The concept for the black hallways, modular offices and insulated 1,000-square-foot soundstage came from inMotion president Pat McGowan. He sketched plans after first strolling through the former golf facility on Boyd Avenue in October. InMotion moved in just four months later.
To stay afloat, privately held inMotion multiplies its income streams. Clients include Ethiopian education officials updating curricula, tech firms, and – shortly – local artists paying to display their wares on the walls.
InMotion also just expanded into Toronto after acquiring production company Capricorn8 in mid-June, which will buttress the entertainment side of inMotion’s business.
Mr. McGowan’s recipe for profits, and tripling his staff to 50 in three years?
“Compelling content,” the 20-year veteran says. “We have smart, talented, dynamic people here for the long run.”
Roch Brunette, the outgoing general manager of the Ottawa-Gatineau Film and Television Corp., is touting inMotion’s space as an option for the local film industry, which posted $23 million in direct spending citywide in 2010.
The OGFT and undisclosed partners are building a business plan for a multi-purpose production facility. The public reveal is a few months away, Mr. Brunette says, but “indications are positive.”
“The size of the inMotion studio is impressive, and we have two or three other companies in Ottawa that have their own infrastructure,” says Mr. Brunette. But, he adds, the region’s lack of space still comes up in conversations with clients.
One local talent agency confirms it’s stretching for locations.
“We’re starting a shoot for a francophone television series,” says Kate Mensour, founder of the 25-year-old Mensour Agency, “and they’re looking for 5,000 square feet because they have a space guaranteed for this summer, but not next summer.”
But every new space in Ottawa helps, she adds.
“The more that gets done in town, the more that is built up, the better it is across the board for everybody.”
