Vancouver International Film Festival (9/23-10/10/04).

Forget the parties, put down that martini, the West Coast film industry has more serious things on its collective mind "B.C.'s filmmaking community," says Trade Forum producer Melanie Friesen, "is facing some of the toughest market conditions yet." A more robust Canadian dollar, increased global competition, better tax credits in other provinces and U.S. financial incentives to keep American production at home have all taken their toll The film industry in this province is down 25 per cent over last year, and those who work in it are searching for new ways of doing business. This is where the 19th Annual Film & Television Trade Forum comes in. For four days in September (22-25), amid the bustle of the Vancouver International Film Festival, 1,000 delegates, guest speakers and the media talk about everything from adapting material for the screen, to international co-productions, to the business of low-budget episodic television.

One of the most interesting discussions centered on the rapidly growing DVD market and the implications for filmmakers everywhere. As of June of 2004, DVD sales in Canada have risen by 100 per cent over last year. and the majority of people with DVD players say they d rather watch movies at home on DVD than see them in theatres. The DVD is sexy, says Martin Wragg, Canadian V.P. and managing director of MGM. "It's suddenly become a product that you are proud to own as opposed to something that you have in a box hidden away." Read VHS. Although the format still accounts for 24 per cent of Home Entertainment sales, Wragg is hardly a fan. "If you look at it, a VHS is not a particularly attractive piece of kit," he says with his Scottish lilt. "It's big and it's clunky and it falls to pieces."

"The adaptation rate for DVD is amazing," says Linda Sanderson, V.P. of purchasing at Rogers Video. "We got into it at the very beginning, around 1997 and all of a sudden 2000 hit and it's been a wild ride ever since. DVDs went from 10 per cent of our rental business to over 90 per cent, and they account for almost 100 per cent of the movies that we sell." In fact, the DVD market is moving so quickly it's starting to drive the film business. "Home Entertainment is making its own product," says Wragg. "Species 1 and 2, for example, were theatrical releases and very successful for us. So we just made Species 3. It had a $5-million budget, but it was made as a straight-to-DVD release."

Insight Film & Video CEO Kirk Shaw is doing his best to ignore his insistently ringing mobile. The Vancouver production company is one of the busiest in the city. Last year, among other projects, they completed 10 movies, four of which went straight to DVD in the U.S. "What we've seen happen," Shaw explains, "is that the DVD companies are willing to pay larger amounts [in distribution advances] for bigger names. So that there is more pressure to get a better cast ensemble that will draw the public to the product."

Shaw believes that the DVD market is about to undergo a significant change. "t think we are going to see sponsored collaborations," he predicts, "like Proctor & Gamble and Playboy movie releases. Certain publishing companies, for example, own the space beside the cash register at every Wal-Mart and they're filling it right now with magazines. I think they'll soon fill it with DVDs that somehow relate to the magazine." Most importantly, they must appeal to the public. "When DVDs first started coming out," says Sanderson, "the titles that sold the best were the big action ones, with huge explosions on screen. We call them testosterone movies." Males made up the vast majority of the audience, and the product was marketed accordingly. "In the old days," recalls Wragg, "the joke was, if you wanted to sell your video to a guy, you put a tit, a gun or a helicopter on the cover. All three, and it was a blockbuster."

Linda Sanderson has some thoughts on what makes a DVD sell. "If the consumer hasn't heard of the movie before, or they don't know the actors, they need a reason to take a chance on it." In other words, package the film so that looks like somebody actually put some thought into it. One of her favourites is The Butterfly Effect. "It seems like people lean towards a darker palette with rich reds and gold." So, forget white, which for some reason or another turns people off, and think sex appeal. "Even though people are not inclined to look at the extra features, it is a big selling point, so give the DVD added value with something that people wouldn't get if they went to a theatre to watch it."

Include material on the making of the film, interviews with cast members, even outtakes. "Create something of a buzz around the product and be every bit as creative as you were with the production of the film," says Sanderson. Particularly for films with a limited publicity budget. And last, but hardly least, "Practice aggressive pricing." The fastest growing section of the market is DMDs under $15, a price that allows the public to buy even more of them and continue to feed their seemingly insatiable DMD appetite. "You now see them in grocery stores, pharmacies, even truck stops," says Martin Wragg. "Anywhere that has a door that opens and human life form that goes inside should be able to sell DVDs. And even if it's not a human life form, but they have some cash in their pocket, that'll do as well."