Reel West Magazine Fall 2015 Issue by Ron Harvey

Fall 2015

$5.00

Film, TV, online and Digital Production IN Western Canada

Canadian Mail Publication Sales Agreement Number: 40006834

viff ‘15

Eadweard Charlotte’s Song Haida Gwaii Rock the box T h e M a n y Fa c e s o f M i c h a e l E k l u n d a n d the Many Artists Who Help Transform Him

Con ten ts

Fall 2015

14 6

Uncovering Hope in Haida Gwaii

Charles Wilkinson finds inspiration at the Edge of the World. By Tom Hawthorn

4 angle on Mark Leiren-Young

Chris Haddock’s Homecoming

9 LEgal Briefs Heather Watt

Showrunner revisits the mean streets of East Vancouver. By Mark Leiren-Young

Making Faces with Michael Eklund

The secrets of crafting characters off-screen.

25 Indie Scene Paul Armstrong

Charlotte’s Web Snags VFS

Vancouver Film School helps spin an ambitious mermaid’s tale. By Nathan Caddell

29 Digitally Yours Erica Hargreave

P roduction Diary

30 The Window Mark Leiren-young

Wild animals and wilder shooting — a day in the life of Eadweard. By Josh Epstein

Bron Booming

Henchmen open a new studio on Vancouver Island. By Nathan Caddell

Western Tv, Eh? Diane Wild

@reelwestmag coVer / contents: Michael Eklund with hair/makeup artists wendy keown, darcy burns and angela veel; Photo by Phillip Chin. Reel West Magazine is a wholly owned enterprise of Reel West Productions Inc. It exists and is managed to provide publicity and advertising that supports the growth of the Western Canadian Motion Picture Industry. Executive publisher: Sandy P. Flanagan. Editor: Mark Leiren-Young. Publisher: Ron Harvey. Sales: Randy Holmes, Adam Caddell creative Director: Andrew von Rosen. art director: Lindsey Ataya. Photo Editor: Phillip Chin. Contributors (editorial): Paul Armstrong, Nathan Caddell, Erica Hargreave, Tom Hawthorn, Heather Watt, diane wild. Copy EditorS: Caroline Dyck, Hayley Copperthwaite. Reel West Magazine is published Four times per year. Subscriptions Canada/US $35.00 per year (plus $10.00 postage to USA). Reel West Digest, The Directory for Western Canada’s Film, Video and Television Industry, is published annually. Subscription $35.00 per year (plus $10.00 postage to USA). Both Publications $60.00 (plus $10.00 postage to USA) Prices include GST. Copyright 2014 Reel West Productions Inc. Second Class Mail. Registration No. 0584002. ISSN 0831-5388. G.S.T. # R104445218. Reel West Productions Inc. 2221 Hartley Ave., Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada, V3K 6W9. Phone: 604-553-1335 Toll Free: 1-888-291-7335 Fax: 604-451-7305 Email: info@reelwest.com URL: reelwest.com. Volume 30, Issue 3. Printed In Canada. To subscribe call 604-553-1335 or visit our website at reelwest.com. Reel West welcomes feedback from our readers, via email at editorial@reelwest.com. All correspondence must include your name, address, and Phone number.

Reel West Fall 2015

A ng le O n

Covering our Cover Photographer Shoots Eadweard Old School By Ma r k leir en -you n g

he story of our cover shoot

burned to make these films and it’s a

this issue is almost as much

lot. I acknowledge that. At the same

fun as our cover story.

time we make every possible effort to

For the first issue of our second

walk the walk. We take transit all the

thirty years of covering the Western

time now. We drive our vehicles when

Canadian film, TV and digital world

it’s absolutely necessary. We’re not

we went seriously old school.

given the opportunity to live greenly

To celebrate the 2015 edition of the

by the leaders we have. The system

Vancouver International Film Festi-

isn’t designed for us to live green…

val we put the spotlight on Eadweard

I’m painfully aware of the contradic-

— the made-in-Vancouver movie

tions and the evident hypocrisy in de-

about American filmmaking pioneer

crying the building of Site C dam and

Eadweard Muybridge and the early

then turning on the lights. I get that.

days of making movies. Through the

I’ve always tried to live in a sustain-

strange alchemy that is Canadian

able way. Now more so because we’ve

film distribution, Eadweard is already

become more aware of how pressing

a massive success story, even though

the issue is becoming. We have chil-

it doesn’t debut in Canada until VIFF.

dren. I want them to have a good life

Leo love for the film included a stag-

and to drive cool cars like I have.”

gering fifteen nominations and five

Columnist

Paul

Armstrong

trophies and the movie is being fea-

checks in with some of the short

tured at festivals all over the planet.

filmmakers featured at VIFF — in-

Reel West’s long-time photographer, Phillip Chin, was so inspired

cluding film critic turned filmmakMICHAEL EKLUND learning wet plate photography.

by the idea of capturing the spirit

er, Katherine Monk. Nathan Caddell shares the bal-

of Eadweard that — in addition to

about three years ago and this was

preparing for Eadweard. Lethal and

lad of Charlotte’s Song and how this

the digital image he took for our

the perfect chance to try it for Reel

poisonous chemicals are used in this

very American story came to life in

cover — he took some shots with a

West. “For me it is going old school

style of photography and Phil and

BC with the help of a team from the

vintage camera and used the same

where photography was an art.

his assistant would have made Ead-

Vancouver Film School. Nathan also

technique as Muybridge to process

Each image is unique. It’s a one-off.

weard Muybridge proud.”

checked in with BC’s always busy

the photos. “You take one image ev-

You have to work on each image,

ery fifteen minutes,” says Phillip. “It

think of each detail.”

We also asked one of Eadweard’s filmmakers, Josh Epstein, to share a

is the opposite end of digital where

Hair stylist Wendy Keown (one

shaggy llama story about bringing

you can choose one image from the

of our cover models) described the

the Muybridge tale to life. He shared

thousands of images you shoot.” One

shoot as, “the coolest thing ever. I

a fun story about the type of typi-

of those plate images is featured on

was taking pictures watching what

cal production day when something

page fourteen.

Bron Studios about their new base on Vancouver Island. Erica Hargreave lets us in on the secrets of digital success. Diane Wild reports on the Senate’s surreal report on the CBC.

he (Phillip) was doing. I’ve never

goes wrong and everything turns

Phillip shot on a Deardorff 8x10

seen anything like it. To see some-

out perfectly.

wooden camera from the 1950s and,

body actually using that camera

Tom Hawthorn talked to Charles

runner Chris Haddock’s return to

“we did a tintype also known as wet

and the process — this was crazy

Wilkinson about the third part

the mean streets of East Vancouver,

plate collodion photography which

next level stuff.”

of his documentary trilogy, Haida

streets he helped define in the glob-

Eklund was also impressed. “Phil

Gwaii — a movie that stole the show

al imagination.

Eadweard

got really into it and played the

this year at Hot Docs. Tom asked

To find out what else is happening

used in the film,” says Phillip. “The

role and the theme of Eadweard by

the eco-conscious filmmaker what

at VIFF 2015 — and what else is up

process involves collodion ether,

shooting myself and the team just

it’s like to live a day-to-day life so

with the Western Canadian scene —

silver nitrate and other chemicals.

like Eadweard would have done.

aware of environmental issues.

subscribe to our newsletter at www.

The image process is done in fifteen

His approach by shooting wet plate

Wilkinson’s answer: “It’s some-

reelwest.com and follow us on Face-

minutes from start to finish where

style portraits like it was done in the

thing I think about all the time. I live

book and @reelwestmag on Twitter.

the plate must remain wet through-

1800’s was a genius idea and one

in this world. We couldn’t have made

And be sure to share your good news

out the whole process.”

that had to be handled with the right

any of these films if we hadn’t driven

with us, so we can share it with the

Phillip first started experiment-

touch. Trust me. I know being trained

a car and burned gas. I’ve even calcu-

world — and maybe we can even find

ing with this technique for fun

in wet plate style photography when

lated how many barrels of oil we’ve

an excuse for Phil to take your photo. n

is from the 1850s. It is the same photography

process

And Phillip and I visit the crew of The Romeo Section to cover show-

Reel West Fall 2015

Photo by Phillip Chin

Fe atu re STo ry

Haida Guy Charles Wilkinson Trains his Eye on Haida Gwaii in Hot Doc Hit By To m Hawth o rn

harles Wilkinson had an idea. So many environmental films

ting, taking control of a territory that had not been ceded either through

were filled with images of doom and gloom, the screen show-

treaty or war. They continue to be vigilant in opposing tanker traffic along

ing moonscapes of clear-cut forests, garbage-strewn oceans,

their pristine, though storm-battered and rough coastline.

billowing yellow-grey clouds of toxic fumes. What about a

To an outsider like Wilkinson, the people of Haida Gwaii — living amidst

documentary about a pristine place where people were try-

nature, enjoying its bounty, while not necessarily rejecting the benefits of

ing to build a sustainable future, where the benefits of modern technology

modern technology — offer a vision that people can control their destiny

were enjoyed without rapacious destruction of the natural world? Where

outside of corporate influence. “I think the narrative that we mostly accept

people live off the land without destroying the land?

