Cat's Online Orientation
Membership Services Director, Cat LeBlanc's Online Orientation is accessible
to anyone who is interested in finding out more about the NB Film
Co-op. Anyone can take the online orientation and then email Cat if
they have any further questions.
Introduction
 My
name is Cat Leblanc and I have been Membership Services at the NB
Film Co-op for about 12 years, first as a volunteer and now as
staff. To find out more about myself and the other Co-op staff,
check out: http://www.nbfilmcoop.com/bios.html
on the Co-op website. I will now begin walking you through the
story of the Film Co-op and how the organization came into
existence!
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NB Film Co-op's Beginnings
and Membership Composition
In 1979 a small group of young men came together as an
informal group. They all had something very elemental in common; they loved
everything about film. In those days film
stock was cheap and video wasn't even a distant gleam in anyone's
eye. The group began projecting films and meeting and discussing
how to apply for grants, pool resources and formalize their
structure more so to create a professional space. The principles of
the group and the Co-op that have held steadfast all these year are
listed on this link: http://www.nbfilmcoop.com/objectiv.htm
The group moved ahead applying for infrastructure grants from different funding
sources (Canada Council, National Film Board, Province of New
Brunswick), and were eventually successful in finding monies to
rent a space at 51 York Street in downtown Fredericton (formerly a radio
station). Over time, they were able to receive enough grants to
purchase cameras, sound, lighting gear, editing systems for film
etc... They applied for charitable status again
and this time were accepted. At this point there were perhaps about
20 Co-op members.
In the eighties, the growing members/staff began to use their learned
skills and expertise to put on professional workshops.. They also
brought professionals from inside and outside of the province to teach
sessions. Go to: http://www.nbfilmcoop.com/history.htm
to see some visuals of those alumni members who kept the film fires
burning over the years at the Film Co-op. As the expertise of the
staff and membership grew....productions began to happen..
 From this small group of people who had a gem of an idea in
1979; the Co-op now has swelled to 220 members province wide with a
hard working board of directors, committees and advisory groups from
different areas in the province. The Co-op
recently moved from it's long-time downtown location in Fredericton to the
Charlotte Street Arts Centre (732 Charlotte Street) to be with other cultural groups in the
city.
The Co-op membership is made up of the
following film/video people in NB: emerging, mid career
and professional. The membership is made up of people from
all walks of life and life styles. There are couples and friends who make films
together.....the youngest member is 16 years old and the oldest
member is over 80 years old. Students, government ministers, church
ministers, part-time and full-time artists,
politicians, retirees, teachers, professionals who work in the
independent or commercial industry or both....with a melting pot of different cultures
thrown in for good measure (Greek, Turkish, German, Irish, Scottish,
Aboriginal, East-Indian, Lebanese, Asian, Korean etc...).
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Structure
http://www.nbfilmcoop.com/structur.htm
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Membership Types
- A person can become an associate member or
full member of the Co-op. Members can upgrade or downgrade their
membership depending on how busy their life and schedule is and what they want to do. Go
to http://www.nbfilmcoop.com/members.htm
to find out more about the two types of memberships at the Film
Co-op and the volunteer things that members can do to get their
required hours in no matter where they live.
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Getting Involved/Outreach
- The Staff welcome members on committees/advisory groups
each year who have the expertise, are good with people and
comfortable working in groups and who are willing to volunteer their time to help out on
the following: PR Advisory, Production Committee, Equipment
Advisory, Finance and Fundraising, Festival and Events, Human
Resources Committee. Email Cat at info@nbfilmcoop.com
to chat about this anytime.
It has always been important to the Co-op staff and board of
directors to be
inclusive of the entire province of NB. Even though the Co-op
operates with extremely limited funding...it's board and membership has been
instrumental in assisting the staff with outreach to many areas of the
province. The staff, board and membership truly makes the Co-op what it is;
an excellent community based charity whose focus is on NB film and video
creators who have a desire to tell their stories with complete
creative control.
