Construction cranes looming over the Gaslight District on Grand Avenue, a proposal to build two towering high rises on Water Street, condos coming to the historic textile mill in Hespeler and another pair of high rises planned for the former Dickson Bowl property on Ainslie; it all has some residents wondering if the city’s changing landscape is going to hinder its chances of attracting film and television productions that have made Cambridge one of the top locations in Ontario for filming.
It’s a question Devon Hogue gets asked a lot these days, and the answer she always gives is an unequivocal “no.”
The business information officer and film liaison for Cambridge gave a recent talk to the Probus Club of Cambridge touching on that very subject and highlighting how visual effects play an important role in almost every production that comes here.
“I have no concern at all about the changing landscape caused by development because that’s what’s best for our community,” Hogue says.
Hogue offers an example of what she means by referring to a scene from an episode of the Prime series American Gods that featured over 80 local extras marching across the Main Street bridge in downtown Galt.
“They filmed in Queen’s Square and they have this beautiful shot across the main street bridge looking down to Wellington Street and they’ve got this huge Vulcan factory which does not exist,” Hogue says.
“We don’t even take signs down for them anymore,” she laughs. “They don’t worry about that in the least because it’s so easy to take care of in post-production.
“Ten years ago it would have been a concern, but these days not at all.”
And Hogue says the need for visual effects to clean up a scene can only be a good thing for the film industry because they need those post-production jobs.
“That’s the only way that Toronto can stand in for New York City.”
Location manager John Rakich, who has worked with Hogue on numerous occasions to set up film shoots, says a lot of it is dependent on a film or television show’s budget.
While major productions can utilize CGI to erase anything they don’t want in the frame, smaller productions might not have that resource. But he doesn't believe development will deter those productions from filming here.
The president of the Location Managers Guild International responded to CambridgeToday by email saying, based on his knowledge of filming in Cambridge, and especially the section of Galt that gets used quite frequently for film shoots, he agrees with Hogue.
“I don’t see development being an immediate concern to hindering Cambridge for consideration,” Rakich says.
And while Cambridge has been made to look like London, Paris and Berlin in past shoots, it most frequently stands in as small-town, middle America for most productions that arrive here these days.
Some recent shoots didn’t even use the riverscape the city is known for.
Anyone who’s seen The Queen’s Gambit might recognize the home on Brant Road used for Beth Harmon’s rural Kentucky home.
The last shoot to happen in Cambridge was for an upcoming film called Killer Deal, and much of it was filmed on Cedarbrook Crescent over two weeks in March.
Hogue only sees interest in Cambridge growing with demand for content across streaming platforms.
“The exciting thing is it’s not just Netflix any more,” she says, noting platforms like Hulu, Apple TV, and Prime, which all have productions underway in Ontario. “Disney+ doing a lot of work in Ontario too now which is great to see.”
Over the last few years, the city’s residents have had a hand in selling its attributes.
The campaign to #CaptureCambridge encourages residents to act as film location scouts and submit their photos of unique parts of the city.
"Help a girl out," Hogue laughs, adding she was surprised by some submissions that pointed out sites she never knew existed.
“We really have some amazing places,” she says. “It’s something we need to cherish and promote.”
The film office’s Interactive Story Map also points out locations of local film and television shoots down to specific scenes in each episode.
“It just ends up being a great way to build up that community pride,” says Hogue.