— that the world is getting worse by the second and that the future is very

And how about we tell this story in an impressionistic, non-linear style? Worst pitch ever, replied the powers that be at the Knowledge Network. But go ahead. We support you all the way. The result is a spectacular look at the peoples of Haida Gwaii, the archi-

dim — is only one point of view and it doesn’t have to be that way,” he said. Filming the documentary in so isolated a location proved difficult. Internet access was limited. Electricity can be hard to come by, making it difficult to recharge batteries.

pelago off the British Columbia coast formerly known as the Queen Char-

Some of the shriller critics of environmentalists like to accuse enviros of

lotte Islands. The film, Haida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World, won the best Ca-

being hypocritical for not eschewing automobiles or traveling by jet. While

nadian feature documentary award and with it a $10,000 prize at Toronto’s

some on Haida Gwaii have built lives entirely off the grid, most have not. “I

Hot Docs festival in May.

think they’re trying to build a world that fits within our world,” Wilkinson

For Wilkinson, who was director and co-producer with his romantic and business partner, Tina Schliessler, the award was a welcome acknowledgement that others saw what they saw on those islands. It also confirmed that the couple had persevered despite false starts and dead ends.

said. “They don’t want to stop using electronics, or fossil fuels. They just want it to be sustainable.” The people of Haida Gwaii were welcoming to Wilkinson, though curious about his perception and keen to know what he planned to say. “They tend

“I have to be honest, there were many dark, dark days when we were like,

to guard their narrative quite carefully,” he said. So he returned to Haida

‘I don’t know,’” Wilkinson said. “I think we have 48 version of this film and

Gwaii for a screening in July with more than a little nervousness about the

47 of them just suck.”

reception.

The latest doc is the final episode of a trilogy following Peace Out (2011),

Wilkinson was born in Calgary to a teacher mother and a father who

a look at how we’re despoiling our backyard in search of dwindling energy

worked for the post office. His early memories of film include being bundled

resources and Oil Sands Karaoke (2013), a terrific film about five workers

off to the Jubilee Auditorium to watch such silent classics of Soviet film-

competing in a singing contest and sharing their feelings about living in

making as Mother and Battleship Potemkin.

Fort McMurray, Alberta.

As a boy he was paired with a sibling as kid cowboy singers. “We sang

The couple decided to tell the story of Haida Gwaii after visiting the is-

both kinds — country and western,” he deadpanned. At about age ten, Char-

lands while filming Peace Out. Even as they alighted from their airplane, they

lie and brother Billy joined the Calgary Safety Roundup, a weekly television

knew they were in a place unlike others.

program which aired live on CFCN-TV, Channel 4. The program featured

“The air feels different,” Wilkinson said. “The quality of life is different.

safety tips from police officers, as well as a growing stable of child enter-

There are no logos. There are no McDonald’s, no Burger Kings, no Costcos,

tainers. The set included hay bales, fenceposts and wagon wheels. The pro-

no Walmarts. Everything you see just feels different because you’re not un-

gram was a hit.

der a constant barrage to buy something.” The filmmaker mixes glorious images of the unspoiled islands with inter-

“In a two-channel universe, we got better ratings than Hockey Night in Canada,” he said.

views with the likes of Haida hereditary chief Allan Wilson, activist and au-

The Roundup Singers were soon in great demand. They performed at the

thor Severn Cullis-Suzuki and Guujaaw, the former president of the Haida

annual Calgary Stampede (appearing in a grandstand show with teen idol

Nation. The Haida have lived in this place for at least 14,000 years, surviving

Bobby Curtola) and were flown to Vancouver, where they were part of the

though previously unknown measles, typhoid and smallpox, and the dis-

Grey Cup festivities in 1963. The troupe also made trips to Ottawa, where

eases ravaged the population, leaving as few as 600 survivors. Today about

they were seen in a national Dominion Day broadcast by CBC TV in 1965. An

5,000 people live on the islands, about half of them members of the Haida

album was recorded and became a local hit.

Nation. Over the years, the locals battled to end overfishing and clear-cut-

Reel West Fall 2015

A first foray away from country crooning took place in 1964 at the height

of Canadian Beatlemania when the

and a logger. He built a log home in

Wilkinson boys switched their stet-

the woods outside Squamish, “hip-

sons for long-haired wigs to sing She

pie that I was,” all the while continu-

Loves You and All My Loving.

ing to read and remain informed

In a few years, the Wilkinson

on current affairs. The autodidact

Brothers were frequent performers

signed up for university-entrance

on campuses and at coffeehouses,

classes offered by Capilano College,

by which time Charlie and Billy

where he was encouraged to take

were billed as Charles and William.

further studies instead of just cut-

(Another of the Roundup Singers,

ting down trees.

Dixie Lee Stone, rode to the top of

After attending a screening of

the pop charts as the lead singer of

films by Simon Fraser University

One Tin Soldier for a group called The

students, he decided that was what

Original Caste.) In 1967, the broth-

he wanted to do. A scholarship eased

ers appeared on Brand New Scene,

the way. In second year, a friend sug-

the national television program

gested he look at a Victorian-era

hosted by the legendary music folk-

prison not far from campus.

lorist Oscar Brand. After

ematic it was,” he said. “I wasn’t

dropped out of school to drive his

thinking about the cruelness, or

beloved MGA sports car to the West

man’s inhumanity to man, but

Coast to catch what was left of the

about the big, imposing walls, the

’60s in swinging Vancouver. “Man, it

bars, and how medieval it all looked.”

was incredible,” he said. “It was such

With National Film Board backing,

a scene.” By chance, he got a job at

Wilkinson directed a documentary

a photography lab, developing and

short titled, Tiers: A Story of the Peni-

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printing black-and-white portraits

tentiary. The cinematographer was

Temporary heat & power | On-site diesel delivery

from sessions sold door to door. This

fellow student Tobias Schliessler, the

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was followed by a position at ABC

son of a well-known German docu-

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Photo, a small operation in Kitsi-

mentarian and his future brother-in-

lano that handled colour wedding

law. (As an aside, Wilkinson added

and studio portraits.

about Tobias, “He’s currently shoot-

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What’s up in Canadian television

www.tv-eh.com /CanadianTV @tv_eh

“I was captivated by how cinWilkinson

THE SCENES

TV, eh? covers news, reviews and interviews about Canadian television shows, with the odd foray into the odd industry that produces them.

Grade

11,

“I learned all about sensitometry,

ing Beauty and the Beast for $250 mil-

about how film actually works,”

lion in London. He’s done well.”) A

he said. “That came to be of enor-

second documentary — My Kind of

mous benefit to me later on.”

Town, about the logging town of Che-

Meanwhile, he had fallen in with

mainus on Vancouver Island — was

camera buffs, bought some gear of

followed by dramas such as Quar-

his own, and developed a knowledge

antine, Max, Blood Clan and Breach of

of lenses and exposures, as well as

Trust. The high school dropout went

how to make an image sharper, or a

on to earn a Master’s degree as he di-

background softer.

rected episodes of TV shows like The

Wilkinson arrived for work one

Beachcombers, Avonlea and Highlander.

Friday morning in March, 1971, to

About a decade ago, he returned

find the small space crowded by

to documentary filmmaking, find-

large men who turned out to be

ing in it a better business model —

RCMP officers. The previous night

lower budgets, dedicated audience,

a secret wedding witnessed by only

willing partners like Knowledge

twelve people had taken place at St.

Network — than for dramatic re-

Stephen’s Church in North Vancou-

leases, which depended on govern-

ver. It fell to Wilkinson to process the

ment funding.

film and develop some of the prints,

A lifetime’s work led him and

on which he saw a radiant young

Tina Schliessler back to Haida Gwaii

woman in a Moroccan caftan of

in July, where they screened the lat-

white wool trimmed by white satin.

est documentary to a packed house

The groom, dressed in formal wear,

at the Haida Heritage Centre in Ski-

was considered the most eligible

degate. “We were nervous,” he said.

bachelor in the land. Prime Minister

“Super nervous. We didn’t make the

Pierre Trudeau, 51, had married Mar-

movie for the people of Haida Gwaii.”

garet Sinclair, 22, news that would

The director need not have worried.

surprise the nation later that day.

