Shooting Up Here

A Practical Guide to Applying for Funding and Filming in Northern Ontario

REEL Northern Ontario

Introduction
A Practical Guide to Applying for Funding and Filming in Northern Ontario In the past decade, Northern Ontario has emerged as a thriving regional hub for lm and television production. While this vast territory does offer remarkably diverse and beautiful locations, the main draw for producers from across North America and beyond- is primarily the funding offered by the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund. This guide has been created to assist in navigating the application process for funding and lming in Northern Ontario. For a more detailed description of this funding program, Producers should contact the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund.

This is a guide and is not an official Northern Heritage Fund Corporation document. REEL Northern Ontario

Introduction | Shooting Up Here

Contents
What is the NOHFC and how can it help my project?
A brief note on The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation and its mission.

What kinds of services are available in Northern Ontario?

In addition to local services, key Film industry suppliers and service providers are gradually establishing operations in the North.

Pg. 1 What kinds of lm and television projects are the NOHFC willing to fund?
Meeting the minimum conditions to qualify for NOHFC funding.

Pg. 7 What denes a Northern Ontario Company?

A guideline of criteria needed to qualify as a Northern Ontario Company.

Pg. 2 More About Northern Ontario

We are spread over a geographical area larger than the state of Texas.

Pg. 7 Is There a Film Commission Office?

There are currently no recognized Film Commission offices located in Northern Ontario.

Pg. 3 Keeping it Up North

Keeping the North in Northern Ontario Heritage Funded Film & TV Projects.

Pg. 8 What is the status of professional unions and trade organizations in Northern Ontario?
These organizations represent thousands of Canadian lm industry workers.

Pg. 5 What denes a Northern Ontario Resident?

A description of the criteria needed for all NOHFC Film & TV Projects.

Pg. 9 Wrapping Up Pg. 10+

Pg. 6

Demystifying the Northern Spend, accessing locations and making contacts.

What is the NOHFC and how can it help my project?

Ontarios Economic Future Points North!
The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) wants to partner with business-minded Northerners to develop innovative technologies, invest in infrastructure, bolster collaboration and build economic development capacity. By supporting your business vision, we can strengthen the Norths competitive advantage. NOHFC programs focus on the growth of the existing and emerging sectors identied in the Growth Plan for Northern Ontario and the governments key priority of helping communities prosper.

REEL TIPS
NOHFC nancing is scalable. For example, if you have applied for $500K and have been approved, this does not necessarily mean you will receive $500K. In order to meet the requirements you must hire Northerners, train Northerners and achieve your Northern Spend. Only then will you be able to claim Northern expenditures and be reimbursed at a rate of 50% of approved expenses.

Translation for Film and Television Folks: NOHFC stands for the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation. It is a unique government agency that has a very specic mandate that transcends conventional lm and television funding programs.

The NOHFC offers ve programs:

The The The The The Strategic Economic Infrastructure Program, Northern Community Capacity Building Program, Northern Innovation Program, Northern Business Opportunity Program, Northern Ontario Internship Program. Film and Television nancing falls under the Northern Business Opportunity Program. The NOHFC Film and TV Funding Program is not a tax credit, it is a conditional grant that requires you meet certain criteria. This program focuses on job creation and economic impact. The NOHFC compliments federal and provincial tax credits and works closely with other funding agencies like the Ontario Media Development Corporation and Telelm Canada. Like Telelm and OMDC, NOHFC has intake periods and awards grants to projects who demonstrate a number of key requirements that factor into their decision making process.

If you are a lm supplier or service provider, you may qualify under additional funding programs with the NOHFC. Please contact them directly or speak to a qualied Northern Film Liaison for additional information.

