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Section II: Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

Strategic Outcome

In pursuing its mandate, the National Film Board aims to achieve the following strategic outcome:

The reflection of Canadian values and perspectives through the production of innovative Canadian audiovisual works accessible in relevant media of the day

The NFB aims to achieve this strategic outcome through two program activities: Production of Audiovisual Works, and Distribution, Accessibility and Outreach. By producing relevant, challenging and innovative audiovisual works, the NFB gives Canadians a better understanding of Canada and the world. It also uses new technologies to make its own and its partners’ productions more widely accessible to Canadians in all regions of the country, while strengthening Canada’s presence in the digital world through its internationally recognized brand. On the whole, the NFB accomplished the priorities it had set out to achieve in 2010–2011 for this strategic outcome.

Program Activity 1: Production of Audiovisual Works

Program Activity Description

The National Film Board (NFB)'s audiovisual works provide a uniquely Canadian perspective, including diverse cultural and regional perspectives, recognized across Canada and around the world, thereby playing a pivotal role in the Canadian film and television industry. The NFB's programming fosters diverse voices and content in both official languages by encouraging participation from Aboriginal groups and ethnocultural communities. The NFB's use of the recent production methods and technologies to provide quality works to be accessible on new distribution platforms and in new media. NFB's production activities include the conceptualization, research, development, production and marketing of documentaries, animation films, new media content, as well as other emerging forms.

2010–11 Financial Resources ($ thousands)
Planned Spending Total Authorities Actual Spending
46,643 46,222 44,893
2010–11 Human Resources (FTEs)
Planned Actual Difference
259 249 -10
Expected Results Performance Indicators Targets Performance Status

The NFB produces relevant, challenging and innovative audiovisual works that give Canadians a better understanding of Canada and the world.

Percentage of Canadian public that perceive the NFB to be producing relevant, challenging and innovative audiovisual works.

50% by March 31, 2011

Exceeded

Awards, mentions, nominations and tributes earned at Canadian and international festivals.

150 by March 31, 2011

Exceeded

Percentage of NFB audience that perceive the NFB to be producing audiovisual works that provide a better understanding of Canada and of the world.

75%, by March 31, 2011

Mostly met

Performance Summary and Analysis of Program Activity

According to an online survey carried out across Canada for the NFB in March 2011, 54 percent of Canadians perceived NFB works as relevant, 69 percent as challenging and 64 percent as innovative. Each of these figures exceeds the 50 percent target.

In 2010-2011, NFB productions garnered 73 awards in Canada and abroad. In all, the organization has won 262 awards over three years, meeting the 150-award target by March 31, 2011. The survey also noted that 72 percent of Canadians perceive the NFB to be producing works that help Canadians achieve a better understanding of Canada and the world. Thus, the 75 percent target was mostly met.

Works completed in 2010-11

Types of productions 2010-11
Original productions and co-productions 97
Original Web productions (websites) 26
Original films for websites 107
Total 230

In 2010-2011, the NFB completed 97 original productions, including 51 documentaries, 42 animated films, one experimental film and three dramas. The NFB also produced 26 original web productions, up from nine last year, along with 107 films for the sites. The increase is directly related to the NFB’s programming focus on digital works.

The NFB works with leading developers and artists to create interactive works that push the boundaries of non-linear narrative and innovate to create tomorrow’s forms of art and entertainment. During the year, the NFB’s leadership role in this was clearly recognized, and evident in the many awards garnered and the continuing increase in audience numbers. Interactive works have been brought together at nfb.ca/interactive. Projects such as Welcome to Pine Point, Sacrée montagne/Holy Mountain!, Ma tribu, c’est ma vie/My Tribe Is My Life and The Test Tube were launched this year.

As part of the programming targeting the educational sector, the films Être ou paraître? Les jeunes face aux stéréotypes sexuels and the animated short Flawed were released during the year, along with the immersive experience Les yeux noirs/Private Eyes, which was screened at the Montreal CineRobotheque during spring break.

An office was opened in St. John’s in 2010, as a way to ensure a greater engagement with the province's creative community—documentarians, animators and particularly those working in new digital media. The opening coincided with the launch of the emerging filmmaker program New Screen. The program, open to residents of Newfoundland and Labrador, is designed to encourage and support artists in the production of interactive and multiplatform shorts.

Encouraging diversity of points of view in both official languages and supporting emerging filmmakers

NFB productions are created by Canadians talent from across the country in both official languages, ensuring that the nation’s diversity is well represented. In 2010–2011, almost half – 48 percent – of all completed works were made by filmmakers from diverse regions and cultural, Aboriginal and linguistic communities. For original Web productions, that figure rises to 65 percent, and for original productions to 57 percent.