Several hundred people packed the

Wilkinson worked as a welder, a

hall, but to him they sounded like

carpenter, a car mechanic, a factory

10,000 as they cheered throughout

worker, a heavy-machine operator

the screening. n

Reel West Fall 2015

L e g al B rie f s

Copyrights and Wrongs and the Secrets of Clearances By H eather Watt

significant part of an enter-

use of copyrighted material with-

termining whether or not the use

why, if and when it comes time for

tainment lawyer’s practice

out the permission of the copyright

of copyrighted material is in fact an

a producer to secure an E&O policy

is devoted to assisting cli-

holder is infringement, and opens a

instance of Fair Dealing, a court will

for a production, the insurance un-

ents with the so-called “clearance”

producer up to liability regardless of

first assess whether the use falls

derwriter may require an increased

process, that is, the process of en-

whether or not a production is for

into one of the enumerated purpos-

deductible, or an exclusion in the

suring that appropriate permissions

profit.

es and will then go on to analyse the

policy in respect to the materials in

are obtained for people, places and

The second assumption noted

fairness of the use by examining six

question, despite the existence of a

things that appear in a given produc-

above is likely confusion between

factors, including the purpose of the

strong Fair Dealing argument. Simply

tion. Clearance is an important on-

the US Fair Use doctrine and the Ca-

use, the extent of the use, and the

put, the insurer does not want to be

going step in the production process

nadian Fair Dealing doctrine. While

effect that the use has had on the

exposed to potential infringement

as it not only facilitates a producer’s

they both relate to copyright excep-

copyrighted material in question.

claims and the costs related there-

ability to obtain an errors and omis-

tions within their respective juris-

Fair Dealing is a valid exception

sions (E&O) insurance policy on a

dictions, Fair Use is arguably more

to the requirement for permission

production – often required by distributors and broadcasters – but also reduces a producer’s potential liability that may result from the unauthorized use of third party materials or the depiction of certain individuals or locations. Two

common

misconceptions

that lawyers encounter when discussing clearance with producers relate to copyright law: First, that if a production is not intended to be for profit, then it is not necessary to obtain permission from third party rights holders for copyrighted materials that have been included in

“A strong Fair Dealing argument does not necessarily alleviate all of the risk associated with such unauthorized use.”

to, no matter how flawlessly such claims may be defended against. The bottom line is that everything in a production should be cleared, and that producers should get permission from third party rights holders for the use of copyrighted materials whenever possible; however, depending on the particular circumstances in each case, there are situations where permission may not be required, or where getting permission from third party rights holders is not reasonable or attainable. For these reasons, it is advisable for producers to consult with a lawyer early on in production and establish a set of clear-

the production and second, that

flexible and applicable to a wider

from third party rights holders for

ance procedures, or alternatively,

“fair use” can be used as an excep-

range of situations by virtue of the

the use of copyrighted material

speak with an insurance broker

tion to the requirement to obtain

language of the US legislation giv-

in a production, but a strong Fair

and request a copy of an insurer’s

permission from such third party

ing the doctrine effect (17 U.S. Code

Dealing argument does not neces-

clearance procedures document to

rights holders.

§ 107). Fair Dealing, on the other

sarily alleviate all of the risk asso-

ensure that the clearance process

With respect to the first assump-

hand, is limited to the specific pur-

ciated with such unauthorized use.

goes as smoothly as possible from

tion noted above, while the absence

poses enumerated in the Copyright

The existence of Fair Dealing does

the get go. n

of profit may relate to a decreased

Act, RSC 1985, c. C-42, those being

not prevent claims of copyright in-

level of damage to a third party

private study, research, education,

fringement, but acts as a defence

Heather Watt, of Chandler Fogden Al-

rights holder and therefore the

parody, and satire, as well as criti-

to them. A third party rights holder

dous, assists clients with all aspects of

lengths that such a copyright hold-

cism, review and news summary

may still pursue action against a

entertainment law, including film and

er may or may not go to in terms of

(these last three with the additional

producer for the unauthorized use

television production, financing, and in-

recourse, the bottom line is that the

requirement of attribution). In de-

of copyrighted material, which is

tellectual property issues.

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Reel West Fall 2015

Photo by Phillip Chin

Reel West Fall 2015

Fe atu re STo ry

Wherefore Art Thou Romeo? Vancouver, Where Else? Chris Haddock Comes Home to Canada and CBC By Mark Le ire n-yo u ng

hris Haddock has a cold.

When

other shows, including his own.

Frank

As he’s perched in a director’s

Sinatra had a cold in

chair to keep an eye on the dozens

1965, he refused to

of crew members setting the next

be interviewed by Es-

scene, I ask Haddock what he’s

quire writer, Gay Talese, who turned

watching for. “Everything. Every-

his subject’s disappearing act into

thing. First of all that it’s well man-

the world’s most famous magazine

aged and that everybody is working

profile. But as famously tough as

well together. That’s number one.

Sinatra was, he was just a super-

Making sure that everybody’s got

star. Haddock is a showrunner. The

what they intended. What could

only concession Haddock makes to

be better? What’s the health of the

a cold is declining to shake hands to

scene on the day? It’s endlessly an-

avoid sharing his germs.

swering questions immediately be-

Haddock’s outside an auto re-

cause I’m here and there’s no chain

pair shop on East Hastings watch-

of command and anybody can ap-

ing the crew for his new ten epi-

proach me on the set at any time.”

sode CBC drama, The Romeo Section

After stopping our conversation to

(which debuts mid-October) shoot

talk through the next set-up with the

a few scenes. Despite the fact that

director, Haddock explains that as a

he should be in bed sipping chicken

showrunner he always wants to be in

soup, Haddock is in nonstop motion

the middle of the action. “I am sort of

— consulting with his producer, di-

addicted to the set because you can

rector, first AD and other members

Director DAVID FRAZEE with CHRIS HADDOCK on set of The Romeo Section.

take advantage of all the happy ac-

of his team. Stars can get colds.

Photo by Phillip Chin

cidents. Sometimes your obstacles

Showrunners can’t.

provide you with great opportunities,”

As the creator of Da Vinci’s Inquest,

little bit. I went out there and real-

gritty crime show, Mom P.I. — and

says Haddock, citing a delay the pre-

which begat Da Vinci’s City Hall and

ized I really do love running my own

David Frazee, director of photogra-

vious day that led to him seeing and

Intelligence, Haddock is one of Can-

thing. I realized I’d learned a lot over

phy and director on both DaVinci’s

approving a better location than the

ada’s only brand-name showrun-

the years and I wanted to do some-

shows and Intelligence. “You’ve got

one they’d planned to use.

ners — and his brand is high quality

thing that was close to home again

a good mixture of all the vets and

Being on set also makes it easier

crime drama set in the mean streets

because I really enjoy the freedom

some young people who are just

to find inexpensive solutions to po-

of East Vancouver.

of working in Vancouver, because I

sucking it up. It’s really great.”

tential problems – a key for most

After CBC axed Intelligence in 2007,

do know the town and I do know a

For this show the band didn’t in-

Canadian productions. “The actual

Haddock took his act on the road

lot of the crew base and the actors.

clude BC’s best-known actors, who

economic feasibility of shooting

and wrote about crime in Prohibi-

And I love working here. It’s getting

seemed like Haddock’s personal

in Vancouver has greatly changed.

tion era New York for HBO’s Board-

the band back together in a way.”

rep company. “I was using what I

Back when we started Da Vinci in

walk Empire. But Hollywood — okay,

The band includes players like Ro-

thought were the best actors in Van-

‘98, we weren’t paying the kind of

Brooklyn — wasn’t as appealing as

meo director and executive produc-

couver before and I thought, I’m not

money they’re asking for now for

home. “It just wet my whistle,” says

er, Stephen Surjik — who Haddock

going back to that well.” He wanted

locations and that’s all about real

Haddock. “I only really left for a

first worked with back on the not so

stars who weren’t associated with

estate. Parking lots are disappear-

Reel West Fall 2015

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(Andrew Airlie)

worth less. It’s harder to get studio

gatherer” and professor at a fiction-

space. It’s increasingly difficult for

al BC university.

an “intelligence

independent guys like me, or people

Haddock’s also always on the

doing indigenous production, to get

lookout to showcase aspects of

enough value for your buck any-

Vancouver. “It’s different times of

more.”

course. We started shooting down-

About three years ago, CBC asked

town Vancouver in ’98 and we just

Haddock for a new show and he

shot the city for itself and what

pitched Romeo — a series about a

was happening and you could see

Canadian spy organization that spe-

the buildings fall and we kind of

cializes in setting “honey traps.” The

documented, almost accidentally,

idea of seducing people for informa-

a lot of the changes and gentrifica-

tion was inspired by a book he’d read

tion of the Downtown Eastside…

about the East German Stasi and

Now we’re in contemporary Van-

their Romeo and Juliet spies.

couver and we’re showing off the

Haddock combined that interest

lush side of Vancouver’s natural

with his desire to revisit the idea of

beauty. So we’re celebrating that,

a genre that was a one-time fixture

we’re celebrating the influence of

on the small screen, but has all but

all the different cultures… So it is

vanished – school stories. He rattles

just kind of a different slice of Van-

off shows like Blackboard Jungle,

couver, coming at it from the same

Room 222 and The Paper Chase where

river, different riverbank. It’s obvi-

teachers and students were the fo-

ously my voice and what people

cal point. “That’s a genre that’s dis-

like about my stuff. I wanted to

appeared and it’s a fabulous genre

make sure I’m not turning my back

because it’s all really about human

on that. I’m not going completely

nature and inquisitive minds.” Since

electric.”

spy agencies recruit from universities, Haddock built his show around

And he’s not missing a moment of it because of a few germs. n

Reel West Fall 2015

W e ste rn tv, e h ?

