NB Film Co-op

Spotlight

FREDERICTON - ANNUAL NBFC FUNDRAISER EVENT NEEDS VOLUNTEERS
Dear NB Film Co-op members, it's that time of year again; time to help Cat and Tony by volunteering on the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival as security so that the Co-op can receive a donation.

Board member and active volunteer Corena Walby has taken over the recruiting and organizing of volunteers this year for Harvest Jazz and Blues to help out Co-op staff who are snowed under a mountain of work.

If you are interested in helping the Film Co-op with this annual fundraising activity, please email Corena at: mwalby@nb.sympatico.ca right away as she would like to put together her teams of security people as soon as possible.

Wednesday - 6:00 PM to 11:30 PM;
Thursday - 6:00 PM to 1:00 AM;
Friday - 6:30 PM to 1:30 AM
Saturday - 4:00 PM to 1:30 AM.

We require 12 people per shift.

NOTE: Please be dependable when you commit to volunteer to help. Every year we have volunteers who cancel at the last minute which causes stress on the organizers as they scramble to fill in the holes.

For new members needing to get their volunteer hours in...this counts towards them!

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NB - MEMBERS NOW AFAR - UPDATES

Hi Cathie,

I'm sorry I hadn't written yet to update you about what's new. Still adjusting to being in a new place again and with a job that is turning out to be awesome though hectic.

I'm currently training as a producer under an executive producer here in Edmonton. He has been great and is showing me a lot about how to raise money, put a production together, and way more. Currently we are in pre-production for a $5+ Million feature we just got approval from Telefilm Canada on Tuesday. I was already busy helping with tasks related to a TV series moving forward here so with this it has become even more busy. 

I have it on my list to write an article for the NBFC weekly e-news and will somehow find a way to make time for that as soon as I can. I spent this weekend working so it's become hectic quick - my timing couldn't have been better.

I wanted to say thanks again for all the help you and Tony have given me over the years when I lived in NB and was a Film Co-op member. I'm not as frequent with the e-mails but I still keep you all in my thoughts and future plans.

Best,

Milan Chotai, who renews his membership with the Film Co-op every year no matter where he is living.

Training & Development

A Theatre Actor Guide to Working in Film.
 
Although film is an obvious derivative of theatre, with deep intertwining parallels, they are very different in structure.
 
Theatre is a linear medium.  An actor will begin with his first line in a play, and end with his last.  All this takes place in a two to three hour span of time with maybe an intermission.  Film on the other hand, the actor will begin with the scene that is most efficient to shoot first no matter where it lands in the script.  This creates a whole set of issues that wouldn’t arise in theatre production.  Namely, CONTINUITY!

Continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer. It is of relevance to several media.

Continuity is particularly a concern in the production of film and television due to the difficulty of rectifying an error in continuity after shooting has completed, although it also applies to other art forms, including novels, comics, anime, videogames and animation, though usually on a much broader scale.

Most productions have a script supervisor on hand whose job is to pay attention to and attempt to maintain continuity across the chaotic and typically non-linear production shoot. This takes the form of a large amount of paperwork, photographs, and attention to and memory of large quantities of detail, some of which is sometimes assembled into the story bible for the production. It usually regards factors both within the scene and often even technical details including meticulous records of camera positioning and equipment settings. The use of a Polaroid camera was standard but has since been replaced by the advent of digital cameras. All of this is done so that ideally all related shots can match, despite perhaps parts being shot thousands of miles and several months apart. It is a less conspicuous job, though, because if done perfectly, no one will ever notice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuity_(fiction)

So, with that said, it takes particularly long to set-up each shot just right so when the editor is doing his job, shots will flow easily into each other.  Most of the production is consumed by the camera dept.  These guys are craftsmen.  Much like a painter or sculptor they mold light to create a consistent look across the entire film.  The camera can either make or break a performance.  It is to the thespians advantage to remain CALM and PATIENT at long delays.  They are only trying to make you look fabulous.

Sometimes an actor may have to repeat a single line several times before the director gets what he’s looking for.  This may create a challenge for some actors in terms of maintaining character.  But if you are not interested in challenge, you’re in the wrong business.  Most indie directors don’t have the luxury of taking several takes so although it’s something to be aware of; it is not always an issue. 

This means that the actor must have the same sense of responsibility in terms of memorizing lines that they would for a play.  Film stock is expensive!  Retakes ultimately become a budget concern, which left unchecked, could eat up a budget in no time.  PLEASE BE PREPARED.

In theatre, one of the first things an actor must learn to do is project to the last row of a theatre.  Performances must be bigger than life in order for the whole audience to get what they came for.  In film the camera is what we use to project the actors performance.  If a director suggests that a performance might be “TOO BIG”, it is only because the camera is right in your face and it becomes unnatural for you to over play the moment

It is important to note that this document is not designed to diminish or criticize the complexity of a theatre production.  Rather, it is written with the intent to inform.  Actors must approach film and theatre both with the equal amount of respect they deserve.  The process in creating both may be vastly different, but one thing is certain – both are highly collaborative mediums that need you, the actor, to understand the minutia that makes the magic.
 
