The labor shortage that is plaguing the economic recovery in Quebec does not spare the audiovisual industry, where artisans and technicians had yet to elbow it not so long ago to make their place there.
This paradigm shift worries some actors in the field: some productions have already had to be postponed due to lack of personnel.
This is the case of KOTV, one of the biggest companies in Quebec in terms of TV fiction, which has resigned itself to postponing the filming of a web series initially scheduled for this fall until next spring. “The labor shortage is widespread in all trades. As we can no longer find anyone, there are second assistants who become first assistants, props who become chief props, even if they lack experience ”, deplores the vice-president of the production house, Louis-Philippe Drolet , who says he also had to call in reinforcement of retired technicians this summer.
Obviously, COVID-19 is no stranger to this uproar in the fight on TV and film sets. But it is not because the environment was deserted during the pandemic; on the contrary, the main union in the sector, the Alliance québécoise des technicians de l’image et du son (AQTIS), has recorded an increase in its membership in recent months.
Rather, the problem is that technical staff are struggling to keep up with post-crisis demand. Series and film productions abound, among other things because of the delays caused by their forced shutdown in the first days of the pandemic. “Even though we were able to resume our activities in July 2020, we weren’t in a position to resume everything: summer had already started and the filming season lasts as long as possible until November. Everything that was supposed to be shot in April, May and June [2020] has been on the shelves until this year, ”explains Louis-Philippe Drolet, from KOTV. “So there is a duplication at the moment, with the production of this year and that which was initially planned last year. “
Do more with less
Added to this is the new situation in the TV industry which has nothing to do with the pandemic. Indeed, there has never been so much drama and variety on a large scale in Quebec since Bell bought the Noovo channel and launched its Crave platform in French. An entry on the scene to which Radio-Canada and Quebecor responded by also improving their offer.
That said, there is not only good in this situation, however notes Christian Lemay, president of AQTIS. “There are more productions in Quebec, but the budget envelope remains the same. It is only more spread out. And that, of course, has consequences on working conditions. “
Often contract workers and freelancers, many members of AQTIS are used to tolerating a certain instability. They therefore first found their account in this shortage, the scarcity of labor coupled with the increase in demand helping to maintain upward pressure on wages.
However, many now foresee that the shortage will not be just a parenthesis, fearing by the very fact that overtime will become the norm on the sets. “How long can we hold out at this rate?” In addition, health measures are already making our work more difficult. Let’s say that there are several members who can’t wait for the holidays to take a break, ”says Mr. Lemay.
The union leader is of the opinion that the retention of artisans requires the provision of conditions allowing a better work-family balance, among other things.
Otherwise, what’s the point of working on Quebec sets when the big Hollywood productions still offer salaries that are 10% to 30% higher? he asks himself.
American competition
Moreover, American filming monopolized a significant portion of the field’s workforce this summer in Montreal, an element that should not be overlooked when the time comes to take a look at the current shortage. Nothing to help: there has even been a 40% increase in the number of foreign shoots in the metropolis this year, according to the Quebec Media Production Association (AQPM).
Praised for the economic spinoffs they generate, are American filming now an invasive species in Quebec’s cultural ecosystem? The CEO of the AQPM, Hélène Messier, does not go that far, preferring to advocate for budgets that allow them to compete with the big studios. “When you attract foreign shoots, you have to be aware of the pressure it exerts. […] We can not only encourage the arrival of foreign shoots by omitting the effects that it will have on national production, ”she says.