New online video highlights how ‘Vancouver Never Plays Itself’ in Hollywood movies

WATCH: A filmmaker and former Metro Vancouver resident has produced an ingenious video bemoaning the fact Vancouver almost never plays itself on the big or small screen

Vancouver is one of the largest film centres in North America, but a new online video highlights how the city is always a stand-in for other parts of the world.

Tony Zhou’s video essay Vancouver Never Plays Itself shows how filmmakers disguise Vancouver to look like other places, from nearby Seattle to far-flung locales in China, India and even North Korea.

“No matter how many movie or TV shows are filmed here, there’s always been one nagging problem,” said Zhou, who grew up in Vancouver. “We never actually see the city. It’s always pretending to be somewhere else.”

Vancouver Never Plays Itself is a cleverly constructed mash-up of several movies filmed in Vancouver–from recent hits like Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and Fifty Shades of Grey to older flicks like 1980’s The Changeling and 1984’s The NeverEnding Story–that illustrates how and why Vancouver gets transformed into parts around the globe.

WATCH: Take a tour of Fifty Shades of Grey’s Vancouver filming locations

The video, which is part of Zhou’s acclaimed Every Frame a Painting series, explains some of the technical wizardry used to mask the city on film, but also expresses frustration at how his hometown is “ubiquitous but invisible.”

“What does it mean for a city if it’s always playing somewhere else?” asks Zhou. “For Vancouver, it means that our onscreen image is kind of generic.”

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But local film industry professionals say Vancouver’s chameleon-like ability to camouflage itself is more of a blessing than a curse.

“Given that last year the film industry generated more than $2 billion, I don’t think we should be overly annoyed,” said Vancouver Film School President James Griffin.

“The money is rolling in, the studios are full. It’s hard to get studio space in this town. The production teams are in full swing. We are in a very enviable situation here. ”

– With files from Jordan Armstrong