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Will McGuirk
On a familiarization tour hosted by Film Durham for film industry professionals, we asked local arts and culture specialist Will McGuirk to attend and share with us what he learned on this daylong tour of Durham’s film industry.
Private, public, farmland and factory, historic and state-of-the-art; when it comes to film locations Durham Region has it all covered.
Parkwood National Historic Site, the family home of General Motors Canada founder Colonel ‘Sam’ McLaughlin, is featured in a myriad of movies. While in Pickering, there is a set complete with diner and jail interiors that was purposefully built for the Amazon Prime series, ‘Jack Reacher’. Other notable film and TV series shot on location in the region include Netflix’s ‘Luckiest Girl Alive’ and ‘The Umbrella Academy’; the Amazon series ‘The Boys’; Hallmark’s ‘The Way Home’; both ‘Coroner’ and ‘Anne With An E’ on CBC; and, the award winning ‘Schitt’s Creek.’
Luke Marshall, location manager of The Way Home and manager of Toronto’s Studio 555, says Durham Region has a variety of diverse looks that contribute to the attractiveness of the area—from urban to rural, and industrial to pastoral.
“Each of these productions,” he says, “needed looks that featured beautiful vistas and countryside as well as additional locations that required looks peculiar to each show. For example, the quarries in and around Uxbridge offer amazing post-apocalyptic or "otherworldly" themes. Towns such as Port Perry and Uxbridge offer beautiful vintage architecture, and that "middle America anywhere" look that is often sought after.”
Donna Zuchlinski, former Ontario Film Commissioner and now the Location Consultant with Genue Films, adds, “Durham Region has always been popular with Ontario’s film and television industry due to its wide variety of diverse locations and it’s close proximity to Toronto, complimented by the excellent support and facilitation services provided by the Durham Region Film Commission.”
“From iconic locations like Oshawa’s Parkwood Estate and the Pickering Museum Village, featured in many productions over the years, to its numerous film-friendly small towns, private homes, parks and wilderness looks, plus the recent addition of new studios, Durham Region will no doubt continue to be top of mind for film industry professionals when scouting locations for their projects,” she says.
Top of mind for some Durham residents may be opening their own private home for a shoot. A recent tour of locations organized by Durham’s Film Specialist Eileen Kennedy showcased a modern mansion owned by a young couple, as well as an artist’s home overlooking Chalk Lake.
There are of course financial incentives to offer your home up. Location manager and member of the Director’s Guild of Canada, Ontario, Ernie Ashford, offers some advice. He compares a home shoot to a party full of strangers, but you don’t get an invite.
“The difference between a party and us is that we clean up after ourselves,” he says.
Marshall concurs, “We take over, and it can be overwhelming if you haven't experienced it before. That being said, everyone is professional and unionized. Precautions are taken to mitigate the chances of damage to the location and if anything does get damaged or broken, we will fix or replace it. The mantra is we will leave your location in as good condition or better than when we arrived.”
“Those interested in working with film should investigate the legitimacy of the production that is interested in filming on their property. They may do this by contacting Ontario Creates or the Municipality’s Film and Television office,” says Ashford.
In Durham Region, that would be Film Durham, part of the Economic Development and Tourism division of the Region (Invest Durham). The film office directs the many and varied callers scouting for locations to fit their scripts; facilitating productions and film permits, providing site tours, and managing a database of film-friendly locations. Film Durham’s role includes nurturing high-paying employment for the area’s residents through film career fairs, advertising current studio resources, and marketing the region to attract domestic and international film-related investment like television series, feature films, commercials etc., as well as potential film infrastructure investors such as studio and backlot builders.
The former Jack Reacher set in Pickering, has been developed into the William F. White Backlot, becoming the largest backlot in Canada. The 23-acre modern day small town is situated on a 90-acre plot of land, and in addition to the 30 stores and shops currently on the property, the town is expandable and can easily be converted to suit productions of all types, from rustic western settings to bustling New York City streets.
TriBro Studios, also in Pickering, has a facility footprint of 180,000 square feet with 21 foot high ceiling heights, and ample parking for crew and trailers. The facility has three sound stages, a mill shop, production offices and more.
Footsteps Post-Production Sound Inc. provides complete foley services for all types of productions, feature films, IMAX films, TV, animation, documentaries and video games. Their many credits include ‘Blade Runner 2049’, ‘The Greatest Showman’, ‘As Good As It Gets’, ‘American Hustle’, ‘Bridesmaids’, ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’, ‘Meet the Parents’, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, and ‘The Help.’
Up Is Loud Productions offers picture and sound editing, automated dialogue replacement (ADR) and Foley recording, Dolby certified 5.1 surround mixing, as well as voice over and animation recording for television series, feature films and documentaries.
Durham is also home to a robust pool of skilled technicians and trades. Many of whom are members of the Toronto-based industry unions and guilds that represent a wide range of skilled labourers in technical, creative, post-production, construction and logistics roles—from performers to accountants, and electricians to set designers.
The Durham Region International Film Festival (DRIFF), offers a wonderful arts and culture experience. This not-for-profit group organizes the annual three-day Fall festival and gala, as well as the DRIFF Drive-In Series. In 2022, DRIFF hosted an Emerging Filmmaker Incubator. Local filmmakers competed to win $30,000 plus equipment grants and resources to produce a short film screened at the drive-in series and DRIFF fall event.
The inaugural award was won by Van Wickham for his short film, ‘Heap.’
“This program not only provides a substantial opportunity for emerging filmmakers from the region, but it also signals to the next generation of filmmakers that there is a community and support system right in their own backyard,” says Wickham.
A backyard, that right now, brings the world of film within our sights.
