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Kingston and the Film Location Scout Project

In their never-ending quest to pump fresh, new revenue into Kingston's local economy, the Kingston Economic Development Corp. has been working closely with local Kingston start-up Softlight to get the area a piece of the multi-billion-dollar pie that has become the world film industry.

Softlight, one of the region's newest high-tech ventures, was unveiled at a noon ceremony held at Fort Henry, May 19, 2000. The contrast of old and new was the theme of the day as many of the area's key information technology players hob-knobbed amidst the historic walls of Kingston's famous fortress. And so, on May 19, 2000, in a tent on the main parade ground, brothers Hagan and Narath Carlile and the project's many supporters unveiled the Film Scout initiative.

This film location database, first introduced last fall, promises to showcase Kingston and the Greater Kingston Area and, hopefully, attract revenue from the film industry at large. The strategy was developed by using what has since grown into a complete online pictorial showcase of Kingston's historic and scenic hotspots. Over 5,000 images are freely available to film executives and producers scouting potential locations for feature film projects.

Film execs can create a profile for themselves when they visit the site and use a 'shopping basket' system to 'collect' images of possible filming locations. When they log back on at a later date, they have the opportunity to pick up where they left off and continue adding to their collection. When their scouting is done, they can visit a central location where a handy printable version of their choices can be viewed and printed. At the time this article was prepared, some 80 locations had already been pictured and chronicled in the Film Location Scout database for Kingston using both multiple still views and panoramas.

With detailed images and slick design, Softlight has created a great tool for any community interested in attracting the attention of the film industry.

The front page of the site credits sponsors KEDCO, VIA Rail, Fort Henry, InterNet Kingston, Kingston Chamber of Commerce and 1000 Islands Cruises, many of whom were instrumental in mounting the festivities at the Fort.

The virtual tour of Kingston has been online since May 19, 2000, and features a full complement of virtual reality panoramic images done in QuickTime format. This means that location images can be viewed at a full 360 degrees, enhancing the overall experience for would-be film scouts. Folks who surf in can also peruse an interactive map of Kingston which returns a detailed view of each location they click on. And the Location Scout interactive map requires no refolding when you're done!

As the only virtual reality tour of Kingston and area, the Film Scout site started out targeting only the film industry but applications for tourism and business development were quickly recognized. To exploit these opportunities, there will soon be specific online tours geared to families, seniors, couples and new Queen's University students.

Softlight was one of the seven start-up companies to receive federal government Young Navigator awards celebrating the dedication and creativity shown in their respective ventures.

Check the site out for yourself at its current location: http://softlight.kingston.net/ - The Scout demo can be found under 'Products'.