As the film and television industry continues to grow in the region, three new post-production companies are joining the Northern Ontario Film Studios (NOFS).
All three companies will be operating out of the studio spaces in Sudbury and North Bay, NOFS said in a news release.
"Having locally available post-production talent of this calibre right here in the north is great. Being able to offer them the flexibility of multiple facilities in the region to work from will give these service companies the competitive advantage over others and will allow their professional services to extend throughout the entire region," said David Anselmo, the studio's head of strategic business development.
Parachute North Post Production specializes in creating soundscapes for all types of visual mediums.
"We are an established industry fixture that boasts a diverse roster of talented individuals capable of bringing the sound of any project to life," Allan Fung, the president of Parachute, is quoted as saying in the news release.
Picture Shop, Streamland Media's picture division, has been working with NOFS for eight years operating out of the Sudbury studio and is now expanding to include the North Bay studio as well to its list of international locations. It provides post-production dailies and on-location services.
"I believe very strongly that bringing our expertise and working with and training locals is key to (growing) the industry and (enhancing) the attractiveness of northern Ontario within our province and around the world," said Jane Tattersall, sr. vice president of Picture Shop and Formosa Toronto.
WMB Post Production Service North helps with budgeting, scheduling, editorial team selection, VFX planning, finishing workflows and delivery from the script stage.
"With most of the post-production work being completed in Toronto, our goal was to transition more of the services to Northern Ontario," said Michael Beard, a post-production supervisor on more than 35 television movies and series over the last 20 years.
NOFS began in 2012 and expanded into North Bay in 2015. A third studio space, a $2 million permanent 'turn of the century town,' was built in 2019 by NOFS on the outskirts of North Bay.
There are also plans to build three new film studios in the northeast to accomodate the increased demand.
Film, TV and music production group Cultural Industries Ontario North is looking to build a film studio, Freshwater Production Studios, on the Kingsway in Sudbury. It would be the Nickel City's second.
Earlier this month, a Toronto area developer and film producer announced plans to turn a historic building in downtown Sault Ste. Marie into a film studio, with productions to begin shooting there next year.
And in North Bay, North Star Studios, a new film and TV production company, is buying the vacant Epiroc office building on Ferris Drive to transform it into a $26 million film studio capable of creating large-scale productions.