Filmmakers from official language minority communities (OLMCs) completed 14 of the 97 original productions, 13 of the 107 original works for web sites, and 6 of the 26 original web productions, as well as the smartphone application.

The NFB continues to play a leading role in mentoring, recruiting, and supporting the development of emerging filmmakers and artists creating works for a range of media. Emerging filmmakers made 25 percent of the works completed in 2010–2011. As part of our increasing commitment to filmmakers from the North, the NFB and the Nunavut Film Development Corporation (NFDC) worked in tandem to provide a week of workshops, entitled Stories from Our Land 1.0, for 29 emerging filmmakers from Nunavut. The filmmakers worked with 14 mentors who hosted workshops on disciplines ranging from scriptwriting to sound and image editing. Eight short films were made that week.

In order to provide professional training, the NFB organized 21 initiatives to encourage and nurture talent, providing a professional learning environment for 166 Canadians. These included 56 emerging filmmakers, who took part in 9 projects aimed at fostering talent in OLMCs.

Lastly, 168 films were made under the Filmmaker Assistance Program (FAP), or with assistance from the independent film support program ACIC (l’aide au cinéma indépendant Canada).

Notable partnerships

For the third consecutive year, the NFB brought together well-known artists to make a series of short films as a tribute to winners of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards. This year, for the first time, most of the works were available online not more than two hours after the start of the gala.

Jean-François Pouliot’s short film Impressions/Glimpses was screened for audiences at the Canada Pavilion of the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai between May 1 and October 31, 2010, providing an original and remarkable cultural contribution to the international event. In addition to the film, the NFB also screened some twenty classics from its animation collection, while images from its archives were incorporated into scenery designed by Cirque du Soleil. At the opening of the World Exposition, Impressions/Glimpses, along with an interview with director Jean-François Pouliot and a number of works made by the NFB for other world expositions, were all made available on NFB.ca.

The NFB and ARTE France have signed a co-production and experience-sharing agreement for audiovisual works designed for and distributed via the Internet. These are also known as web documentaries. The new partnership will make it possible for the NFB and ARTE France to pool their know-how in the creation of new interactive productions.

Awards

Awards for excellence and innovation 2010-11
Canadian awards 39
International awards 34
Total 73

Over the past year, the NFB garnered 73 awards at Canadian and international festivals, only slightly fewer than it did the previous year. This drop corresponds to a decrease in the number of festivals to which the NFB has submitted films over the past few years.

The web production Waterlife Interactive has continued to receive recognition, winning the 2010 Webby award in the Best Documentary: Individual Episode category. This year, the NFB also won a number of Boomerang awards, including Best Mobile Application for its iPhone app.

In the documentary and animation formats, Theodore Ushev’s Les journaux de Lipsett/Lipsett Diaries won ten Canadian and international awards, including a Jutra for Best Animated Film, while Sturla Gunnarsson’s documentary Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie carried off the People’s Choice Documentary Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Lessons Learned

The NFB is a creative laboratory, providing artists with an environment in which they can take artistic and technological risks to produce cultural content that could not otherwise be made. Interactive projects differ from conventional film projects in the workflows involved, as well as in the teams working on them. The NFB therefore had to adapt its methods in order to stay efficient. In the past year, production teams fine-tuned and otherwise improved the effectiveness of interactive project workflows. Through its experience with the digital shift, the NFB has also developed its own expertise, and has organized a series of in-house workshops for its employees. Thus, it can continue pushing the boundaries of innovation and artistic vision. The NFB’s private-sector partners are now asking us to share that expertise.

Program Activity 2: Distribution, Accessibility and Outreach

Program Activity Descriptions

NFB's distribution, accessibility and outreach activities contribute to a dynamic Canadian culture and heritage. The distribution of audiovisual work includes: commercializing its audiovisual catalogues and well established stock shot library and developing and diversifying markets (Theatrical, TV, Consumer and Institutional) for NFB products in Canada and abroad. Activities will make works available in communities across Canada, especially those in remote, rural areas, and provide access to Aboriginal groups and official language minority groups.

2010–11 Financial Resources ($ thousands)
Planned Spending Total Authorities Actual Spending
12,804 14,018 14,507
2010–11 Human Resources (FTEs)
Planned Actual Difference
135 130 -5
Expected Results Performance Indicators Targets Performance Status

The NFB’s audiovisual works are accessible to the Canadian public in all regions of the country.

The NFB’s audiovisual works are accessible to the Canadian public in all regions of the country.

60%, by March 31, 2011

Exceeded

Number of clients, users and audience reached.