The Senate and the CBC: A Comedy that Reaches for the Top By D ia n e Wild

n July, the Senate Standing

season (performing arts), and some

inations, not to mention your own

Committee on Transport and

of them… Reach for The Top? Seri-

valuable time that could have been

I have my own plan to fix the

Communications released its

ously?

spent golfing, to turn in a report

CBC, but unlike the Senate I don’t

qualify as viewer repellent.

report on how the CBC can succeed,

The report positions itself as

that does nothing to address the

think I know enough about the

titled Time for Change: The CBC/Radio-

helping the CBC embrace the digi-

challenges of a public broadcaster

broadcast industry to believe I can

Canada in the Twenty-first Century.

tal age to face the threat of Netflix

in this century.

offer

detailed

instructions,

nor

I look forward to the CBC’s up-

and other streaming services, and

coming report Time for Change: The

encourages the public broadcaster

some

fixing. Waste, inefficiency

bureaucratic organization is by hav-

Senate in the Twenty-first Century --

to embrace what the private net-

and governance issues are givens.

ing another bureaucratic body mi-

and I hope it’s one blank page.

works will not. With an average age

The recent scandals involving Jian

cromanage it the way the Senate’s

The under-threat-of-abolishment

of 65, and a recommendation to

Ghomeshi, Amanda Lang, and Evan

report attempts to do.

Senate weighing in on the minutia of

broadcast more symphonies in the

Solomon are the most public warn-

My report would be short: give

how our public broadcaster should

context of surviving the transition

ings about a culture, policies and

the CBC money. Fund it up the wa-

adapt is possibly funnier than any-

to streaming services, is the Senate

procedures that could clearly use

zoo with my tax dollars, or a license

thing on CBC right now. And Still

really the appropriate institution to

some refining. But the Senate offer-

fee like the BBC. Quit dragging the

Standing is pretty darn funny.

lead us into this brave new world?

ing suggestions on how to reduce

private

The recommendations of that Senate report include eliminating waste, reducing salaries and publicly disclosing how much its employees make, finding new sources of funding, selling real estate, halting in-house production of non-news and current affairs programming,

The CBC could, of course, require

Waste, inefficiency and governance issues are givens.

reviewing all internal policies, and

would I think the best way to fix a

networks

kicking

and

screaming to the CanCon trough, make them pay into something like the Canadian Media Fund — or don’t, but then don’t provide them with any sort of industry protection — and use all the money for CBC programming while they simulcast US shows to their hearts’ and shareholders’ content. I don’t care

changing the governance model so

Liberal Senator Art Eggleton re-

waste and improve ethics feels a lot

the Chief Executive Officer reports

leased a minority report shortly af-

like the pot exclaiming about the

at least to the average level of other

to the CBC Board of Directors in-

terwards that rejected many of the

kettle: “Look, shiny dysfunctional

Western nations’ public broadcast-

stead of the Prime Minister’s office.

recommendations and encouraged

thing over there!”

ers ($82 per capita in 2011 accord-

All fine, if not revolutionary.

the government to increase fund-

In terms of programming sugges-

It also includes recommenda-

ing to $40 per capita – still less than

tions for the national boardcaster,

tions that indicate the Senate has

many other industrialized nations,

everyone in the country is a backseat

And don’t put any money toward

no knowledge of the CBC’s schedule

but more than the $29 in 2014-15.

programmer, and most of our bril-

a Senate that writes irrelevant re-

and current strategic plan, such as

Taken together, these two reports

liant ideas would likely drive the CBC

ports and recommends Reach for the

broadcasting more historical dra-

could be compiled into a volume

ratings so far down I’d fear negative

Top as the saviour of public broad-

mas, nature documentaries, ama-

called Everything That’s Ever Been

digits. (Reach for the Top? Seriously?)

casting. Give that funding to the

teur sports, performing arts, and

Said About How to Fix the CBC Since

I’d like to see an Introduction to Logic

CBC, too. n

Reach for the Top. Some of those the

the Dawn of Time.

course parsing their suggestions that

about the details. Just fund the CBC

ing to Nordicity – almost triple what Canadians are paying for the CBC).

CBC already broadcasts (Murdoch

So, not super helpful at charting

CBC must be more commercial in

Diane Wild is the founder of the TV,

Mysteries, The Nature of Things, Pan

a new course, Senate. But thanks for

terms of earning revenue while air-

eh? website (www.tv-eh.com), cov-

Am Games), some of them see more

taking up the time of 107 witnesses

ing the kind of shows commercial

ering news, reviews and interviews

of an emphasis in the upcoming

in your micromanaged cross-exam-

networks won’t touch because they’d

about Canadian television shows.

Reel West Fall 2015

Wet Plate Photo by Phillip Chin

Sp e cial Fe atu re

The Many Faces of Michael Eklund And the many artists who help transform him You’ve seen Michael Eklund on-screen — but that doesn’t mean you recognized him. Eklund doesn’t just throw himself into new roles, he’s known for remaking himself completely to create his characters. The multiple Leo Award winner is featured in two movies premiering at the 2015 Vancouver International Film Festival — Eadweard and Into the Forest — and he has an astonishing number of new films slated to open in the next year. Reel West talked to Eklund about a half-dozen of his recent transformations and asked some of the hair and make-up people who helped him craft his characters to

Wet Plate Photo by Phillip Chin

take us behind the scenes of preparing an actor.

Angela Veel (Eadweard) has worked as a Makeup Artist in film, television and print for nine years. Eadweard was her first film job after moving to British Columbia. Reel West Fall 2015

Eadweard

Eadweard Muybridge “When I first met him it was because he’d been turned down by every other stylist about bleaching his face and bleaching his hair… He showed me a picture of the actual guy and he’s like, ‘this is what I need to look like.’ And I sort of looked at him and in my mind i’m thinking he’s really handsome and he’s got jet black hair and he’s showing me a seventy year old man with a crazy, crazy beard that is totally grey and grey hair. I kind of looked at him and said, ‘yeah, I’m down. I’ll give it a go.’ Here’s the big key thing and I have to tell you about this so I don’t get sued later. First of all, you could lose patches of hair. Second of all, you could have scalp abrasions. He’s like ‘abrasions, what’s that.’ Blisters on your head dude. And he looks at me and says, ‘Seriously?’… And I say, ‘It’s doable, but it’s a risk.’ He just looks at me and says, ‘yes, this is awesome! Anything for the role, anything for the role.’ And I’m like, ‘you’re crazy, but

- Wendy Keown, Master stylist, Avant Garde Hair Salon

Photo by Rob Gilbert

let’s do it.’”

PhotoS By eron sheean

The Divide

Bobby “… Everything the we did was real. I’d lay a little latex here and there and play with some sores and things, but we had no money. It was basic continuity. We shot chronologically so I’d start with patches and start with bits. And every morning we’d sit and we’d chat and I would just brutalize him and make him look more Darcy Burns (Eadweard) who won a Leo for her work on Eadweard kicked off her career early. “I can remember stealing my mother’s or sister’s makeup and loving the colours and textures.” With ten years

Photo by Rob Gilbert

of experience in the industry her work has appeared on billboards, in print and on the big screen.

Reel West Fall 2015

and more degraded and awful… It was the most radical experience I’d ever had as a designer in my life.” - Tamara Harrod, Key Hair Stylist “From the first scene of the movie you slowly watch myself and Bobby transform. I was also contracted to lose weight during production, which was the real transformation. I starved myself for five weeks while shooting, only eating one piece of chicken at lunch time and drinking lots of coffee and exercising. It was extreme and draining, but was probably one of the best experiences I have had making a movie and playing a character.” - Michael Eklund

3 days in havana

“Intense Man” “When I first learned how to do makeup — I was taught by Bev Takeuchi at the CBC — the first thing that she taught me was that your job is to help an actor create their character. Period. Full stop. And a lot of people don’t really understand that concept as actors, but Michael is really comWendy Keown (Mr. Right, Eadweard) is a Master Stylist and Hair Extension Special-

mitted to his craft and he understands that to take a character on he has to embody that and that means how does the character look?

ist at Vancouver’s Avant Garde Hair Salon.

