When Regina’s massive LED volume wall was moved from its home of three years, it sparked concern that Saskatchewan’s film industry was losing its pride.
“I feel bad,” said Clinton Okafor, a Regina-based actor who appeared in one of the productions filmed using the volume wall.
“Regina is a small province, so taking it away makes it worse for actors and filmmaking.”
The LED Volume Wall — a 15,000-square-foot digital screen used to create virtual sets such as the streets of New York or Paris, but in Regina— was installed by a private company, Karma Film, in 2022 at a cost $12.5 million. The intention was to build one of the largest volume walls in North America, which gave Regina the second largest Volume wall behind Atlanta, Georgia.
Industry trends and business realities ultimately led to its removal from the John Hopkins Soundstage on College Avenue. Despite the mixed feelings of the removal, an industry expert said it might just be what is needed to grow Regina’s film industry.
“When they announced that they were that they were leaving we were all shocked,” said Robert Hardy, executive director of ScreenSask, Saskatchewan’s film and television industry association. “Then we went wait a minute, that is not a bad thing”. “This is ok because when one company closes up it means there’s room for other companies to come.”
Since the wall’s removal by its private owners due to financial challenges, questions have been raised about what comes next for Saskatchewan’s film production. For some actors, the loss feels personal.
“Green screen is very important in filmmaking,” the actor said. “It helps create locations and situations that don’t exist in real life or are hard to locate.”
The actor said removing that technology could push performers to seek work outside the province.
“This will impact my acting opportunities as an actor,” Okafor said. “So, taking that away will obviously make me look for filming opportunities elsewhere.”
Despite those concerns, Saskatchewan’s film industry has remained busy. In 2022, the provincial government increased its film and television production grant.
“The government has contributed $46 million towards productions over the past three years,” Hardy said. “That adds up to about $120 million in production plus private investment.”
Ironically, Hardy said the presence of the LED Volume Wall may have limited access to the studio for other productions, as the space was on a long-term lease.
“Because the company had the studio booked up, nobody else could rent it,” he said. “I think we are actually going to see an increase in the number of productions being made.”
While some creatives would like to see the volume wall return, Hardy said the industry does not want the government to build another large wall.
“On behalf of the industry, we don’t want the government to build another volume wall,” he said. “What we want is continued support through feature film and television production grant. That’s encourages private companies to bring their productions here.”
While trying to get an insight on this, The Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport declined an interview request on this topic.
Hardy said the industry’s focus is on steady growth rather than an expensive infrastructure.
“Our plan is to create 1,000 new jobs in the next three years,” he said. “Our focus is on building the industry, and the way we do that is not with big volume walls, but through independent films and small series.”
Despite initial shock over the wall’s departure, Hardy said the industry remains confident in Saskatchewan’s future.
“I think the future looks really good,” he said, “I don’t like to make false promises, but I really feel confident that there’s going to be a lot more work happening in the coming years.”
Featured image: Photo credit- Creative Saskatchewan