No target set

In 2010–2011, NFB productions were viewed more than 25 million times in Canada, on all platforms combined.

Percentage of Canadian population who have access to NFB programming.

85%, by March 31, 2011

Mostly met

Performance Summary and Analysis of Program Activity

According to a Statistics Canada survey7 carried out in 2010, 79 percent of Canadian households have Internet access. According to an online survey carried out for the NFB in March 2011, 93 percent of respondents stated they know the NFB. Of those respondents, 77 percent believed they had used or viewed an NFB product. This figure is slightly higher than last year’s 73 percent.

Of the 77 percent of Canadians who had seen an NFB production, 22 percent stated they had seen it within the past 12 months. For the second consecutive year, the percentage of Canadians watching NFB productions on TV dropped, declining to 58 percent, while the percentage watching NFB productions online continued to increase, reaching 21 percent. With a Canadian audience topping 25 million viewers, this performance indicator was mostly met.

Canadian audience

Canadian audience 2010-11 2009-10
Television views 8,081,000 11,540,000
Non-Theatrical views (Education and Institutional) 13,252,776 13,715,053
NFB.ca views 2,840,399 2,487,156
Online partners views (YouTube and Dailymotion) 469,518 339,616
Home video views 19,726 30,462
Visits to NFB Mediatheques 194,826 206,761
Public screening views 283,091 91,093
Views in theatres 8,350 21,851
Partner library views 104,830 99,317
GRAND TOTAL 25,254,516 28,531,309

Canadian audience results for 2010-2011 are characterized by healthy increases in Internet audiences, coupled with declining audiences across traditional channels (with the notable exception of significant increases in public screening audiences). Growth in NFB online audiences in 2010-2011 have offset declines in Non-theatrical, Home Video and Mediatheque audiences, however online audience growth has not been sufficient to compensate for significant decreases in television audiences. Accordingly, the net Canadian audience result for the year (25.2 million) amounts to an 11 percent (3.2 million) decrease as compared to the previous year.

A vast cross-section of Canadians continues to access NFB productions via traditional distribution channels. Indeed, Canadian audiences in the non-commercial sector (education and institutional) remain the most important segment for the NFB and represent 53% of the total of Canadian audiences, i.e., 13.2 million.Non-theatrical migration to online channels, however, continues via subscription agreements for NFB.ca streamed content (over $300,000 in licensing agreements sold in 2010–2011 with an estimated reach of 1.4 million students). Educators and other institutional users are putting value on, and making use of, NFB’s online content.

Online audiences in Canada continue to grow, with the combined number of views (NFB and its partners) reaching 3.3 million in 2010-2011. This represents a 17% increase or nearly 500,000 views over the previous year. Following the addition of the iPad application launched in June, 2010, it should be noted that views on mobile devices (iPhone and iPad) have risen to 727,000. This represents 26% of views on NFB.ca, a 35% increase of mobile views compared with 2009-2010.

Finally, in 2010-2011, Canadian and foreign audiences of NFB productions online represented 10.8 million views. This is a total of nearly 22 million views in Canada and abroad since NFB.ca went online in 2009.

Increasing the NFB's online presence

Online Screening Room
Added productions
2010-11 As of March 31, 2011
Trailers and clips in French 70 171
Trailers and clips in English 68 281
Films in French 179 752
Films in English 255 894
Total 572 2,098

The NFB has continued to increase it free film offerings online and promote its online Screening Room as well as its mobile phone application. The digital revolution gives Canadians access to the NFB’s rich collection and to its future productions – wherever, whenever and on whichever platform they choose.

During the 2010–2011 fiscal year, 323 productions were added in English and 249 productions in French on the NFB.ca site for viewing. As of March 31, 2011 a total of 2,098 productions are available for streaming online. Thus, the NFB can forge a closer relationship with Canadians across the country, in both official languages.

Digital shift

The NFB generates value for Canadians through careful and rigorous management of its assets, and particularly through the digitization of its vast collection. The goal of the NFB’s digitization plan is to improve accessibility to and facilitate the preservation and restoration of its audiovisual collection.

In 2010-2011, the NFB continued the implementation of its digitization and archiving plan. The digitization and distribution of the NFB’s collection may be summarized as follows: for each title in the collection, create a DSM to preserve the work and provide this DSM in the formats and on the platforms requested. Each DSM will be made up of its individual component parts in an uncompressed format: image, sound, relevant metadata and effects. The production of a Digital Master Source (DMS) and Digital Master (DM) is continuing at the film digitizer and colour correction. In addition, the sound digitization process (DMS and DM) is now operational.