What I did was create a look for Michael — I wasn’t physically on set… he described the character a

Her work with human hair extensions has

little bit to me and we put them (the extentions) on in my kitchen in West Vancouver and I trimmed

given her a clientele ranging from celebri-

them and he said, ‘let’s go with this look’ and we did… You can do hair extensions that are clip in,

ties needing a transformation to people

you can do hair extensions that are woven in. For Michael we did glue in because they needed to

recovering from chemotherapy. She works

stay in for a long time… We chose to do glue ins in tiny little bundles on extremely short hair, so

with a lot of actors — but rarely on-set.

there were many, many tiny little bundles of hair that were glued onto his existing hair…” - Beth Boxall, Hair Stylist

Reel West Fall 2015

Mr. Right

Johnny Howl “…He tells me about the character and he tells me about the mannerisms and he starts going through images. And I’m like, ‘if you’re going to go all out, then we should probably put some blue-black pieces in so when the light hits it you almost look anime — not fake, but a little bit punky hard.’ And he says ‘yeah let’s do that!’ And I said, ‘we should probably buzz the sides of your head off because that would really give you a bit of a bad-ass look. Like the guy that doesn’t care, that takes clipper to his hairs and just buzzes the sides down and leaves the top all weird and puts weird colour in now and then… And a little bit of tipping so just when the light hits it would have almost a blue reflection to it, just enough so that on camera it would give it a little bit of an edge and you wouldn’t know why.’ That was a fun one and he’s rocking that haircut right now because we both loved it so much and he’s not filming anything right now.” - Wendy Keown, Master stylist, Avant Garde Hair Salon

Into the forest

Stan “This character was a complete collaboration between myself and director Patricia Rozema. The role of Stan was an interesting one. A simple fellow with a dark side, completely discovered on the spot while we were shooting with Patricia. We created him together — from the clothes, to the posture, even to the plastic bag he carries in his pocket. Stan is a character like no other.” - Michael Eklund

The Day

Father “I play Father who is trying to survive and stay fed by eating no matter what he can get his hands on to feed himself and his two children. He is a leader of a group of starving survivalists, aka cannibals. I was in Ottawa shooting this one and was having a hard time finding the character and look of the character. It hit me at midnight in my hotel room. One trip to the local all-night grocery store to buy black hair dye and a cheap pair of shaving clippers for $34.95 and boom Father was born in my hotel bathroom only a few hours before shooting. I think I stained the sink in the hotel bathroom with hair dye... but it was worth it. And it gave the look of Father that was needed. The fabulous director Doug Aarniokoski, who I have worked with since, loved the look when I showed up that morning. Thank goodness! - Michael Eklund

Reel West Fall 2015

Fe atu re Sto ry

Charlotte’s Song Sings with the Help of VFS Crew

By Nath an Cadde ll essica Leigh Clark-Bojin had a dilemma. The veteran Vancouver

was the perfect solution for Clark-Bojin and company. “I’m happy to tell

producer was looking for a place to shoot her feature film debut.

you the story if you want to grab a beer sometime,” she laughs. “But it was

The project, Charlotte’s Song, is a dark take on The Little Mermaid set

the best of both worlds because we had an authentically period house that

in the American dust bowl of Oklahoma in the 1930s. Clark-Bojin

we completely had the run of. We didn’t have to worry about it falling apart

had plenty of experience producing in Vancouver, having made nu-

because it was actively lived in and we didn’t have to worry about knocking

merous shorts in the 604. But staging a massive feature like this prom-

a few walls down because we were much gentler with it than its current

ised to be tough. The stakes were high. And the question remained: how could Vancouver possibly double for Oklahoma in the 1930s?

tenants were.” Most of us remember Charlotte’s Song’s source as the story of beautiful

“It was challenging finding the locations that were just perfect because

Ariel and her adventures under the sea. Of course, like so many Disney

in Vancouver there’s really not that much that’s old,” Clark-Bojin admitted

films that have been adapted from Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales,

in a phone interview. “And if there is anything, it’s usually something that’s

the original story is much sadder than singing lobsters. And that is defi-

falling apart or condemned and insurance won’t let us touch it with a ten

nitely the way Charlotte’s Song leans.

foot pole, or it’s something that’s been designated ‘heritage’ and they’re not going to want us punching holes in the wall and stuff like that.”

Charlotte (Katelyn Mager from Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters), her five sisters and father are thrown into a downward spiral with the death of their

The search culminated in finding a frat residence that sits near the UBC

mother, effectively ending their family-run song and dance act. A gangster

and Point Grey boundary on Vancouver’s west side. Built in 1910, the house

named Randall (Game of Thrones’ Iwan Rheon) offers to pay off the family’s

Reel West Fall 2015

“We wanted to find somebody who was a bad guy, but someone you could like as a bad guy, who was charismatic as a bad guy.” - Jessica Leigh Clark-Bojin

debt in exchange for making chang-

ral characters in the film are UK

es to their performance. When word

actors – because we’d been advised

seeps out that Charlotte, like her

when we spoke with distributors in

mother before her, is a mermaid, a

LA that American folklore wouldn’t

supernatural war wages to take ad-

necessarily play well in Europe. So

Magic and special effects are

Fans if you kinda stack the deck with a couple European names, that’s go-

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prominent in the film, which was

Acoustical ing to help a lot with the interna-

made for around two million dollars,

tional sales, so we were like ‘okay,

but could have been much more ex-

sounds good to us.’ Ewan was on

pensive had an army of Vancouver

the top of our list. We wanted to

Film School (VFS) students not been

find somebody who was a bad guy,

available. “We had seventy-five stu-

but someone you could like as a

dents and alumni working with us,

bad guy, who was charismatic as a

so having that support to lean on

bad guy. So we got a pitch together,

was invaluable to getting the film

brought on a UK casting director to

done,” says Clark-Bojin whose pre-

help get it in his hands and it was

vious work experience was key in

pretty straightforward. The logis-

recruiting her VFS crew.

tics of getting him over here and

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“I used to be the head of the en-

stuff was a steep learning curve for

tertainment business management

us because we’d never done that

program [at VFS]. I ran that for the

before, but aside from that it was

last three years and we had a re-

pretty smooth.”

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ally great working relationship and

Although Clark-Bojin’s production

when I moved on to start my own

company, Done Four Productions,

company, I retained a lot of those

which she runs with Lindsey Mann,

ties. Lindsey Mann had been work-

is listed as the only official producer

ing in my department and a lot

and no official distributor has been

of the people that came on board

announced, it’s clear there are plans

• Shoot spectacular HD, 2K, 4K

were staff of mine, like Nicholas

for Charlotte’s Song to keep playing

Humphries taught directing in my

beyond its debut at the 2015 Vancou-

• 4K/2K raw recording option

program, so it was kinda like ‘Throw

ver International Film Festival.

the net out and there’s ninety percent of your crew.’”

“We’re not allowed to announce

• Vast exposure latitude • High speed shooting at up to 240fps in 2K

the Charlotte’s Song stuff for fifteen

Having experience as a producer

days, so if you ask me again in two

certainly helped Clark-Bojin navi-

weeks I can answer that question,”

gate the waters of making a large

she says with a laugh. Contractual

feature film, but she had never done

stuff won’t stop her from talking

anything even close to this scale. “I

about

think that’s where having less expe-

however. “In terms of what’s next

rience on narrative features sort of

for Done Four, we’re going to be an-

helped us because we didn’t know

nouncing our next feature film. We

what the correct way to approach

actually just got the paper inked

people was so we just tackled it like

today. I’m going to be directing a

we would anything else,” she replies

feature version of the comic book

when asked how she managed to

Monster and Madmen.

everything

that’s

ahead,

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Her answer provides an interest-

in a frat house, the woman is now

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making her directorial debut on

• Provincial and Federal film tax credits • Auditing and accounting services • Cross boarder transactions • HST filings • Corporate restructuring • Financial statement preparations • Personal tax planning and tax returns prepared

this type of film. “We knew we want-

a comic book adaptation. Is there

ed a British star – all the supernatu-

such a thing as being too cool?

30 years experience

wrangle together such a talented cast on a tight budget.

Reel West Fall 2015

To recap, after having produced an adaptation of The Little Mermaid

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Reel West Fall 2015

Josh Epstein with Michael eklund on set of Eadweard.