We continue to support community advancement in economic development and investment through strategic infrastructure. Our programs increase the competitiveness of business and industry, foster innovation and entrepreneurial prospects, and create new jobs. Together, we can grow a stronger and more prosperous North.

from www.nohfc.ca Pg. 1 the NOHFC | Shooting Up Here REEL Northern Ontario

What kinds of lm and television projects are the NOHFC willing to fund?
Production companies and their projects must meet these minimum conditions to qualify for NOHFC funding:
The production company must be a Canadian corporation, which is Canadian controlled. The production company must own all of the rights necessary to exploit and produce the production. Projects with a total budget of less than $1 million must be produced by an Ontario resident. Any one producer or co-producer is limited to one application per intake round. Applicants must provide evidence of the availability of all other project nancing with terms and conditions satisfactory to the NOHFC, at the time of application. The project must have secured a written commitment letter from a qualied and experienced distributor or broadcaster, satisfactory to the NOHFC, at the time of application. Applicants must be in good standing with the NOHFC. Applicants or any owners, promoters or principals of a related company that are in default on any contractual obligations to the NOHFC are not eligible. Priority will be given to applicants who have experience as producers of commercial lm and/or television projects or related experience satisfactory to the NOHFC. This includes demonstrating that they have the necessary expertise and resources to complete the proposed production and arrange for its marketing. Applicants with insufficient experience in development or production for the project genre and scope must secure the participation of an experienced executive producer prior to application to NOHFC. Applicants must be the owner or co-owner of the project, control copyright and receive, subject to commitments to third-party investors, talent and deferring parties, a share of revenues from sales of the project. Applicants must receive a producer credit on the project.

The following is a list of eligible projects:

Theatrical feature lms Made-for-television movies Television drama series Productions must meet appropriate quality-acceptance standards for broadcast and distribution. Pornography, sports events, news, games, industrial programs, reality programs and commercials are not eligible. The NOHFC will not fund productions that contravene the Criminal Code of Canada or any other criminal or civic prohibition. Productions containing excessive violence, sexual violence, sexual or racial stereotyping or exploitation are not eligible. The NOHFC reserves the right to apply its nal judgment in this regard.

from www.nohfc.ca Pg. 2 NOHFC Funding Conditions | Shooting Up Here REEL Northern Ontario

Tell me more about Northern Ontario

A Bit about us:
Northern Ontario is a geographic and administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario. The geographic region lies north of Lake Huron (including Georgian Bay), the French River, Lake Nipissing, and the Mattawa River, while the administrative region has several boundaries further south that vary according to federal and provincial government policies and requirements. The geographic region (which for census purposes, includes a part of Nipissing District that lies south of the Mattawa River) has a land area of 802,000km2 (310,000mi2) and constitutes 87 per cent of the land area of Ontario, although it contains only about six per cent of the population. Most of Northern Ontario is situated on the Canadian Shield, a vast rocky plateau. The climate is characterized by extremes of temperature, extremely cold in winter and hot in summer. The principal industries are mining, forestry, and hydroelectricity. For some purposes, Northern Ontario is further subdivided into Northeastern and Northwestern Ontario. When the region is divided in this way, the three westernmost districts (Rainy River, Kenora and Thunder Bay) constitute Northwestern Ontario and the other districts constitute Northeastern Ontario. Northeastern Ontario contains two thirds of Northern Ontarios population. In the early 20th century, Northern Ontario was often called New Ontario, although this name fell into disuse because of its colonial connotations. (In French, however, the region may still be referred to as Nouvel Ontario, although le Nord de lOntario and Ontario-Nord are also used.) (From wikipedia).

REEL TIPS
Northern Ontario is not like Southern Ontario, Vancouver or LA in the sense that we are spread over a geographical area larger than the state of Texas. When planning your lm project, please take into consideration the vast diversity of our regions. From the industrial Sudbury Basin to the pristine LaCloche Mountain Range to the splendor of Lake Superior, you can nd just about any location that will enhance and beautify the look of your lm. You can nd more information regarding shooting in Northern Ontario and resources by visiting: reelnorthernontario.com A map of Northern Ontario can be found on the NOHFC Website.: http://nohfc.ca/en/aboutus/northern-ontariodistricts

