Posted by Will in Seattle at 3/12/08 4:36 p.m.

Given the cost of the Euro and the Canadian dollar, it does seem a bit odd ...

Posted by Jeremy Anderson at 3/12/08 5:38 p.m.

Will,

The exchange rate has only a little to do with it.

First, Vancouver has a film infrastructure that puts Seattle to shame. Vancouver Film School cranks out production bunnies at a prodigious rate. Know how you can't swing a bottle of microbrew in a bar in Seattle without hitting six C++ programmers, four web developers, and a systems administrator[*]? Same in Vancouver for film. Need people? Gotcha covered. Need sound production? Cameras? Trucks? Lights? Post production? It's all there.

[*] I have it on good authority sysadmins hit back. So please be careful!

Second, here's five words to put into Google:

BC Film Production Tax Credit

This is an amazing incentive which is provided to filmmakers who choose to do the majority of their work in British Columbia.

How's it work?

The filmmaker presents a budget to the BC Film Board. The Film Board, acting with the backing of the province, offers a credit to the production on their taxes of 40% of the total budget. In other words, you present a budget of 20 million and you'll get a tax credit for $8 million.

Yawn! Who cares but the accountants?

It gets better! The province backs that with a legal document. You, the producer, get a nice piece of paper with the logo and backing of the province of British Columbia which guarantees that credit to you.

This is, like the deed to your house, a document guaranteeing an asset, in this case, 8 million bucks. Once your primary budget has been approved, you can take this document to the bank and borrow against it just like you can with any other hard asset.

As my producer boss put it "It's brilliant! We can make the film using the money from the tax credit! That's money we don't have to raise from investors!"

The province, of course, gets something out of it as well. For several months, people come streaming in to BC, drawing fat film salaries and paying fat taxes to go with them. While the production company is paying no tax, their workers sure are.

Finally, if you're bringing in crew from overseas, Canada is great. They'll let any freak on the planet into that country. They even let me in! Try, just try to get a crew documented and legal in the US. I dare you.

It's a combination that is hard for Seattle to beat, especially without federal backing.

Posted by Will in Seattle at 3/12/08 5:59 p.m.

Federal backing?

Oh, come on, you mean you have a government up there that actually supports local industries instead of using your tax dollars to export them overseas like ours here?

Next thing you know you'll tell me all your crews have single-payer healthcare that costs half what ours does ...

Posted by Jeremy Anderson at 3/14/08 9:05 a.m.

Next thing you know you'll tell me all your crews have single-payer healthcare that costs half what ours does ...

$70/month. You do the math.