$100K for Calgary sci-fi series represents importance of kickstarting filmmaking careers
'It is a much more difficult thing ... to be doing your own projects,' says industry expert
A Calgary film crew has been given a new lease on life with $100,000 being awarded to them to fund their independent series called Psyborgs.
The sci-fi, comedy-action series began as a short film funded through Telus' Storyhive initiative, which has now upped the funding 10 fold to create a six-part series.
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With the feeling of an '80s cult classic, the series will continue to follow a team of psychic super-soldiers who are tasked with destroying the evil forces known as T.O.X.I.N.
"It means someone believes in this insane TV show as much as I do," said David Hiatt, the creator and director.
"Psyborgs was wonderful for my career and my team's careers because it helped us get noticed."
Getting started in film in Calgary
Hiatt keeps a full-time desk job in order to pay his bills while living in Calgary. Film creation — while his dream—– just doesn't cut it financially at this point in his career. He calls it "pretty typical."
"It is a hard industry to break into," Hiat told CBC News.
He conceded that if he wanted to work as a production assistant, or in a similar role on sets, he thinks he could find full-time work. Instead, he's decided to pursue his dream of creating and directing his own projects, which leads to a much more precarious employment situation.
"I think that this $100,000 [will earn us] a lot more notoriety, a lot more street cred, and who knows, maybe this is just what we need to quit our day jobs and start doing this full time," Hiatt said.
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Hiat and the Psyborgs crew will be working with a number of organizations in their pursuit of this project, including Calgary Economic Development (CED) and its new Calgary Film Centre.
Grants are critical, says expert
Grants like the one offered through Storyhive are critical for emerging filmmakers, says CED's commissioner of film, television and creative industries.
"It is a much more difficult thing in any marketplace to be doing your own projects and your own work," Luke Azevedo said.
"As far as incentivizing this type of production, or access to money, it's always been a very difficult process on smaller productions and local productions. However, these young and emerging filmmakers and producers have definitely gotten to the point where they've become innovative in how they fund their projects and how they get their projects off the ground."
Azevedo said the majority of the change has to do with the emerging platforms on which new filmmakers are able to broadcast their productions to the entire planet, instead of small local markets that were the way of the past.