moving to vancouver...hopefully.
 

hey everyone, my name is jared. im nineteen years old. i live in beaumont texas which is about 1 and a half hours northeast of houston. i work for kbmt-12 our local a.b.c. affiliate in southeast texas as a production assistant. im about ready to get outa here so im thinking about moving to vancouver canada when i have a year of 'official' production expierence under my belt, which is in march of '06. ive been into film and videography for awhile and i shoot stuff on my owne with my xl1s. (local bands, weddings, rollerblading, scenery, currently disaster footage from hurricane rita.) i love documentaries and experimental films. im just seeing if anyone from vancouver or around that area has any advice for me so that i just dont show up and go broke in the first week cause i cant find a job or anything....i'd like to meet some fellow film folk like myself when i get there. any help would be appreciated.

p.s. i was wondering if canada uses pal or ntsc?

Before you think of pulling up stakes and moving to beautiful B.C. you should check into getting a work VISA.

We run both union and non union here so there are probably rules you want to look up.

If you're worried about going broke in one week you probably should save up a bit more. :)

From all I read, Vancouver is probably the best place to be in North America for a filmmaker. It's also a great place for anybody to be (although I haven't been there in a long time).

However, as mentioned above, you better get some serious information about a work permit and all. Every country has its own version of the "green card." And, it's essential that you get all that settled BEFORE you go. Otherwise you'll be stuck in an unemployable state.

If I were your age, that's exactly what I'd be doing--heading for Vancouver. Or maybe Toronto. I like Toronto, but Vancouver is where lots of the film action is.

hey guys thanks for the advice....and yeah i plan on saving up quite a bit, i still have like 5 months. i went to immigrationexpert.com and filled out there canadian immigration form to see if i was elligible to migrate to canada and i was denied!!..whats all that about?? i think it denied me cause i had to answere no to all the questions about studying and speaking french. is there any kind of artist residency? or do filmmakers qualify as artists? im glad i got started now, sounds like this may take awhile. thanks for yalls help.

It could be that you need to be 21 years old and maybe have some visible means of support. Remember, Canada is another country--it's not like moving to Kansas.

(Although, in many respects Kansas is another country too....)

well... it smells like another country the farther west you go....

To paraphrase Shakespeare, "...there's something rotten in Topeka..."

soooooo true.


Excuse the thread jack but....
Bill, are you still doing Half Way to Hollywood?

We've moved upscale. It's now the Kansas International Film Festival. Record crowds the past couple of years and lots of good controversial stuff this past season.

sounds fantastic. The submissions for all the local fests have gotten better in the last few years, thank god for it. I've been out of the loop with the local folks (KCIFC, KC Jubilee ect.) but i hope to pop my head around more now that I'm not balls deep in doc footage. I think we may have met last year at the jubilee, i was working with a doc called "Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea"

anyways, Good to met some one around the corner, maybe you can give me a hand with my up coming short ;-)

Always happy to help out when I can. I can't remember who I met last year at the Jubilee, but we probably did meet, since you know I'm on the KIFF board.

Since we changed the name (I don't know that had anything to do with it) we seem to be getting a better level of quality in the competition entries. We had a really great bunch of documentaries this year, including "Born into Brothels" which has gone on to major distribution (major for a doc, that is). We also had some sellout and near sellout crowds for several of the documentaries.

But, back to the moving to Vancouver thread. Moviemaker Magazine ranked Vancouver as the second best place to be in North America if you're an independent filmmaker. They put N.Y. as number one, but I think it was nearly a tossup. L.A. was on their list but way below the top few, for obvious reasons--I've heard you have to get a permit to even use the word "camera" in public there. Chicago was around number 4 or 5 as I recall, and I've shot on the streets there with no hassle at all (but you need permits if it's a big deal, traffic-blocking type shoot). Anyway, If I were 19 like the orginal poster, I'd get my paperwork in order and head for Vancouver as soon as legally and financially possible.

I don't want to steal your thunder, but i bet you could build a resume just as easily in college.. and have a fancy piece of paper to frame :-)


(ill send you an e-mail Bill, I need a DP pretty bad.)