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Accessing Resources at the Co-op
Only Full members can access full resources at the
Co-op (equipment, editing resources, small cash grants etc.). In order to have this kind
of full access, a person must first pay a full membership, then volunteer 30 hours
and take 5 required workshops through the Co-op's annual
workshop series which runs typically from Feb-Oct (screenwriting/directing/
production design/digital lighting/digital
camera/cinematography/editing).
As well, members can take one-on-one or small group workshops through the Co-op
with professional instructors for a fee of $30/hour. Membership Services takes
each member through this process and answers any questions. Once the above criteria
has been fulfilled, the member can then access equipment in three
different ways:
1) by preparing a proposal for Membership Services to go through
the production committee and board for approval.
2) straight rental at incredible independent rates
3) rental for commercial projects at commercial rates.
This above criteria does take time to fulfill and people should
never join the Co-op with the intention of accessing and doing
projects right away through the Co-op.
Check out the Co-op's Equipment Pool by emailing Cat for a PDF
of the Equipment List at the Co-op at: info@nbfilmcoop.com
or checking out the equipment link at: http://www.nbfilmcoop.com/equip.htm
The Co-op has grown from being a film only training centre in
it's early years to become a complete studio for film and digital
production, assisting it's members on their projects from prep to
post to final distribution.
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Activities and Resources
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Awards
- The
NB Film Co-op was a recipient of a United Nations Year of the
Volunteer Medal in 2001. The New Brunswick Foundation for the Arts awarded the Co-op
the Arts Organization of the Year Prize in 2002 for the province of
NB. Others that were up for this award at the time. (TNB, Harvest
Jazz and Blues etc).
- There have been three Unsung Hero Awards given out to Co-op
members (Brigitte Noel and John Christenson) and staff person Cat LeBlanc on behalf
of the City of Fredericton. Find out more about John Christenson by going to: http://www.nbfilmcoop.com/john.htm
Find out more about Cat by going to: http://www.nbfilmcoop.com/bios.html#cathy
Find out more about Brigitte by going to: http://www.nbfilmcoop.com/brigitte.htm
- The Co-op Executive Director Tony Merzetti was awarded an
Excellence Award for Community Cultural Development in 2005. Find
out more about Tony by going to:
http://www.nbfilmcoop.com/bios.html#tony
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Special Events
- The Co-op hosts numerous socials throughout the year
including a Spring Fling, Halloween and Christmas Party along with
the Co-op AGM BBQ each summer.
- The Silver Wave Film Festival formally known as Tidal Wave
came into ex istence after the Co-op the staff and board of directors brainstormed for several years prior to 2001 concerning creating a
showcase event to promote and expose the rest of the province to
the film and video works that the Co-op membership and others in
the province were creating. The Silver Wave Film Festival is now in
it's 8th year and has proven to be an excellent annual event for
film in the province. www.swfilmfest.com.
The New Brunswick Film/Video makers are the true celebrities of
Silver Wave to the Co-op.
- The Co-op took over the organization and coordination of the
Capital Film Series in 2004 and changed it's name to the Monday
Night Film Series. This Film Society has an annual membership that
joins as well as those who pay general admission to come and see
the films....this is a excellent fundraiser for the Co-op.
http://www.nbfilmcoop.com/fs.htm
- Under the Stars - Films in the Park is an opportunity for people in the community to gather together
every Sunday night at dusk in Barracks Square during the summer to view classic
Hollywood films, student productions from the Centre for
Arts and Technology and short films produced by Co-op members across the province. The partners on this
great event are: New Brunswick Film Co-op, Centre of Arts and Technoloy, Fredericton Tourism and Downtown Fredericton.
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Getting the
News Out!
- The Co-op sends out a weekly e-news which has visual and
written content. The listserv for the e-news is 4000 strong Canada wide. This very
important initiative ensures that people in the province of New
Brunswick, the Atlantic and Canada are kept up to date on what is going on within the active
Co-op membership and the film and television community at
large to do with: productions, paid and volunteer work, casting,
training and development, film screenings, festivals and events,
spotlights on producers, filmmakers, writers and production
companies etc...
- For those who do not want to become a member of the
Film Co-op, anyone is welcome to pay an annual subscription fee of
$10 to be put on the listserv.
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Supporters and Sponsors!
http://www.nbfilmcoop.com/sponsors.htm
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