Michael Cowie
-Technical Director (NBFC)
 
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MENTORSHIP ON FILM CO-OP MEMBER PRODUCTION
BLOOD SHED SEEKING VOLUNTEER CAST & CREW for "BLOOD SHED," a short horror film shooting in Coles' Island, New Brunswick for three days, Friday to Sunday, September 7th, 8th and 9th. This project will be a great opportunity to work and learn alongside film industry professionals such as Jason Shipley (Director), Jeff Wheaton (DOP), Gary Ferguson (Art Director), Rob Cotterill (1st AD), Aram Kouyoudjian (Sound) and others, all of whom originally hail from New Brunswick and currently earn a living working in the film & television industry today.

Thanks to a production grant from the NB Film Co-op, the project is being co-produced by Film Co-op members Pierre Huard ("La Couisne") and Jason Shipley, who will also direct. Mr. Shipley taught the Advanced Assistant Director's Workshop at the NB Film Co-op this past May and in previous years.

SYNOPSIS:
Three estranged brothers reunite at a family camp deep in the New Brunswick woods for a lost weekend of fishing, partying, and deranged, bloody murder!

We are currently seeking CREW to volunteer in following departments: Production
Assistant Director
Props
Set Decoration
Costumes
Hair/ Makeup
Grip
Lighting
Camera
Sound
Picture Vehicles/ Transport
Casting Director

If you are interested in applying for any of these positions, please forward a resume detailing your experience and department(s) in which you'd like to work to blood_shed_movie@yahoo.ca

We are currently seeking CAST to volunteer in the following roles:
Elderly Female Victim #1
Elderly Female Victim #2
Generic Victim #3
Generic Victim #4
Generic Victim #5
Stripper #1
Stripper #2
Stripper #3
Puppeteer

If you are interested in applying for any of these roles, please forward a resume and photo(s) to blood_shed_movie@yahoo.ca and to info@nbfilmcoop.com so the Film Co-op can put you in their online Casting Database.

Festivals

THE 2007 NB SILVER WAVE FILM FESTIVAL 2007 SILVER WAVE FILM FESTIVAL, November 8-11, Fredericton, New Brunswick www.swfilmfest.com

DEADLINE FOR FILM SUBMISSIONS IS AUG 3RD.

Contact Cat at info@nbfilmcoop.com for application forms and submission guidelines.

Register Online to be a Festival Volunteer Today by Clicking Here!

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Halifax - 1737 Film Festival
My name is Cam Erais and I am a member of AFCOOP. I am sending a message out to the Atlantic film community regarding the 1737 Film Festival. This Festival is a one day event being held in Halifax, September 8th this year. If any of your NB members are interested in submitting films please pass on our web site address: http://www.the1737.com/

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27th Atlantic Film Festival’s Inspired Program
Joined by Mychael Danna and Gordon Pinsent

Halifax, NS, CANADA, August 2, 2007 – This year’s Inspired Industry Sessions at the 27th Atlantic Film Festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia, will welcome key guest speakers Mychael Danna and Gordon Pinsent.

The AFF’s Inspired Industry Sessions which include Inspired Doc; bringing the best of documentary film to the AFF; Inspired Script, a competitive opportunity for Atlantic Canadian writers to submit, develop and pitch film treatments to potential producers with the winning treatment receiving funding for further development; and Inspired Music, along with Music & Image, a partnership created by the AFFA and the ECMA, designed to bridge the gap between music and film and facilitate discussion and interaction between professionals of the respective industries.

Inspired Music will this year welcome Mychael Danna as the host of the SOCAN/Guild of Canadian Film Composers ‘What’s The Score: Music Composition Master Class’ and as the featured speaker in their Keynote Conversation.

Danna has been scoring films since his 1987 feature debut for Atom Egoyan's “Family Viewing”, which earned Danna the first of his thirteen Canadian film award nominations. Since then he’s worked with such acclaimed directors as Ang Lee, Gillies MacKinnon, James Mangold, Deepa Mehta, Mira Nair, Joel Schumacher, and Denzel Washington.

Award-winning actor Gordon Pinsent most recently starred in Sarah Polley’s Away From Her, which screened last year at the 26th AFF. Amongst other numerous films he’s also starred in The Shipping News, Saint Ralph, John and the Missus, and The Rowdyman. Pinsent, a strong supporter of the Atlantic Film Festival also served on the Jury in 2002.

He will be the featured guest at the Inspired Script’s ‘The ACTRA Studio with Gordon Pinsent’ event where he’ll be discussing his career.

Tickets to these and other Inspired Industry Session events at the 27th Atlantic Film Festival, September 13-22, 2007, will be available online at www.atlanticfilm.com, and at the Atlantic Film Festival Box Office sponsored by The Daily News at 1599 South Park Street in Halifax, Nova Scotia from August 29, 2007.

For those wanting to purchase an Inspired Music pass or a full 27th AFF Delegate pass, visit the Registration area of the AFF web site, www.atlanticfilm.com for more details.

A full schedule of films and events at the 27th Atlantic Film Festival will be announced Wednesday, August 29, 2007.