Pg. 3 More About Northern Ontario | Shooting Up Here

REEL Northern Ontario

Northern Ontario Boundaries

from www.nohfc.ca Pg. 4 More About Northern Ontario | Shooting Up Here REEL Northern Ontario

Keeping it Up North in NOHFC Film & TV Projects

Northern Crew Do they exist?
This is perhaps one of the biggest misconceptions about lming in the North. Gone are the days of having to travel up your entire crew from outside of Northern Ontario. Over the last decade, full time lm crew professionals have been honing their skills through the NOHFC program and our numbers have been growing steadily. These individuals are dedicated and skilled crew members who have given up their day jobs to pursue full time careers in Film and TV production. While a few Northern crew split their time between the North and Toronto/Vancouver/LA, for the most part, you will nd who you need up here. So before you hire your crew from elsewhere, give us a gander. While we are still lacking in some areas, some smaller indie lms have been known to crew up exclusively with Northerners.

REEL TIPS
Hiring Northerners will also help you to achieve your Northern Spend and add value to your production. Reel Northern Ontario is currently building a comprehensive crew database that will be accessible to producers in 2014.

For an extensive crew database please visit:

www.reelnorthernontario.com

Pg. 5 Keeping it up North | Shooting Up Here

REEL Northern Ontario

What denes a Northern Ontario Resident?

Things we often hear:
I was born in Northern Ontario but dont live there anymore I grew up in Northern Ontario but am no longer a permanent resident I spend my summers in Northern Ontario but dont live there year round I have a parent, aunt, cousin, girlfriend or buddy in Northern Ontario and can claim a Northern Ontario address I have a post office box address in Northern Ontario I have a Northern Ontario address on my drivers license but dont reside there as a permanent resident I have a business registered with a Northern Ontario address A business is not a person and cannot claim residency. None of the above, qualify as a Northern Resident. Upon being offered employment as a Northern Ontario Resident on all NOHFC funded projects, lm crew and service providers will be asked to complete a Northern Residency Declaration. This form will ask them to declare their Northern Residency. If falsied, this action may jeopardize the NOHFC nancial contribution to the production. Denition of Northern Residency as stated on the Declaration is: With respect to the above production, I hereby certify and conrm that in the year prior to or in the year of the production my primary place of residence was in Northern Ontario. Primary place of residence is dened as the place of residence for the purposes of mailing address, income tax (forms or returns), voting, municipal/school taxes, telephone listing and the location of the majority of personal effects (in terms of use and value). Northern Ontario includes the administrative districts of Rainy River, Kenora, Thunder Bay, Cochrane, Timiskaming, Algoma (Sault Ste Marie), Sudbury, Parry Sound (including parts of Muskoka), Nipissing (North Bay) and Manitoulin.

REEL TIPS
The NOHFC takes this Declaration document very seriously. Non-resident lm crew who are seriously considering relocating to Northern Ontario will have the opportunity to establish Northern Residency and to be considered on a case-by-case basis by the NOHFC.

Pg. 6

Dening Northern Ontario Resident | Shooting Up Here

REEL Northern Ontario

What kinds of services are available in Northern Ontario?

What denes a Northern Ontario Company?
You must demonstrate that you and/or your company have invested in a permanent operation within the Northern boundaries, with at least one full time employee or contractor that is a permanent Northern Resident. The following costs are ineligible for NOHFC nancial and work space support: Producer fees (includes any above the line fees IE; executive producers, producers, investors, unidentied stake holders, actors, consultants and other creative talent) Non-labor costs spent outside of Northern Ontario Brokerage of production and/or post-production goods and services from outside of Northern Ontario by intermediaries (Billing for services that are incurred outside of our boundaries by a third party). In recent months many of the large lm industry suppliers and service providers have already set up or are planning to establish operations in the North. For a complete list, please contact a qualied Northern Ontario Film Liason.

REEL TIPS
How does this impact your Northern Spend? To qualify as a Northern Company requires more than a Northern billing address and a local bank account. You must demonstrate that you and/or your company have invested in a permanent operation within the Northern boundaries, with at least one full time employee that is a permanent Northern Resident. The company must also demonstrate physical offices, warehouse or other acceptable workspace located within Northern boundaries as set out by the NOHFC.

