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Doors Open, presented by Great Gulf, is about to hit Toronto for its 19th annual event—next weekend—on May 26th and May 27th. Last week, we highlighted four Film and Architecture Programs, as well as several Film Festival Screenings, on offer as a part of this year's theme, the city's film and television industry, while in our first preview, we covered the places where you can enjoy entertainment like heritage cinemas and performance venues.
Today we have a hand-picked list of places which are all about making television shows, movies, and games.
At Deluxe Toronto, 901 King Street West, visitors will be able to experience first hand how TV shows and feature films come together in the post-production process. Visitors will get a chance to see how colour correction and sound is crucial in the finals stages of completing a movie or television series. The building will be open for access (with prior registration) both Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM with final admittance at 4 PM. During open hours, there will be 30 minute tours taking place which have limited capacity, so registration is necessary. Register here if you plan on attending.
If you are at Deluxe, you may want to check out SPINVFX which creates visual effects for films and shows. It's located in suite 501 of the same building, and its hourly tours are currently fully registered, but you may want to see if there are any no-shows. Click the link above for contact info.
*Please note interior photography and film is not permitted at either of these venues.
Filmport Studio, 65 Heward Avenue, is a media/broadcasting facility and pioneer in the emerging film industry of Toronto. The building will be open for access both Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM with final admittance at 4 PM. Entering through Filmport's atrium, visitors will journey through years of film history, culture, art, and allure. Stepping back through nearly 50 years of Toronto filmmaking heritage, guests will see current productions in the works and past productions that have made Filmport an important part of the Toronto television, film and media industry.
*Interior photography and film is permitted at this site (including tripods).
House of VR, 639 Queen Street West, is Toronto's premier Virtual Reality lounge and event space. This site will be open for public access on both the Saturday and Sunday from 12 PM to 5 PM with final admittance at 5 PM. Visitors to House of VR will experience state-of-the-art Augmented Reality artwork where physical works of art come to life digitally. Using the Eyejack app, visitors will view three large-scale wall murals in an augmented reality state. Doors Open visitors can also experience a one-of-a-kind pillow lounge with hand-gesture controlled lighting. Fun for all ages, House of VR aims to "show people the future!"
*Interior photography and film is permitted at this site (including tripods).
Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT), 1137 Dupont Street, is an artist-run charitable organization dedicated to media arts education and production resources. This site is open for public access only on Saturday May 26th, from 10 AM to 5 PM with final admittance at 4:30 PM. LIFT exists to provide support and encouragement for independent filmmakers and artists through affordable access to production, post-production and professional development. Visitors to LIFT will see unique facilities and resources devoted to independent filmmaking such as: analogue optical printers, animation stands, sound recording studios, darkroom facilities and workshop classrooms. Volunteers will also be on hand to answer questions about LIFT's mission and resources.
*Please note only interior photography is permitted at this site without tripod.
Malabar Ltd. Costume Warehouse, 122 Brock Avenue, is home to over 30,000 historical costumes. The costumes are manufactured by Malabar staff in Toronto and rented throughout North America for opera and theatre productions, as well as occasionally for film and television. Visitors will be amazed by the sheer volume of costumes to be seen in the warehouse, they will learn about the manufacturing process and compare original costume design sketches to their finished products. Malabar staff, who have various backgrounds in costuming, make-up art and theatre, will be on-site to answer any questions. This site is open for public access on both Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM with final admittance at 4:30 PM.
Sim Lighting + Grip, 80 Commissoners Street, is a warehouse for lighting systems which illuminate movie sets all across Toronto. This facility will be open to the public on both Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM to 5: PM with final admittance at 4 PM. Visitors will be able to see generators, cabling, and lighting systems that are used to light up TV and movie sets. Holding more than 500,000 items, this warehouse has supplied Toronto based productions such as Suits, Murdoch Mysteries, Degrassi, 12 Monkeys and The Expanse.
*Interior photography and film is permitted at this site (including tripods).
Sim Post Sound, 260 King Street East, is a production sound studio. This site will serve visitors on both Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM with final admittance at 4 PM. This post production sound facility works with projects ranging from film, VR, television, documentaries, lifestyle and children's programming, as well as commercials. Sim Post Sound invites visitors in to see their mixing theatres, recording studios and sound editing facilities where award-winning professionals design and develop the soundtracks to TV series and movies.
*Please note interior photography and film is not permitted at this site.
Located in the heart of the Junction Triangle at 224 Wallace Avenue, stands Ubisoft Toronto, creator of what’s next in AAA video games. The Toronto team has contributed to award-winning Ubisoft brands such as Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Watch Dogs. This Performance Capture Studio has 80 Vicon cameras designed to capture the movements of actors, set props and even animals. For the first time ever, the Performance Capture Studio at Ubisoft Toronto is opening its doors to the public. Visitors can explore the 8,000 square foot studio where the Ubisoft team bring stories to life to deliver immersive entertainment experiences for games, film and television. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn more about the custom performance capture technology during guided 30-minute tours, consisting of live demos and a Q&A session. Registration is required for this site, please register for tours in advance here. This location will be open both Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM with the last admittance at 4:30 PM. The Performance Capture Studio is located at the far north end of the building and has a separate exterior entrance.
*Interior photography and film is permitted at this site (including tripods).
UrbanArts, a transformed, vibrant community space at 5 Bartonville Avenue East in Weston, features a recording studio, dance studio, digital arts lab, community garden and a chef’s kitchen. This site will be open for public access both Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM with the final admittance at 5 PM. The space was developed with input from youth in the neighbourhood who wanted to see a facility designed with them and their artistic interests in mind. Visitors are invited to learn about UrbanArts, meet its staff and program facilitators, tour the facility and hear from current participants and volunteers. There will be many ways to participate—live demos, beat creation, dance lessons, logo designing and more. There will be interactive tours throughout the day, but non-scheduled.
*Interior photography and film is permitted at this site (including tripods).
The William F. White Centre at 800 Islington Avenue is a world-class facility committed to nurturing the next generation of Canadian content creators, and to providing a training centre for student, indie and emerging filmmakers. This site will be open for public access both Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM with the final admittance at 4 PM. Get up close and personal with the wide variety of rental equipment used in filmmaking and see where it is stored. There are unscheduled tours taking place over the course of both days.
*Please note interior photography only is permitted at this site without a tripod.
Next week before the event we will be back with our selection of other must-see venues. In the meantime, for more information, maps, and schedules for this year's event, visit the official website which continues to be updated. If located in Toronto, you can also dial 311.
Once Doors Open is on, we hope you'll post some of your photos in our dedicated Forum thread.
