The Ontario film industry wants experienced construction workers and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts (IATSE) is calling for applications.
IATSE represents 130,000 technicians, artisans and craftspeople in the entertainment industry in Canada, the United States and U.S. territories. IATSE Local 873, which represents the Toronto area, is currently working on 18 television and four film productions.
"We represent 14 different disciplines across 52 separate positions who work behind the scenes in the entertainment industry," says Wayne Goodchild, president of Local 873. "That includes construction, paint, scenic, transport, makeup, hair, wardrobe, special effects, grip, electric and so on. We have a series of contracts that we sign with production and film companies to provide them with all of their behind-the scenes needs on a production-by-production basis. We supply and dispatch everyone the production needs on a daily basis for the life of that production." It’s big business for the province. The most recent Local 873 production to hit the big screen was Suicide Squad, which dropped $80 million in Ontario and created more than 4,700 jobs.
Goodchild says that the Toronto industry has been busy for the last three to four years and continues to provide steady work.
It’s a perfect storm driven largely by three factors: the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit, which is considered one of the most competitive in North America; a demand for content created by such entertainment services as Netflix and Hulu; and the falling Canadian dollar, which stretches production budgets north of the U.S. border.
"In the construction category we’re looking primarily for anybody with experience in demolition, renovation and installing," says Goodchild. "We want people who are good with tools and mechanically inclined to create temporary structures that look just like the real thing and that involves installing cabinets, windows, doors, staircases, flooring and roofs. The basic principles of construction are the same, but it’s meant to be torn down and dismantled at some point. If you’re a carpenter in the real world, it won’t take long to learn to apply those skills in our world."
IATSE Local 873 is also looking for painters, drywallers and tapers.
Film industry work is much like a construction project. A television production can provide work for six to eight months, while a TV series can offer three to four months. Although some construction work occurs on location, most of it takes place inside workshops.
Goodchild says he doesn’t expect applicants to have entertainment industry experience.
"The sheer volume of productions we have right now has already seen us run through our list of construction people who are experienced in this industry," he says.
Among IATSE Local 873’s recent and current TV productions: 12 Monkeys, Alias Grace, American Gods, American Gothic, Expanse and Taken. Feature films include Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water and the new Stephen King literary adaptation, It.
Is the construction work glamorous? Nope.
"I tend to think of our construction people as real construction workers," says Goodchild. "They don’t see the glamorous part of the business, although the ones that have been around for years in all probability have a story to tell. The difference in this job is that ultimately what they end up building and what they end up seeing in the film is something most construction people would be proud of."
Construction applicants can submit their resumes online at: www.iatse873.com.
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