The digitization and archiving plan is one of the pillars of ITOP, the integrated operational and technological project that defines the operational initiatives underpinning the NFB’s digital shift. The purpose of ITOP is to ensure the establishment of a homogenous and efficient architecture between systems and projects. The NFB plans to implement the best preservation practices for its collection described in its conservation plan.

Digitized units according to format
Digitization formats Digitized units in 2010–11 Digitized units as of March 31, 2011
Films in MPEG 2 format for distribution on DVD 410 6,486
Films in MPEG 4 format for use in NFB theatres in Montreal and Toronto 450 6,244
Production excerpts for the Web 304 1,868
Complete productions for the Web 1,380 4,501
Films for mobile devices 1,380 3,049
Films for e-cinema 201 482
Stockshots in NFB Images format 568 22,030

As at March 31, 1,254 hours, or 35 percent, of the NFB’s archival footage had been digitized for NFB Images, the NFB web space for stock shot specialists. These include 288 hours of HD material. In all, 6,486 titles are now available in DVD format, while 482 titles have been digitized for distribution through e-cinema networks.

In addition, through a partnership with CBC/Radio-Canada, the NFB will provide access to 2,000 new stock shots online at NFB Images. The NFB and CBC/Radio-Canada, both public-sector organizations, will pool their resources to ensure that filmmakers and their audiences have unprecedented access to Canada’s and Quebec’s audiovisual histories, including a vast selection of stock footage from French audiovisual holdings.

The development and application of new technologies to make NFB films more accessible to most Canadians are key components in the organization’s Strategic Plan. Accordingly, on June 1, 2011, the NFB and the Shorefast Foundation inaugurated the Fogo Island Film House, the first e-cinema facility in Newfoundland and the first NFB project of its kind for English-speaking Canadians. There is also a new facility in Baie Sainte-Marie, Nova Scotia, as well as one in Fredericton, New Brunswick, which replaces the Bouctouche facility. In addition, the NFB has finalized e-cinema agreements with the Université de Montréal and the Canada Aviation and Space Museum. It should be noted, however, that the e-cinema project review slated for 2010–2011 has been postponed until next fiscal year.

Distribution strategies review

During the fiscal year, a business plan was formulated to help the NFB take advantage not only of the digital shift initiated four years ago, but also of the conventional market. Preparing the business plan required a detailed analysis of the NFB’s productions revenues, its strengths and weaknesses on a variety of markets, future outlets for its products, and its production, so that new revenue opportunities could be sought. The business plan is now an integral part of the NFB’s vision for the future.

The initial phase of the NFB.ca’s transactional service, which provides an on-demand online download service, was implemented in February 2011. The new functionalities offered are part of the NFB’s strategic plan to take advantage of leading-edge technologies to develop revenue opportunities.

Education

In 2010–2011, the NFB continued to develop its online offerings for the educational sector. It now provides more complex features, including indexed teaching guides. Research capabilities based on current educational programs and in-class uses of stock footage have been added. In addition, the NFB has sold licences for schools in British Columbia and Ontario, English schools in Quebec, and schools in Quebec’s CEGEP network; it has also sold subscriptions to a number of universities in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec, as well as to several library networks.

Audiovisual Revenue

Revenue by market 2010-11 2009-10 % difference
Television and pre-sales $634,141 $1,204,935 -47%
Institutional and educational $2 180,251 $1,907,422 14%
Consumers $599,322 $1,310,343 -54%
Theatres $58,743 $66,366 -11%
Stockshots $429,251 $779,303 -45%
Total $3,901,708 $5,268,369 -26%

In 2010-2011, revenues decreased by 26 percent compared with 2009–2010, primarily owing to the drops in television and presales revenues, which in turn are attributable to long-term market trends showing a declining interest in single-episode documentaries and converging towards the new generation of online viewing. Sales in the institutional and educational sectors were 14 percent higher than last year; these figures include $252,344 in revenue from the Inuit Audiovisual Heritage project and subscription agreements with several provinces for access to the NFB.ca educational site. Consumer market sales are still dropping. The NFB’s strategic shift to Internet platform distribution was completed in February 2011, as the NFB.ca transaction space came online. The space’s launch had been postponed because it would have coincided with Canada’s federal election. Stock shot sales dropped by 45 percent compared with the previous year, though it should be noted that the 2009–2010 sales figures comprised $225,000 for the Canada Day project.

Lessons Learned

The setup of transactional services for NFB.ca took some 12 months of effort by a variety of teams at the NFB. The transition to the new methods required a range of new skills and knowledge. This process, combined with the digital shift, placed existing resources under considerable pressure. A number of studies and research initiatives were needed to implement the project, which was very broad in scope. The transactional component of nfb.ca was launched online at the end of the fiscal year, but implementation of Education +, the new subscription for the educational sector, had to be postponed until next fiscal year.

