — and quite popular — for its outdoor locations, but Gilbert said major productions want sound stages in their shooting locations for continuity and economic reasons. A film crew might be here to shoot outdoors and then have to go to Vancouver for sound-stage filming.
“We can always attract the $10-million productions here, but to get the $200-million shows here, you need sound stages,” said Gilbert.
The local film industry has relied on warehouses as sound stages for decades.
During production of the Netflix series Maid — a $30-million production and one of the largest ever for Greater Victoria — crews used the empty Home Outfitters store in Tillicum mall as a sound stage.
She said sound stages would not only attract big-budget movies, but also long-running series. She noted the production of Flash in Vancouver lasted about nine seasons and provided hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in economic activity. “Those long-running series are what we want.”
Last year, despite job action by the the Director’s Guild, the South Island Film Commission hosted about 50 productions, including movies, documentaries and music videos.
Planned for filming so far this year is a series called Reginald the Vampire and several Hallmark movies, said Gilbert.
The Island’s only sound stages are near Parksville, where Vancouver Island Film Studios has six sound stages and related facilities. It is booked to January 2024.
A proposal for sound stages in Langford is also in the works. Strand, the company behind redevelopment of the former Western Speedway lands in Langford, plans two 20,000-square-foot sound stages in the mixed-used development. Gilbert said she was discussing the sound stage proposal with the company on Thursday, saying “they are still working toward that,” but hadn’t found an operator as yet.
dkloster @timescolonist.com