Arts in NB

Fredericton - Take in Notable Acts!

Fellow Film Co-op members:

If you're in the downtown area at lunch time check out the NBActs Street Theatre - an hour of free (as in, "for no money") short plays, including my contribution, "Gamers' Manifesto". I'd like for as many co-op members as possible to see this year's shorts and, if you're into longer-form theatre, see the festival's remaining main-stage offerings - visit

www.nbacts.com for details.

Cheers,

Chris Fulton, Fredericton based Film Co-op member

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FREDERICTON - UNDER THE STARS: CLASSIC FILMS IN THE PARK
Sunday, August 5th at dusk in Barracks Square, Historical Garrison District (Queen and Carleton Streets).

FEATURE PRESENTATION: Gidget
(95 mins) 1959

The coming-of-age teen movie has been a part of American pop culture for decades, bridging generation gaps through the shared experience of growing up. The locations and time period might be different, but the theme was always the same: awkward youth on the threshold of adulthood. Gidget (1959), directed by Paul Wendkos, remains a classic of the sun and surf genre that preceded the Frankie Avalon/Annette Funicello Beach Party films of the 1960s. In it, Hollywood's wholesome teen icon, Sandra Dee, plays the gawky 16-year-old tomboy Frances Lawrence. Nicknamed "Gidget" by the local surfers to indicate a cross between a girl and a midget due to her slight stature, she's more interested in learning to surf with the guys than in dating them. That is, until she meets Moondoggie (James Darren), one of the surfers who's trying to decide between a life of being a beach bum like his older pal Kahuna (Cliff Robertson) or going on to college in the fall.

1959 was a big year for Sandra Dee, the perky ingenue born Alexandra Zuck. In addition to Gidget, she also appeared in two other big films that year - as Lana Turner's daughter in the Douglas Sirk melodrama Imitation of Life, and as Molly, the female lead opposite Troy Donahue in the sexually charged A Summer Place. The success of these movies solidified Dee's status as one of the screen's most promising young actresses.

James Darren (Moondoggie) had been a student of respected acting coach Stella Adler. Like Dee, he too was considered a rising young talent at the time of Gidget's release. Also a singer, Darren lent his vocal talents to Gidget, crooning the theme song and "The Next Best Thing to Love." He went on to record such top-40 hits as "Goodbye Cruel World" and "Her Royal Majesty" later in his career.

Gidget was based on the popular novel of the same name by Frederick Kohner, who based the title character on the adventures of his own daughter, Kathy. The book was adapted for the screen by Gabrielle Upton. But no one could have guessed what a phenomenon Gidget would become. It spawned two film sequels (Gidget Goes to Rome (1963) and Gidget Goes Hawaiian, 1961), two television series (Gidget (1965-66) and The New Gidget, 1986), and several TV movies along the way. Sandra Dee did not reprise her role in any of the sequels, though co-star James Darren portrayed Moondoggie twice more in Gidget Goes to Rome and Gidget Goes Hawaiian. Unknown teenage actress Sally Field made a name for herself as the bubbly surfer girl in the original 1960s TV show. Field, of course, went on to a major acting career that included two Academy Awards for her work in Norma Rae (1979) and Places in the Heart (1984).

Sandra Dee, the original movie Gidget, married pop idol Bobby Darin at the peak of her career in 1960. Though she continued to make movies including two of the Tammy films made popular by Debbie Reynolds and three movies with her husband, her career soon fizzled. When she divorced Darin in 1967, she found that there were few roles at the time for a divorced 26-year-old mother who was used to playing the wholesome role of America's teenaged sweetheart. James Darren went on to co-star in the hit 1980s television show T.J. Hooker, while Cliff Robertson won an Academy Award as Best Actor for the 1968 film Charly.

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NB SHORT FILM PLAYING BEFORE FEATURE: Say Cheese (1:50 min) 2006, claymation.

Artistically speaking, Say Cheese is a whimsical musical interlude, with a monkey, a guitar and a bit of cheese among other things. Technically speaking, it is a Super 8-in-camera-edited-animation, created in 48 hours. While the film was being processed, the soundtrack was built blindly based on production notes.

Director & Writer - Sackville based filmmaker Tara Wells

Biz News

ATLANTIC - CBC NEWS
Andrew Cochran has been tapped as regional director for CBC in the Maritimes, replacing recent retiree Ron Crocker. Cochran -- whose career has included stints with Canada AM, CTV National News and Ceeb projects including the series Pit Pony and Theodore Tugboat -- will step in on Aug. 7.

Fred Mattocks, head of regional programming for the English side of CBC Television, hailed the Halifax native's "impressive track record as an innovator, producer and leader as well as a committed member of the Maritime community," in a statement on Monday.

Cochrane was founder and head of Cochrane Entertainment, which during its 12-year run was a pillar of the East Coast production scene on the strength of shows including Theodore and Pit Pony. It closed its doors in 2002, following what he characterized as an overexpansion into distribution, licensing and merchandising.

Cochran also lectures on entertainment law and other subjects at Dalhousie Law School in Halifax.