Lights, Camera, Action: Steel Engineering Sets the Stage for Movie-Making Creativity

I was recently reading an article from the U.K. about how steel plays a leading role in creating studios for their film industry. It got me reminiscing fondly about the studio construction project we completed in the fall of 2022 for Big Sky Studios in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

With more and more major mainstream productions relying on green-screen soundstages (like the Marvel Cinematic Universe or MCU), amazing large-budget films can be created anywhere in the world. No longer do producers need to face the higher production costs of filming in Hollywood. (I believe the movies 300 and Sin City were among the first films to use the technique really well.) The author reinforced an industry-wide recognition about how steel’s high strength-to-weight ratio creates massive, wide-open spaces (without columns) are perfect as sound stages for both live and recorded performances. I could go on and on about the benefits of steel construction in creating affordable large facilities (read more here), but the fact that studios all over the world are turning to steel engineering says it all.

Most Canadians grew up watching a combination of CBC shows (the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, or CRTC, mandates a proportion of original Canadian content on the airwaves) or more slick American productions. With the preponderance of American sitcoms and dramas, most of us would be remiss in thinking that the Canadian film and television industry was quite small. It is, however, quite extensive, and has grown even larger with the number of productions that moved to Toronto or Vancouver over the last decade to take advantage of a lucrative exchange rate.

The Canadian film, television and video production industry is huge business. Hollywood moved north and outsourced no fewer than 1,500 film and television productions to Canada. According to Statistics Canada, the activity generated $11.27 billion in gross revenue in 2021 alone (with a 4.2% in operating profit margin and salaries and wages of $3.85 billion). It also generated 6.6 thousand jobs between April 2020 and March 2021, of which 4.14 thousand consisted of people directly employed in that segment and 2.46 thousand were spin-off jobs.

Why are so many movies still being shot in Canada? A lower dollar is a big factor, but not the only one. According to a 2006 Slate article, “producers found that Vancouver could double for middle America, Toronto could stand in for New York City (especially if the director avoids wide shots), and Calgary can pass for the American West.”

Aside from loving any shoutout to all the steel builders (like us) in the world, I wanted to share some of my own experience in building for the film industry. Double Black Construction completed a second phase for Big Sky Studios in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Our role was completing the two largest soundstages, each 15,000-square-foot areas with 45-foot ceilings at the back of the facility. These soundstages are the real workhorses for the studio, hosting the majority of live and recorded sessions, with full lighting and sound facilities that turn any production into movie quality. Ed Kolic, CEO of Big Sky Studios and Eight Avenue Development Group, the company behind the facility development, expects to drive $150-million-to-$200 million in production volume out of their stages. Take a virtual tour and read about our work on the Big Sky Studios project.

Kolic is optimistic about the prospects for the studio and bookings have increased steadily since the final soundstages were completed. He says they’re ready to support “A-grade $30-million-to-$50-million productions” in a local industry set to create 3,500 full-time jobs within the province. By comparison, in 1998, when the City of Winnipeg created a position of manager of film and special events, the province did “about $7 million worth of film and TV production work annually. At the time, it was seen as a great accomplishment. Last year, the industry was doing $1 million per day in production.”

• Canada's New Big Sky Studios Joins Forces with William F. White International
• Big Plans Hopes Hinge on Support for Big Sky

Double Black Construction builds industrial and commercial steel buildings all over Canada and the U.S. for a wide range of purposes. Building a film studio was definitely a first for us and one of our most interesting projects. We’re really proud of the work we’ve done with the client – being witness to the amazing success they’ve been having since in luring production companies away from American cities to the Canadian Prairies where lower costs and a better dollar exchange mean greater value for any budget. I can imagine it won’t be long before Winnipeg is named alongside Toronto and Vancouver as the country’s major filming centres and production hubs.

Steel engineering is the ideal choice for filming environments that require heightened security and structural protection against fire. It’s high strength and structural designs are most suitable for handling all infrastructure (such as lighting, audio, electrical and special effect systems) that any theatre-grade feature film requires. Everything is possible when you build with steel. We can help bring your imagination and vision to reality. Speak with us at (833) 322-2722 or send us a message online and we’ll provide you with a free consultation and quote.

John Lohan has over 15 years of experience designing, engineering and installing over 500 metal buildings for architects and clients across North America and the globe. He’s managed all aspects of steel building construction, including material logistics and managing local and foreign construction teams. John also has special expertise in concrete foundation and excavation. He can be contacted at Double Black Construction at (833) 322-2722, by email at john@DoubleBlackConstruction.com or on LinkedIn.