John Hunter, the Scot said to be the founder of scientific surgery and the inspiration behind Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, spent his days collecting specimens and his nights robbing graves in 18th-century London. But the setting itself could be 21st-century Victoria B次元官网网址� at least when it comes to filmmaking.

When Greater Victoria film commissioner Kathleen Gilbert heard the rumour director David Cronenberg plans to adapt a book on HunterB次元官网网址檚 life for television, the first thing she did, like any good researcher, was turn to the Internet.

B次元官网网址�(I) went on Google Street View and drove down the streets of London and Scotland,B次元官网网址� she said.

Gilbert found where Hunter had lived, collected images of the towns and then matched them to comparable sites around Greater Victoria. She packaged them together for Cronenberg in hopes of enticing Knifeman producers to locations in the Capital Region.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e proactive,B次元官网网址� said Gilbert, who was a location manager for 20 years prior to taking on her current role in 2010. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 just sit here and wait for the phone to ring.B次元官网网址�

If all goes as planned, CronenbergB次元官网网址檚 team will appreciate the effort that went into GilbertB次元官网网址檚 pitch. It worked for the producers of Strange Magic, last yearB次元官网网址檚 TV movie on the life of English writer J.K. Rowling, which used local locations, including Bastion Square, to substitute for the QueenB次元官网网址檚 country.

B次元官网网址淵ou donB次元官网网址檛 need to travel to Europe to shoot Europe. Europe is a two-hour flight from L.A.,B次元官网网址� Gilbert said.

ItB次元官网网址檚 a line used by the lone, full-time employee of the Vancouver Island South Film and Media Commission to lure prospective U.S. filmmakers to Victoria-area locales.

The commission has a database of an estimated 10,000 registered locations, both private and public.

If producers like what they see, Gilbert follows up the locations package with a local crew list and a welcome package B次元官网网址� a run-down of everything crews need to know about filming in Greater Victoria, from contacts for immigration to rug rentals.

Gilbert regularly attends one-on-one pitching sessions and makes annual appearances at the Locations Expo and the Produced By Conference, a trade show for film commissioners held each spring in Culver City, Calif.

B次元官网网址淚 canB次元官网网址檛 compete with Quebec City (as a proxy for Europe), but itB次元官网网址檚 easy to get here from L.A. and weB次元官网网址檙e in the same time zone. Our weather is a lot better than most other parts of Canada. More sunshine and less rain than Vancouver,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭he other thing thatB次元官网网址檚 a really big sell for producers: everything is close. I can get you almost every location within a half-an-hour of each other and most of them within 10 minutes.B次元官网网址�

Despite the perks, including the federal film or video production services tax credit and the film incentive B.C. program for tax credits, the Victoria film industry has taken a hit since the Capital Region was removed from the distant location regional tax credit, a provincial program that offers a six-per-cent rebate to productions shot outside established film-production areas in B.C. (the Lower Mainland is the other area).

Since 2006, direct local spending from film shoots B次元官网网址� on items such as hotels, food, equipment rentals and local crew wages B次元官网网址� plummeted from about $20 million to $7 million annually.

Barbara Coultish, founder of Victoria talent and modelling agency Coultish Management, is among those trying to reinvigorate the local film industry. Coultish, a former member of the commissionB次元官网网址檚 board of directors, was asked to return after the industry fell into a slump.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 one of those industries that Victoria desperately needs to bring back, and weB次元官网网址檙e all pushing to make it grow again,B次元官网网址� Coultish said, noting the range of trades that benefit from film productions B次元官网网址� be it set-building or other behind-the-scenes workers.

Coultish said the loss of the distant location credit is one of the key factors in the decline.

B次元官网网址�(Productions) have been going everywhere but here and itB次元官网网址檚 caused a lot of grief for a lot of us,B次元官网网址� Coultish said. B次元官网网址淪ix per cent on a few million dollars is huge. B次元官网网址� If that went away I think we would see this industry flourish again really quickly. (Crews) love shooting here, but theyB次元官网网址檙e going to go where they can save money. B次元官网网址� ItB次元官网网址檚 been rough. ThatB次元官网网址檚 for sure.B次元官网网址�

After a flurry of film activity in the fall and a bit of a winter lull, the outlook for summer productions is positive, Coultish said. ItB次元官网网址檚 a hope Gilbert is working hard to realize, one pitch at a time.

B次元官网网址淔ingers crossed,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淢aybe David Cronenberg will be shooting here sometime in the near future.B次元官网网址�

nnorth@saanichnews.com

Most shot location around town

Since The Crimson Paradise was filmed at Hatley Castle in 1933, Royal Roads University continues to be the regionB次元官网网址檚 most shot location.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e happy to welcome film production crews, happy to showcase the national historic site,B次元官网网址� said Doug Ozeroff, spokesperson for the university. B次元官网网址淚 can see why itB次元官网网址檚 been so popular. B次元官网网址� Hatley Castle: thatB次元官网网址檚 the money shot.B次元官网网址�

While Royal RoadsB次元官网网址� mandate is to maintain educational standards for students, the productions are welcomed, Ozeroff added. Crews are all self-contained and, in most cases, leave without leaving a trace of their shoot, he said.

Top 3 locations

B次元官网网址� Royal Roads University, Colwood

B次元官网网址� Bastion Square and lower Johnson Street, Victoria

B次元官网网址� The Uplands, Oak Bay

Register your home as a location

The commission relies on residents registering their homes B次元官网网址� from Uplands mansions to apartment suites B次元官网网址� in its locations database. The homes of young families, most often character houses in VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 Fairfield or Fernwood neighbourhoods, account for about 60 per cent of the locations used. For more information on how to register your home, visit filmvictoria.com.

Cutting costs

B.C. Ferries has agreed to a 10-per-cent discount for film industry trucks, which generally come with a ferry fare of about $25,000 per production. The commission has also been in talks with the City of Victoria to reduce the parking rates, bills that Gilbert has seen as high as $50,000 in her time as a location manager.

Cost of the commission

The Vancouver Island South Film and Media Commission set a budget of $174,298 for 2012. Municipal grant funding wonB次元官网网址檛 be confirmed until budgets are due later in the spring. In 2010, the commission received $42,246 in provincial grants and contributions, as well as $88,400 in grants from area municipalities. This spring the commission asked for $3,000 from Oak Bay, $35,700 from Saanich, $1,000 from Esquimalt and $45,000 from the City of Victoria.