Pg. 7 Available Services + Dening Northern Ontario Companies | Shooting Up Here

REEL Northern Ontario

Is the North still like the Wild West; is there a lm commission office?

There are currently no recognized Film Commission Offices located in Northern Ontario.
Each lm friendly centre has local Economic Development Office representatives that can assist with permits etc. There are Film Liaisons some of who have completed the Association of Film Commissions, Film Commissioner course. These Liaisons can assist with locations, resources, vendors, crew and any other aspects that a lm commission office would offer.

What is the status of professional unions and trade organizations in Northern Ontario?
The number of Northern union members in Northern Ontario is small but growing. In recent months Union Representatives including Executive Directors and Business Agents have engaged with key regional industry stakeholders to create awareness via workshops, information sessions and on-the-job training. They have expressed a desire to work toward building a presence that compliments collective professional objectives, the mandate of the NOHFC while respecting the uniqueness of current state of the industry in the North. DGC: Directors Guild of Canada IATSE: International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees NABET: National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians ACTRA: Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists The above are well-established trade organizations working in the lm and television industries across Canada and in some cases North America. These organizations represent thousands of Canadian lm industry workers representing all departments actively involved in production.

REEL TIPS
It is important to note that the unions are no longer willing to grant dispensation to productions with budgets over $1 Million. Most Northern crew have remained nonunion pending further information about the programs and benets offered through each union and determining what will be the right choice for them. As the Film Industry builds in Northern Ontario, the Unions are reaching out to Northern Crew. Subsequently there have been some challenges to determine the best way forward. Not only must a Northerner prove residency to the NOHFC, they must also prove residency and permittee status to the union.

Pg. 9 Unions & Organizations | Shooting Up Here

REEL Northern Ontario

Demystifying the Northern Spend

REEL TIPS
While Northern Ontario is similar in many of its lm friendly locations, it is important to note that you may wish to consider other logistical issues, depending on your budget. If you are working with a micro budget, you may wish to consider the availability of local crew to avoid accommodation and per diem expenses. Should you have a larger budget, you can certainly entertain shooting in more remote areas.

Where can I nd a list of what expenses qualify as Northern Spend ?

The simple answer is that there is no list. Because our infrastructure is constantly evolving, the NOHFC considers expenditures on a case-by-case basis. While labour and obvious Northern costs are selfevident, there is quite a bit of gray area when it comes to what is Northern Spend and what is not. For example; if you book cast travel from LA to the North through a Northern travel agency, does this qualify as Northern Spend? That is a very good question, while the NOHFC does not split hairs they do examine the spin off and long term benets of allowing this type of expense to qualify.

Who should I talk to?

If you are considering Northern Ontario as a potential destination for your Film or TV project, you should rst call the OMDC or the NOHFC, they will gladly put you in touch with a list of knowledgeable Local Film Liaisons that can assist you in navigating the North. The OMDC may be willing to nance initial location scouts and, should you decide to further explore Northern locations, assist you with Location Surveys.

Pg. 10 Demystifying the Northern Spend | Shooting Up Here

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Wrapping Up
What about Co Productions?
NOHFC welcomes International and National Co Productions providing certain criteria are met. For additional information please contact the NOHFC and/or a Northern Film Liaison.

Where do I begin?
First, spend some time on the NOHFC website to learn about the programs, then when youre ready, consult the Reel Northern Ontario website to nd a Film Liason who can guide you through all stages of your project.

What about Location Libraries?

Key stakeholders and active members of the Northern Ontario Film Community are working closely with the Ontario Media Development Corporation in order to expand their existing Northern Ontario location library. You can nd a link to the OMDC on the Reel Northern Ontario website or go directly to www.omdc.on.ca

Get in Touch
Your key Northern Ontario Contacts

NOHFC website:
www.nohfc.ca

Reel Northern Ontario website:

www.reelnorthernontario.ca