Moving video production business to Edmonton?

Kegan

Kegan

Spam Assassin Mod
Hey everyone,

I live in Ontario and have spent the last year or two building up my video production business and now a desire for change seems to be getting the best of me.

I've heard great things about moving to Edmonton and the opportunity for growth and expansion is huge now, so I'm considering moving my business out there to see if I can provide for myself and run it successfully.

I have a cousin who moved out there with his fiance and says that I have a place to stay if I want to check out the area, competition and research if there's any real need for video production in the area (commercials, corporate videos, training videos, weddings, etc). I've given it serious thought and I want to look into it, but does anyone live in Edmonton or Alberta in general that could give me some advice on how to proceed forward (ie - checking out competition, need, best area to go to)?

It might not be a smart move, but then again with business booming over there..it can't hurt to check it out.

Any advice/thoughts is greatly appreciated,

Kegan
 
Tom,

I was planning on moving to LA, but at the moment there's more incentive for me to stay in Canada - for video production anyway. From what I've researched, there seems to be less competition for video production and the list of contacts I've made here continues to grow.

It is my hope, to at some point move to LA, but at the moment it seems more lucrative to stay in Canada. I do still want to pursue my career in film, but for now video production is what is bringing in the cash.

I also have my prostate cancer documentary and the promotion of the feature I worked on earlier this year, keeping me in Canada for now.

-Kegan

EDIT TO ADD: Most of the LA talk was actually for a film camp I was going to be teaching at UCLA this summer. Due to some personal concerns, I have decided that I couldn't do it this summer. However, I was offered it for next summer if at that point I choose to go there to work.
 
Last edited:
Kegan Sant said:
Hey everyone,

I live in Ontario and have spent the last year or two building up my video production business and now a desire for change seems to be getting the best of me.

I've heard great things about moving to Edmonton and the opportunity for growth and expansion is huge now, so I'm considering moving my business out there to see if I can provide for myself and run it successfully.

I have a cousin who moved out there with his fiance and says that I have a place to stay if I want to check out the area, competition and research if there's any real need for video production in the area (commercials, corporate videos, training videos, weddings, etc). I've given it serious thought and I want to look into it, but does anyone live in Edmonton or Alberta in general that could give me some advice on how to proceed forward (ie - checking out competition, need, best area to go to)?

It might not be a smart move, but then again with business booming over there..it can't hurt to check it out.

Any advice/thoughts is greatly appreciated,

Kegan
Click to expand...

I actually may be moving there as well. My wife is from there and I spent 6 months in Edmonton while she had our baby. Sherwood Park, the main suburb outside Edmonton, has expanded 5-fold since I've been visiting there because of the oil boom. There are lots of young couples so I'm sure there will be lots of opportunity for wedding videos. And with all those people I'm sure there will be plenty of corporate work needed too...One thing I learned too is that you don't need a permit to shoot anywhere in Edmonton! I'm actually moving as an experiment. I cut mainly trailers and promos, and haven't seen a client face to face in several years, which made me think I could do this job from anywhere, so I'm going to see if I can do it from there. I'll basically have footage fedex'd to me and then upload my work when it's done. If I can get a fast enough connection I may even go completely online. It's cheaper to live there than here (I already own a house there), and I won't have to worry about health care and quality schooling for the little one. The biggest drawback is the bloody cold!
 
Hm, that definitely sounds interesting. It seems like you're able to be very mobile with your work - depending on how fast the internet connections are there.

-Kegan

* - I also PM'd you.
 
So far, I have applied for information/jobs at 11 video production companies in Edmonton. At least in the hopes that one of those will respond to give me some more information on the availability of work, the frequency of work I should expect and how the market is doing there.

-Kegan
 
Well, some interest has been generated by a company called Chandran Media (anyone work for them currently or have in the past?) They seem fairly large, though their website seems vague in what they actually do.

Both Calgary and Toronto locations were offered, but I'm continuing my search for what I hope to be more lucrative than a camera operator position.

-Kegan
 
Yeah, get a warm jacket.

Have you thought of Calgary instead? I think their growing faster than Edmonton is.
 
I'm open to ideas. Calgary has lately become an option, simply because of this job position that I may get.

I've just realized that, I'm single, with no kids and no real restrictions holding me to a specific location. If there's money to be made out west, then why not give it a shot?

-Kegan
 
Calgary is a nicer city than Edmonton, not that that's a knock against Edmonton, I've just heard that from a lot of people that moved to Calgary from there that there is a lot more options and a lot more stuff to do. I lived in Calgary for a year, wasn't my thing but the city is nice and there was always stuff going on.
 
I will look into Calgary more, but I guess as a more broad question...does anyone have ideas/suggestions about finding jobs in other places BEFORE moving? I haven't moved provinces or out of country for work, so all I know is finding jobs I'm able to drive to for an interview.

Sort of a daunting task.

Thanks,

Kegan
 
Is there likely to be more work in Edmonton than one of the bigger cities in Ontario? I don't know personally, but a couple of years ago when I was working in Vancouver I only ever heard it referred to as "Deadmonton".

I would have thought Vancouver would be the place to go for production work - though I don't know, has the higher value of the Loonie against the Dollar cut into the work that the Yanks used to send up North?
 
Well, Alberta in general is booming! Business is expanding at a pretty fast rate as far as I know. Maybe not specifically for production work, but that is what I'm hoping for..

-Kegan
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top