A. Rebel's Rant

Hi Everyone,

Instead of sticking with the St. Valentine’s Day theme of relationships I thought I would change it up because I can. ;D Here’s today’s blog.

The other day, as I walked up my street, I saw some several LES (Locations Equipment Supply) pylons and production trucks.  I wondered what was being filmed. I walked another 100 metres and asked the Security Guard and the Locations person. “I knew it. A few months ago, I walked by on my way to work, because I was feeding the face working full-time, and they were filming here, at the same location. There’s always something being filmed around here. I got a Filming Notice for _____ a few months ago because they were filming right across the street! I could have walked there in less than 5 seconds with traffic, but because I was feeding the face, I’ve been out of the film loop.” The Security Guard said he worked that day. We spoke for a few more minutes before I left to begin my errands.

Later that day, I saw more LES pylons and all the signs of a production under way on a busy street. After the first person I saw told me what was being filmed, I said, “Wow. You guys are filming two streets up.” “What can I say,” he said, “We’re everywhere.” And he was right. They were. And that’s big money on so many levels.

Not only did that production pay for the space for two locations that I know of, one was a high end restaurant on a busy street! Paying for a high end restaurant to close for one day for production is a lot of money. Paying for all the people like the Locations people, the Police Officers to stop pedestrians and actual traffic of cars and TTC streetcars, all of the Background Performers, the Background Casting Directors and the Transport people are a few examples of the number of people involved, the number of people getting paid to feed their, and countless of other, faces.

After I briefly stopped to speak to the Police Officer, before he stopped traffic, I continued my walk. Minutes later I saw more LES pylons. I looked around but couldn’t find a Locations person, so I looked for someone, anyone who could tell me what was being filmed. Nothing was being filmed in that building, but the Security Guard told me what was being filmed across the street. He also told me what was being filmed in that building next week. It sounds cool!

And then two pieces of paper caught my eye. One was the Filming Notice for the production across the street. I was on it three weeks ago. The other was for a Special Effects Gunfire Test for the next day. I asked and got photocopies of both.

Yesterday, I took the photocopy of the Special Effects Gunfire Test and left 15 minutes before the testing was to start. I walked to all of the four locations mentioned. I searched all of them for all of the usual signs of a production. There weren’t any LES pylons or production trucks anywhere. That did not stop me. But the cold almost did. Just before I was ready to give up, I decided to walk up a small side street.

Separated from the crowd was a Locations person. I slowly walked up and asked what was going on. After he told me, I showed him the notice.  He wrote it. “It’s a very good letter,” I said because it is. Smiling he suggested a place for me to stand and joined me shortly.

In the few minutes we had to talk, I learned so much about locations side of film, filming in Toronto, and the production. Once the first gunfire test was done, we talked about it. There is a lot involved. That also means, that there are a lot of people who were getting paid. Like the two Police Officers that I could see, the four, sometimes five men shooting the guns, the two gun specialists on site, the one of several Locations person I spoke with, and the 12-15 production people I could see, the Toronto Police Service Emergency Task Force person and the members of the Toronto municipal bylaw department.

Note that those were the people I could see from the street lights. How many other people were working behind the scenes? The people not on the street is unknown. Film is big business. The number of people a production employees varies with every day. But here is something I found interesting, the gunfire test for the feature film I went to see may not even be filmed in Toronto. The production is not even in pre-production. The gunfire test was only one of many parts to see if the feature film would be filmed in Hollywood North. They are hoping to film in Toronto but there are so many variables, everything is still up in the air.

I am blogging about this because some Torontonians don’t enjoy film as much as we do. Sad but true. You don’t have to be a Background Performer to know that. When I saw the Police Officer stop traffic the day before, I saw the faces of the people on the streetcar when it was stopped. I get it.

But please get, or try to understand this; film is really big business! It was either 2011 or 2012 when the film industry, because that is what it is, an industry, was 2 per cent more of Ontario’s GDP than the car industry. And all the film industry has done since is grow!

Think of it like this, if every job in the car industry produces another 5-7 jobs in spin-offs in like car parts, distribution (of whatever) and service jobs in varying forms of restaurants, than how many jobs does the film industry provide? If the film industry was 2 per cent more than the car industry, and the film industry has been growing every year since, what is that percentage now? It should be more right? Mathematically it makes sense.

Doesn’t it also make sense to celebrate all of the hard work and the creativity of the people involved in the film industry? Shouldn’t we be proud of that the film industry showcases the city of Toronto and the surrounding areas? There are so many TV shows and movies that are produced in Toronto and the surrounding areas that are seen world wide! The production that closed down the restaurant on the busy street has won so many awards and is seen in almost every country of the world, is something that we should all be proud of!

When the gunfire testing was done, I thanked the Locations person for his time. We wished each other well and we both hope that the feature film will be filmed in Toronto so we, and everyone else in the film industry has an opportunity of feeding their face!  ;D

Thank you for reading, A. Rebel’s Rant!  ;D

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