SOS Depot - The Reuse Depot for Ontario Film & TV

Mission Statement

When a show ends, every production is faced with the same dilemma.

What to do with the accrued assets, the flats, the jacks, the whalers, the structural beams, the subfloor…

Do you have the time, space and crew to conduct a sale or find a second user? Chances are you don’t, yet sending materials to land-fill is not a great option due to the huge cost and well… the environment.

Maintaining an organized lockup, to house commonly used construction assets and materials for reuse, has been deemed a challenging economic venture, but SOS DEPOT wants to disrupt this notion and shift the paradigm. For too long, materials have systematically been discarded, needlessly contributing to land fill which increases the carbon footprint, and contributes directly to Climate Change. And it is just so wasteful!

The intent of the SOS DEPOT is to build a viable not-for-profit business model that services material reuse and circular design-build within the film industry. This in turn will help normalize and amplify creative, fiscal and environmental viability, at the same time as substantially diminishing wastefulness and land-fill.

The Toronto-based pilot project will aim to demonstrate that the Toronto industry is keen to make use of this kind of service, such that the SOS DEPOT can be maintained and indeed expanded to support the ongoing needs of productions in Southern Ontario.

Flats ✦ Backdrops ✦ Jacks ✦ Sub Floors ✦ Doors ✦ Whalers ✦ TJIs ✦ Flats ✦ Backdrops ✦ Jacks ✦ Sub Floors ✦ Doors ✦ Whalers ✦ TJIs ✦ Flats ✦ Backdrops ✦ Jacks ✦ Sub Floors ✦ Doors ✦ Whalers ✦ TJIs ✦ Flats ✦ Backdrops ✦ Jacks ✦ Sub Floors ✦ Doors ✦ Whalers ✦ TJIs ✦ Flats ✦ Backdrops ✦ Jacks ✦ Sub Floors ✦ Doors ✦ Whalers ✦ TJIs ✦ Flats ✦ Backdrops ✦ Jacks ✦ Sub Floors ✦ Doors ✦ Whalers ✦ TJIs ✦ Flats ✦ Backdrops ✦ Jacks ✦ Sub Floors ✦ Doors ✦ Whalers ✦ TJIs ✦ Flats ✦ Backdrops ✦ Jacks ✦ Sub Floors ✦ Doors ✦ Whalers ✦ TJIs

What we do

Three ways through the depot

Rent

You can rent our available assets for a great price over the short term; build your set, shoot your show, and bring it all back when you wrap!

Buy

You can also buy our available assets for longer term projects and series and return for a rebate, and if you need to retain them or make modifications, we can negotiate a plan.

Donate

Organize your wrap plans at the front end of your process and plan to donate your assets to SOS DEPOT. No more landfill! Aim for Zero Waste!

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About

A pilot project at Cinespace Studios, 777 Kipling.

The SOS DEPOT team comprises experienced players and sustainability advocates from across and within the industry: Producer and PM Mary Anne Waterhouse, Production Designer Marian Wihak, Film Materials aficionado Pete Miskimmin and Construction Coordinator Joe Madziak. For many years, both individually and collectively, we have imagined this kind of facility’s existence and are thrilled to see it realized as a pilot project in collaboration with Cinespace Studios at 777 Kipling, one of Toronto’s largest and most vital studio hubs.

The SOS DEPOT will operate as an independent not-for-profit organization for one full ‘pilot’ year and hopefully beyond. The DEPOT will have a curated collection of basic, frequently used scenery assets and materials, such as flats, whalers, jacks and subfloor, and all items will be inventoried, and listed on the SOS website so that potential users can identify and communicate in advance the items they wish to rent or purchase.

Our model will be primarily rental-based helping to support the concept and methodology of design-build circularity, but will also allow negotiated longer-term arrangements in which assets will be returned upon a project’s completion. We will establish a fair, and comprehensive fee structure. Ultimately, these fees will help to offset operating costs and allow the SOS DEPOT to continue beyond its initial pilot term.