In 2010–2011, revenues decreased by 26 percent compared with the previous year. Thus, the NFB needs to develop strategies to increase revenue and create new revenue-generating sectors. In the next fiscal year, the NFB will implement its new business plan, enabling it to generate revenue while reaching Canadian and international audiences.

Program Activity 3: Internal Services

Program Activity Description

Internal Services are groups of related activities and resources that are administered to support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations of an organization. These groups are: Management and Oversight Services; Communications Services; Legal Services; Human Resources Management Services; Financial Management Services; Information Management Services; Information Technology Services; Real Property Services; Materiel Services; Acquisition Services; and Travel and Other Administrative Services. Internal Services include only those activities and resources that apply across an organization and not to those provided specifically to a program.

2010–11 Financial Resources ($ thousands)
Planned Spending Total Authorities Actual Spending
7,770 8,246 8,483
2010–11 Human Resources (FTEs)
Planned Actual Difference
58 56 -2

Performance Summary and Analysis of Program Activity

At the NFB, analysis and compliance with the government's sound management requirements are ongoing processes as well as organizational priorities. On an ongoing basis, the NFB implements good governance and accountability principles that contribute to a relationship of confidence with Canadians.

At the start of the fiscal year, the Treasury Board confirmed the NFB’s participation in Round VIII of the Management Accountability Framework (MAF). Since its last assessment in Round V, three years ago, the NFB has focused on improving in a number of management areas. The preliminary outcomes of Round VIII show that those ongoing efforts are continuing to produce results, since the NFB has improved in the following areas of management: effectiveness of internal audits, citizen-focused service, and quality and use of evaluation.

During the fiscal year, the NFB has continued to improve data gathering. The audience management team has developed a conceptual model for audience measurement for the NFB.ca transactional project as well as framework for the measurement of our social media initiatives. However, even though audiences for interactive productions are growing constantly, views of and interactions with those productions have not yet been officially incorporated into the NFB’s audience measurement methods.

Organizational Renewal

In 2009-2010, the NFB restructured its organization so that it could meet the challenges of the digital shift more effectively. In 2010-2011, the NFB examined its practices in a series of branches. This review led to optimizations of workflows and work tools, designed to achieve effective coordination for the types of projects in which the NFB is engaged. For example, administrative tasks relating to budget and contract management within the programs were reviewed to improve efficiency in digital projects.

In 2010–2011, the Human Resources Branch developed an integrated training plan after meeting with all divisions and gathering information on their training needs and priorities. In addition, to ensure better adaptation to the new realities of the digital environment in which it operates, the NFB has continued to provide new media training for its staff. For example, presentations by the PIB/GDP team were made available online, on the Training Zone site, to share knowledge acquired in the course of developing and implementing this interactive project.

An important objective of the organizational renewal as indicated in the Strategic Plan is the relocation of the NFB's Montreal headquarters to a more central location and to a building that better reflects the creative and innovative nature of the organization. In co-operation with Public Works and Government Services Canada, the Functional and Technical Program (FTP) was completed. The preliminary report is pending approval. The FTP is a benchmark document that assesses the functional, operational and technical needs prompting the relocation.

Lessons Learned

The restructuring of the organization in 2009-2010 which lead to the merging of nine branches into five divisions, required many changes in work procedures in the branches involved. It was a large-scale exercise requiring significant time and flexibility from the employees. The changes implemented so far have been substantial, and the organization was therefore unable to establish a corporate secretariat as originally planned. Nonetheless, the NFB remains committed to continuing the effort to renew and revitalize the organization during the upcoming fiscal year.

Over the past year, the NFB has prepared an integrated training plan, designed to help staff adapt to the new realities of the digital environment and provide opportunities for training, advancement and professional development. The NFB is committed to implementing the plan in the next fiscal year.

In spite of the positive outcomes of MAF Round VIII, the NFB will need to direct additional effort towards improving the effectiveness of information management, and management of security.

Program Activity 4: Revolving Fund

Program Activity Description

Operations are funded through a permanent authority from Parliament (Revolving Fund) and Parliamentary appropriations voted annually. The Revolving Fund allows the Board to make payments out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for working capital, interim financing of operating costs and capital assets acquisitions.

2010–11 Financial Resources ($ thousands)
Planned Spending Total Authorities Actual Spending
N/A N/A N/A
2010–11 Human Resources (FTEs)
Planned Actual Difference
N/A N/A N/A