While some may consider film crews a disruption to the downtown, Deb Dalziel of Fergus Elora Tourism says there is another side to the story.
As Salem Falls premiered in February, the Fergus Grand theatre was packed with locals seeing how their town looked on the big screen.
But the filming itself also left its mark on the local community.
Dalziel considers her role leading up to the filming as relatively small. Part of that is working with film development crews, primarily film scouts, scene locators and those interested in filming or photography.
“It could be still shots or interiors. In this particular case, we are thrilled they chose to film the majority of Salem Falls right here in Fergus and the surrounding area,” she said.
Dalziel had the opportunity to work with location manager A.J. Hordal through the course of summer prior to the film crew arriving.
Hordal would explain a period facility or type of location he was looking for (a courthouse with a 1950s look, for example) that matched segments from the book.
Dalziel said, in return, “I tried to fuel him with lots of ideas as far as where the story goes and locations such as waterfalls, interiors or stone buildings, streetscapes or something he may not have had the opportunity to find on his own.
“It was a great crew to work with, but I was actually in the U.K. for the majority of the filming. I just came back in for the tail end of the shoot.”
There were so many good News stories prior to and during the filming, Dalziel said.
“The crew were absolutely captivated by the business community.”
Director Brad Walsh and Hordal had great stories about a lot of the businesses.
“A lot of merchants were very sensitive to what the film crew was going through,” said Dalziel.
Because of the hot weather, a number of the crew would sneak into the lobby of the Grand Theatre to cool down.
“The crew was really engaging to work with. I think both the crew and the community really had a good time.”
Economic spin-offs
Dalziel said having film crews in town have an incredible value to the community.
“They provide a perspective to the quality of life and what we have available here in the community, the beautiful location and the spectacular backdrops we have,” she said.
As for what businesses recoup, “Sometimes it is really hard and intangible to determine.”
In a case such as this, Dalziel said Walsh noted his crew was not even making use of its catering facilities “because they absolutely loved places such as The Fountainhead. They loved the organics and vegetarian shops. They loved the takeout available at Fraberts.”
Dalziel added, “The spin-off that a lot businesses saw was an increase in the day-to-day daily traffic of the film crew. It was great.”