Pro du c t io n D iary

Directing the Dallying Llama and the Naked Truth about shooting Eadweard Diary By Jos h Epste in

The made-in-Vancouver drama starring Michael Eklund as controversial turn-of-thecentury photographer, filmmaking pioneer and killer Eadweard Muybridge is dazzling movie buffs around the world. So far Eadweard has made waves at film festivals on Maui, in Nashville, Cleveland, Brooklyn, Edinburgh and Munich. The proudly madein-Vancouver movie makes its Canadian debut at the 2015 edition of the Vancouver International Film Festival. Reel West asked the film’s producer, co-writer and llamawrangler to share the naked truth about a day-in-the-life of the making of Eadweard. In the summer of 2012, while acting

llama. We didn’t have time or peo-

at the Stratford Festival, Kyle Ride-

ple-power to send anyone else, so I

out, my filmmaking partner, direc-

had to go. Producer, co-writer, actor,

tor, and co-writer of Eadweard, joined

location scout, distributor, marketer

me for a writer’s retreat and we did

and now animal wrangler.

a script reading with some of their

We found the animals through

finest festival actors. We then drove

a friend of a friend of a friend. Ac-

to Buffalo and flew to Philadelphia

cording to the owners, they were

to do our Eadweard Muybridge re-

seasoned at performing and would

search tour of duty. We walked in

do whatever their owners told them.

the footsteps of Eadweard, stood in

Unless the llama decided differently

the spot where, in 1884, Eadweard

of course. The llama was their true

took his landmark animal locomo-

leader and if the llama decided to

tion series of photographs and measured and studied his actual camer-

act up, you didn’t stand a chance. I arrived on the owner’s farm and

Cooperative goats on-set of Eadweard.

as at the University of Pennsylvania

the three animals sized me up and

archives. However, every other as-

forgive me for. Camera equipment

graphs. Michael was well coached on

then decided to take a stroll away

pect — the costumes, the crew, the

is heeeeavy and awkward to carry

wet-plate developing by well-known

from me. The llama was acting up.

actors, the props, the locations were

(don’t know how those camera

local photographers Kathy Kinakin

I think the goat, the sheep and the

found in Vancouver’s lower main-

crews do it all day every day).

(Beau Photo) and Henri Robideau

llama thought they were siblings as

land which makes the global interest

My morning mission was to get

(Emily Carr). As soon as the scene is

they travelled everywhere in a pack.

the film is garnering especially satis-

to the stunning Abbotsford Farm

set, Michael, Torrance Coombs and

And by everywhere, I mean every-

fying. This movie about an American

we were shooting at first, make sure

Sara Canning head to hair/makeup

where I wasn’t.

icon was 99% Vancouver.

there were no potential disasters for

and wardrobe to begin their trans-

Plan A: We took as much hay as

July 10th, 2013 was a typical pro-

the day and be ready for the walk-

formations to the 1880s, definitely

we could and tried to slowly lead

duction day in the sense that noth-

through of the day’s first shot. First

the most peaceful place on set and

them into the van. They were inter-

ing was typical, except for reminding

up is Michael Eklund who plays some

my first place to visit when I want to

ested in the hay, but as soon as we

us again of the incredible resources

of the darkest characters in Vancou-

catch my breath. Today though…no

stepped close to the van they would

Vancouver offers. A sharp four hours

ver film history, but is always chip-

time to catch breath.

check in with the lama, who was def-

of sleep and I’m off at 5:45 AM fill-

per and approachable, even at 7 am.

I took the cargo van, borrowed

ing my car with the additional cam-

The shot is Michael as Muybridge

from an investor, and was on my

Plan B: We filled the van with a

era gear I picked up the night be-

in his make-shift lab using the wet

way to pick-up today’s very special

plethora of hay. I hope the owner

fore, something my back still won’t

plate process to develop his photo-

guest stars: a goat, a sheep and a

of the van isn’t reading this, but we

Reel West Fall 2015

initely on to us, and ran away.

achel mani ng mon NICHOLS.

made that van look like a llama’s

ever inconvenient it would be, I’m

them in. Case closed! (That is until

choreographed by Crystal Pite and

paradise. There was hay everywhere.

sure we could work something out

the other “animal days” which in-

in all of them the performers were

We even built a wooden ramp so

knowing I could replace those days

cluded many horses, including one

fully nude.

they could just trot up and into the

later in the month and let Tim Bur-

we painted half charcoal; a turtle; a

I had a sequence in the show where

van. At one point we had the goat

ton help fund our film.

greyhound; two piglets and Billy the

I started buck naked, ran across the

eating away inside and the sheep

Still not wanting to head back to

bear. Absolutely no animals were

stage, hopped all the way back, then

slowly making his way up the ramp,

set empty handed and with a van

harmed in the shooting of this film).

flipped a chair and jumped off of

but that’s as close as we got before

just begging to be filled up, I took

The set was especially packed

it. There’s nothing quite like run-

the llama gave a big throat gurgle

my weekly visit to Jim Buckshon

that day, it was stifling hot and local

ning, jumping, and climbing ladders

and out they went, never to return.

at Renegade Productions. As with

actor and friend Jay Brazeau showed

nude in front of thousands of people

After what felt like hours, I called

many of our generous donors, Ren-

up to bring A&W floats for the crew.

across the country — although I’m

Kyle who was now wondering where

egade was a huge help, providing

A true Mensch.

sure the intimacy of the camera pro-

I was. I simply said, “It’s not going to

an enormous collection of props

We had three goats, over sixty

vides its own butterflies. Performing

happen.”

for very little cash. Jim person-

actors and crew members, and to-

art nude is incredibly vulnerable, but

I don’t like missing anything on

ally helped me load the van, taking

day was the day we had ten actors

at the same time incredibly freeing.

set, so I wanted to get out of Llama-

short breaks to listen to Hey Ocean

playing nude models preparing and

In a respectful atmosphere you can

ville, but Kyle was Kyle. “We need

rock out through the walls. If you

shooting what we called our “nude

feel empowered afterward.

them.” he said. “Don’t leave without

haven’t been to Renegade, you need

model montage.” Eadweard was fa-

We closed the set, limiting the

them. At least one of them.”

to check out their wall-to-wall prop

mous for shooting nude models to

number of people watching so the

I said, “It’s not going to happen.”

shop directly below their rock band

study the body. Of course, it was in-

actors felt more comfortable, and

Kyle and I have been working to-

rehearsal rooms. Every time I’m

credibly controversial at the time, but

filmed the most beautiful foot-

gether for five years. We never argue,

there I hear echoes of some of my

he insisted he was only interested in

age of these ten actors performing

we just sort of express our concerns

Eadweard’s motion studies naked.

to each other, which is pretty incred-

Their bravery shone through and

ible when I think back on all the stressful situations we have been in together, many of them not including animals. We also often get mistaken for each other, which never happened at the beginning of our writing together; it would not be false to say we sometimes talk and dress the same. We’re not proud of this. The animals’ owners were insisting this has never happened before, in fact just yesterday they took the three of them in their mini van to a friend’s place. However, they said that now we stand no chance of wrangling our cast because the animals were full and wouldn’t be en-

“The llama was their true leader and if the llama decided to act up, you didn’t stand a chance.”

ticed by the hay. They had one last idea — putting the van at the bottom of the hill and trying to get the animals to run towards it and up the ramp into it.

the scene captures the beauty of the human body in an artistic, non-sexualized way. I can’t wait to hear what the actors think of it. Then it was back to watching the magic of Michael Eklund, Jonathon Young, Jodi Balfour, Sara Canning, Torrance Coombs and Christopher Heyerdahl. That made any llama misadventures worthwhile. A week later, after 23 days of shooting, long hot days with not a drop of rain (it was July and it didn’t rain once the entire month) we climbed The Chief on the last day of shooting. I was so worried my crew would hate me for saving this day for last. We took as little equipment as we could,

favourite Vancouver artists working

the science of photography, the study

through their repertoire.

of the movements of the human

I’m pretty confident I delivered on

body, not the sexuality of a body.

but we all still carried a heavy load. What shouldn’t have surprised me was how awesome the crew

everything I promised for Eadweard,

Joel Sturrock was in charge of cho-

was. We tried to get fewer people

They didn’t come close and the

except the llamas, so I wasn’t hold-

reographing a movement piece for

to come that day, but everyone in-

three animals looked at me like the

ing my head high when I arrived

the camera that represented Ead-

sisted on being included. We were

pathetic animal wrangler I was. And

back at set that day. However, as I

weard’s overworked, overtired and

even joined by four guys from the

if you don’t believe me look up my

was pulling into the gate of the prop-

overwhelmed brain seeing all his

company RVRD (North America’s

instagram video @joshepstein1 from

erty, I was met by our Production

photographs crash into one. The ac-

premiere Drone company) who vol-

July, 2013.

Manager, Julie Tondreau, who had a

tors playing the nude models worked

unteered to bring their own drone

On my way back to set, full of

brilliant idea. She had met the nice

fully clothed in a field rehearsing

and camera and shot the epic foot-

shame, I got a call from Tim Burton’s

neighbours on the farm we were

the piece as Joel made adjustments

age of Eadweard taking pictures on

Big Eyes location manager. He said

shooting at and she thought they

to the spacing and timing based on

the top of the mountain.

that depending on the day, one of

might have some animals.

our needs. I could sense the antici-

When we got to the top of The

their star actors was available and

Ten minutes later, we’d convinced

pation from the actors. Excitement

Chief, most of the crew found a mo-

they wanted to see if they could buy

the neighbours to bring over their

with a touch of nerves. Kyle and I

ment to tell me personally that to-

us out of a few of our Hycroft Manor

three goats to be filmed after lunch.

knew what they were going through.

day was the best day of the shoot.

shooting days. He says that in thirty

Goats being goats and not llamas,

We performed in the stage version

Shooting this film was like climbing

years in the business, they had never

they were perfectly well-behaved

of Eadweard, written by Vancouver’s

that mountain, a hard trek up, but at

heard of an indie film getting five

and their owner got their child to

internationally acclaimed theatre

the top it was incredibly sweet, with

straight days at Hycroft. I tried to

dress up in our period costumes and

company, The Electric Company. It

a wonderful view of Vancouver. Ead-

hide my cards and reply that how-

walk them in the scene we needed

had lots of movement pieces in it

weard’s new home. n

Reel West Fall 2015

I ndie S ce ne

A Short Look at VIFF Shorts By Pau l Ar mstr on g

nother year, another var-

projects in various stages of de-

The film expresses Wapeemuk-

Lisa Jackson, whose name she drew

ied selection of fascinat-

velopment.” And we hope that will

wa’s concern about “how Canada’s

out of a hat as part of their work-

ing local short films at the

include more of her invaluable in-

poorest postal code can exist at the

shop. Tailfeathers then had to create

sights into other people’s films too.

absolute centre of the world’s most

a film in the spirit of Jackson’s short

Also screening at VIFF is the short

livable city and the contradictory

Suckerfish. “That was quite the chal-

Crossing over to the filmmaking

Balmoral Hotel, directed, produced

truth that capitalism requires pov-

lenge indeed” says Tailfeathers. “Cre-

front again is film critic Katherine

and edited by Wayne Wapeemuk-

erty and exploitation in order to ac-

ativity is born out of restrictions.”

Monk with Rock the Box, for which

wa, winner of the 2015 Leo Award

cumulate more wealth that is only

she is credited as writer, director,

for Best Short and Best Director for

accessible to the bourgeoisie.”

stills photographer and addition-

Luk’Luk’l: Mother.

2015 Vancouver International Film Festival.

And that creativity continues. Tailfeathers just finished a short docu-

Wapeemukwa is now in post-

mentary on her mother’s work as a

success,

production on a documentary spon-

First Nations physician in Aboriginal

Wapeemukwa, ever humble, says “I

sored by the Canada Arts Council

communities as a part of the second

Rock the Box, which premiered at

look at my involvement as more of

about the fantasies of people from

season of the Mavericks documentary

the Toronto International Film Festi-

a curatorial endeavor than directing

the Downtown Eastside and in de-

series on Telus Optik TV this fall.

val, follows DJ Rhiannon Rozier, who

as the film would not have been pos-

velopment for a feature adaption

hit the glass ceiling and decided to

sible without the assistance of my

based on his previous short-film.

al sound recordist. “I also bought cookies,” Monk adds.

do something she never imagined she would do: pose for Playboy. Monk feels there is an “endemic sexism in every facet of our culture that we can’t see, because it’s so ingrained, including the increasingly profitable world of Electronic Dance Music. This is a movie about how we assign value to human beings. In-

Despite

that

past

Also returning to VIFF is Liz Cairns, director of My Favourite Sea-

“This is a movie about how we assign value to human beings.”

son, a film about best friends who visit the corner store to get some eggs for pancakes, but end up using them for something else. Cairns and co-writer, Sophie Jarvis, wanted to make “a coming-ofage film about the smaller events that shape your sense of self and place in the world, in this case a

stead of judging our subject, I hope

co-producer Matt Drake, the true

Returning to VIFF after her Cra-

young female relationship and a

people question the box of assump-

to life performance of Angel Gates,

zy8s short A Red Girl’s Reasoning

shift in awareness around sexual

tions we’re all forced to live in.”

choreography by Yvonne Chartrand

screened three years ago is writer,

objectification. The characters are a

and score by Cris Derksen.”

director,

Elle-Máijá

sort of amalgamation of our young-

Judging is something Monk spends a lot of time doing as one of Canada’s

Balmoral Hotel, the life story of

leading film critics. How does that in-

form her own filmmaking?

ing in the Downtown Eastside told

First-Nations

sex-worker

liv-

co-producer

Tailfeathers

with

Bihttoš, which

translates from Sámi as Rebel. Mixing

archival

footage,

er selves,” explains Cairns. She especially enjoys screening

re-

at VIFF as, “the audiences are really

“I wish I could separate the two

through dance, recently premiered

enactments and animation, this

intelligent and engaged, so the VIFF

parts of me, but they’re both me

at the Smithsonian Museum of the

documentary explores how past

Q&As are always interesting.”

and both informed by a love of film.

American Indian’s Native Cinema

injustices impacted the marriage

Sounds like her next films will be

I think we’re all self-critical, so my

Showcase in Sante Fe, New Mexico.

of Tailfeathers’ mother, of Blackfoot

too. Cairns is developing two projects

descent, and her Sámi father.

— a short narrative and a short docu-

self-criticism was part of the pro-

With its screening in Vancouver,

cess, but not in a way that can be

Wapeemukwa is looking forward

The film was commissioned by

paralyzing. All my critical reflexes

to Gates being able to attend the

the imagineNATIVE Film Festival

have been rigorously trained, so

screening as she inspired the film,

with the concept inspired by Lars

Paul Armstrong is a film producer who

they felt helpful and instructive.”

having lived on the Downtown East-

Von Trier’s The Five Obstructions and

also produces The Celluloid Social Club

side since the age of twelve.

the style by Canadian filmmaker

and the Crazy8s Film Event.

Up next for Monk are “multiple

Reel West Fall 2015

mentary — both about pet suicides. n

Fe atu re sto ry

Henchmen, a Bron Studios production, will be released next year. Photo c/o Bron Studios

Bron Gets Animated on Vancouver Island

By Nath an Cadde ll

45-minute drive

for animation,” admits Carroll. “In

Victoria there’s a growing one, in

Nanaimo

followed

gaming especially… But in terms

twenty-minute

of Duncan, we’re definitely the first

seaplane

trip

here, but you know it’s a start with

and

an-

us kind of being here and pioneering

other twenty-minute Skytrain ride.

it. I think we’ll be growing, if we do

That’s Luke Carroll’s weekly com-

our thing and word gets out and it’s

mute as he travels to Bron Studios’

technically functioning, I see more

Burnaby headquarters on the out-

artists taking advantage. Because it

skirts of Vancouver from the com-

really is a lovely balance between

pany’s new office in his adopted

great projects and great work and

hometown of Duncan on Vancouver

also living just a very different way

Island. If that seems like a bit of a

compared to other cities.”

then

trek, the VP of production for Bron

Of course, there are some busi-

doesn’t seem to mind. “I live just

ness-related reasons that the Dun-

south of Duncan, so we chose Dun-

LUKE CARROLL and ADAM WOOD boarding the seaplane enroute to Burnaby. Photo c/o Bron Studios

can specifically because it’s where I

can move makes sense to Bron. Being in that location allows the studio

live. Plus it’s in that sweet spot be-

why the move was made, before

Bron’s decision to set up an anima-

to take advantage of tax breaks

tween Victoria and Nanaimo, so it’s

insisting he enjoys the trip. “I do it

tion studio in Duncan raised some

while also not having to fight over

easy access to both and getting to

every week, it’s a very pleasant way

eyebrows. For one, it doesn’t have

animators the way the firm some-

Vancouver is easy,” says Carroll by

to travel.”

an established animation industry.

times has to in Vancouver. “The

At all. “In Duncan there isn’t one

government gives tax credits for

phone at the new office when asked

However nice it may be to travel,

Reel West Fall 2015

artists who are working in remote

dent film approach to animation

or distant locations,” says Carroll.

because there’s a lot of autonomy,

“So that is the financial incentive

you have a real say. All the energy

and then the other incentive is

goes into the movie so every penny

recruiting. Recruiting is very diffi-

can be up on the screen.”

S ide re e l

Bron Reveals a New Realm Story by Nat ha n C a del l

cult in Vancouver because there’s

Advances in technology have

Garrick Dion was a writer before he became a producer. That

so much work, so what you really

obviously played a big role in being

isn’t necessarily a rare occurrence, but it’s important in understanding

need to be offering is something a

able to make any of this happen,

the trajectory of Dion’s career and how he approaches filmmaking. Dion

little bit different.”

as Bron doesn’t have to duplicate

has been in the business for twenty or so years, but he’s only been pro-

brand

the Burnaby studio in Duncan.

ducing for the last few, debuting with a couple of smaller films in the

comes in. Since it was launched

“There’s now the technology that

late 2000s. Then he started working on a run of small, but phenomenally

five years ago by Aaron and Bren-

allows us to have a remote studio

well-received films, including Drive (2011), Whiplash (2014) and Night-

da Gilbert, the studio quickly took

that connects back to the mother-

crawler (2014).

over a big chunk of the Vancouver

ship... So the animators work re-

The common through-line in those efforts? They were all character-driv-

film and animation production

motely, which is fantastic because

en dramas that found an audience. Bron Studios was founded five years

business with about forty full-

then you don’t need to replicate

ago and quickly became known for being an independent studio that could

time employees, a number that is

the Burnaby studio in Duncan

churn out quality work usually reserved for the bigger houses. It makes

growing fast.

with all the stuff that goes with

sense then that Bron chose Dion to run their new movie incubator, dubbed “The Realm”. The Realm was created with the mantra that smaller films

That’s

where

Bron’s

About a year into production,

it. You’ve got one place where

animation became a priority, with

everything is stored so therefore

with a heavy directorial presence would take precedence. The first effort

several shorts being produced by

you can support the studio from

on the slate is a thriller called Collared directed by indie horror darling Ale-

the studio. When Carroll came over

Burnaby.”

jandro Brugues (Juan of the Dead).

to bring animated features to the

As we spoke, Carroll was sorting

“When I started, Aaron Gilbert, the head and founder of Bron said ‘Boy,

forefront, he did so based on the

out some technological issues in

you have one of these, one of these’ that I’d gathered over the years,” says

way Bron operates. The first proj-

order to facilitate the connection

Dion, talking over the phone from L.A. about his body of work in different

ect, which

is priority one at the

to the big city office. “It’s been dif-

genres. “’So why don’t we do under five million dollar films?’ It’s what I’ve

new studio is Henchmen – a kid’s

ficult because we are pioneering

been meaning to do for a number of years, so it just worked out that way.”

action comedy directed by Adam

the set-up in Duncan so we have

Dion’s love of genre films led him on this path, as he grew up a young

Wood about the hired help that

been going on a very laborious

horror film fan in Harwich, Massachusetts. “It’s funny when people say

does the heavy lifting for super vil-

process of getting the fibre work-

genre film and they’re talking about horror, thriller and sci-fi,” says Dion. “I

lains. The movie follows a hench-

ing, which is going from Burnaby

watched a lot of Steven Spielberg, a lot of James Cameron. Meanwhile, I

man who accidentally becomes a

from

was also watching a lot of Sam Raimi. Then, in the mid-80’s I started to re-

hero and features the voices of Rob

Duncan to Nanaimo so we can

ally get into horror movies. I just always wanted to get into horror, my first

Riggle, Craig Robertson, Rosario

have this uninterrupted real time

step into Hollywood, I really wanted to work at New Line Cinema because

Dawson and Alfred Molina.

data flow. We’ve been doing it for

that was where Freddy was,” he admits, referencing the Friday the 13th

months and it’s cost hundreds of

films and that era’s horror film factory. “New Line was the house Freddy

thousands of dollars to do it.”

built. Not every studio had a franchise, so I was determined to do some-

“We’re a little different, we often refer to it as lightning in a bottle.

Waterfront

and

then

We’re in that really lovely place

It remains to be seen if all the

where we have Aaron’s ability to

effort that’s going into the studio

raise private financing that gives

will come to fruition, but if Bron’s

Even as he’s taking over a budding company, Dion is both humble and

us the ability to work on projects

previous moves are any indication,

adamant about why he got into producing. It goes back to his love of writ-

that we think are fantastic and

there’s a good chance it will. After

ing. “Developing a script is a funny thing, that’s how I kind of came into

then we have the creative control

all, the studio is located in a pretty

producing. I’d think, ‘We’ve got the script to a good place and the vision,

to be able to make them fantas-

fitting location: Duncan’s old cin-

so how do we keep an eye on what the script needs and how do we make

tic,” he says. “It’s a very different

ema that shut down years ago. As

that into a film.’ So that’s kind of a roundabout explanation as to how I ar-

mentality to when you have a cli-

Bron tries to fill theatres with its

rived at producing. It was definitely through story, script and a lot of time

ent that you have to keep happy,

creations, the biggest board in the

spent reading drafts of scripts, and trying to fix problems and finding the

but for us it really is an indepen-

office covers half of the old screen.

best version.”

thing traditional. I didn’t want to have that [genre film] label, but I just really like making really smart, cool, genre films.”

Providing a comprehensive overview of national and provincial funding bodies and engaging stories and words of wisdom by seasoned producers.

604.451.7335

info@reelwest.com Reel West Fall 2015

Join Reel West Magazine’s Digitally Yours columnist Erica Hargreave for her online course in cross-media strategy and storytelling at BCIT. BCST 1073: Photo: Liz KearsLey

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The Art of Raw

Reel West Fall 2015

Dig itally Yo u rs

The Secrets to Digital Video Success By er ica ha r gr eave

f you’ve been to a media, tech-

This prompted our team to start

• Sharing your videos on your so-

appropriate keyword phrase. Our

nology, cross-platform story-

paying attention to our YouTube

cial media feeds with hashtags

team uses AdWord’s Keyword Plan-

telling or marketing conference

Channels — researching how to

that help your target audience

ner for this. Then type each poten-

in the past five years, you’ve heard

succeed with our digital video, and

find them;

tial keyword phrase for the video

the predictions that the next great

experimenting on our Channels to

online wave is digital video. These

see what worked for us. We started

predictions make sense. YouTube

our experiment six months ago. Af-

• Sharing videos in niche commu-

vide the number of YouTube search

is, after all, owned by Google, the

ter delivering videos with weekly

nities geared towards your target

results by the number of monthly

world’s largest search engine, so it

consistency for two months, we

audience, including SubReddits,

Google searches for each of the

stands to reason that Google would

were met with almost immediate

Facebook groups, Google+ Com-

keyword phrases.

give preferential treatment to You-

success.

munities, LinkedIn Groups and

Tube video in Google searches. Why is it then that most online

started

receiving

regular

invitations to join MCNs (Multi-

• Including your videos in blog posts;

other forums; • Sharing your videos in your

into a YouTube search, and record the number of search results. Di-

Your ideal keyword phrases are the ones with the lower results to search ratios.

creators are only meeting with

Channel

mixed success in the creation and

LA casting agents reach out to us

sharing of digital video, even when

about hosting new TV series, we

the production quality is beautiful?

have built an engaged audience

This may have made many of you

that regularly comments on our

skeptical about the effectiveness of

videos, and we have a sixty percent

digital video and whether it can re-

increase in video views and a twen-

Perhaps the best way to reach

Using this approach we had a

ally be profitable for you.

ty three percent increase in sub-

your audience is by understanding

quickie, kid-filmed, experimental video reach over 22,000 views.

Networks),

we’ve

had

newsletter; • Reaching out to popular blogs for coverage; • Creating timely videos on topics people are searching online.

Use this keyword phrase in the video’s title, the first paragraph of the metadescription and tags. If possible, add a secondary keyword phrase to the video’s title, metadescription and tags too.

My team and I were skepti-

scribers to our main channel. And,

that Google is a search engine and

cal. We questioned whether the

yes, we’ve started making a small

most people visit Google and You-

In addition, if you create custom

window for making a YouTube hit

income off YouTube.

Tube to search for something. If

thumbnails for your videos, you will

had passed. Was making YouTube

Why is our video sharing and

you can figure out what your target

attract more eyes and clicks. After

videos ‘spreadable’ or was making

content creation now working for

audience is searching for, and then

all, it is all about visual storytelling.

money off this platform only pos-

us, whereas before it was met with

create video content that address-

If you want to learn more about

sible for YouTube’s early content

mixed results like so many other

es what they are searching for, you

growing and engaging your You-

creators?

videos? Aside from the odd viral

stand to grow your audience and

Tube audience and getting more

That’s what was going through

cat video or, in our case, goat video,

video views at a much faster rate.

views for your videos, join us in

my head until my friend Steve Dot-

it all comes down to the ability to

You can also do this with your past

monthly

to of Dotto Tech decided to make

reach your target audience.

content by searching for the most

by following the hashtag #Story-

YouTube

experiments

YouTube the main platform for his

There are many ways to reach

competitive keyword phrases that

ToGoVideos. I also encourage you

technology show (which had previ-

your target audience on YouTube,

suit the video, and adding them to

to join the broader storytelling

ously been a television and radio

including:

your video’s title, metadescription,

conversation by connecting with @

and tags.

ReelWestMag on Twitter and Face-

series). Over the past two years Steve has grown his YouTube Chan-

Commenting on other recent •

Use a keyword research tool to

nel to over 80,000 subscribers and is

videos on YouTube that reach

find the monthly Google searches

nearing five million views. And he

your target audience;

book. n

for a variety of appropriate key-

Erica Hargreave gets her kicks out of

is making a living at it — through

• Engaging the commenters on

word phrases for the video in ques-

weaving stories across platforms, and

YouTube itself and the associated