Cinematographer

A Conversation with Korex

By Cierrah Gibbs

PART ONE

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing NB Film Co-op member Olukorede - “it’s like a song,” he told me as I learned to pronounce his name. However, most people call him “Korex.” Being relatively new to the film community, it was an inspiration to hear the story of someone with such a rich history as a creative in film.

Originally from Nigeria, Korex has been to many countries worldwide, finally arriving in New Brunswick, Canada. He has been a member of the NB Film Co-op since January and has been involved in various activities with the Co-op. As a new member, I was happy to hear the overwhelmingly positive things he had to say about the experience so far.

When asked how he would describe himself, Korex explained, “I am a creative persuader: my work persuades other people to be creative.” Having delved into many aspects of the creative lifestyle throughout his life, Korex told me, “I can say: okay, this is what I am now.”

After a two-hour interview, I can attest that Korex has done it all, which is why I realized that this biography would have to be in two parts to begin encompassing it. “I think it’s best if I just talk about it from how I started being creative and just through all the different paths I took,” he told me - and I agreed. So, let’s start from the beginning.

“As a child, I think the first creative aspect of my life was being able to draw,” Korex said. “That was when I knew; okay, this is me creating something. I used to draw a lot as a kid and created comics in high school. I ultimately made my drawings into movies in my comics because I watched a lot of movies, so I would draw them and give them to my friends who didn’t have the chance to watch movies, so that was kind of my thing. The first movie I drew was Street Fighter because a friend hadn’t watched it, and I wanted to tell him the story.

When I got into school, my mom preferred law for me, as most Nigerian parents prefer either law or medicine for their kids. They gave me linguistics, which I didn’t want: I wanted to take arts. Throughout my entire time in school, all my activities were film related. I got a TV set and DVDs. DVD was new then, it was the big thing - and I spent all my money on movies.

At this point, I had never shot a movie but knew I wanted to do something creative. I started a music company and record label. Before I did that, I went into radio because I needed to learn how music was promoted.

I had a friend who was involved with web design and animation, and he taught me animation. I then shot an animated music video, and while I was rendering the images, I received a call from a friend who introduced me to the BBC World Service Trust. Through them, I was hired as an assistant editor for an HIV awareness campaign for a year and a half, where I learned production and post-production. At the same time, I used the opportunity to finish my animated music video. I released that video, and that was the beginning of my filmmaking journey. The Nigerian Music Awards nominated me for best-animated feature for my project.

Then I worked for Nigeria's most prominent independent TV corporation (Africa Independent Television). I was their motion designer and learned the craft on the job. I kept on adding new skills and combining them all. During that time, I had friends and other people starting a private media company. Their goal was to make everything: sound, music, video, film, and animation. Our first client was Africa Independent Television, and we were hired to rebrand them.

In Africa, there is one major cable service called Multichoice. AIT wanted to create a competitor for Multichoice. They named theirs Darsat. Our job was to make the brand imagery for Darsat and some of the channels. That was our first-ever gig as a private company. We did that for close to 9 years, but as we started getting bigger, I had to start specializing. I couldn’t do all the things I was doing anymore.

After the whole music video thing, I decided I wanted to make films. Then I found out about the cost implications of making films. Initially, I was inspired by Michael Bay, Spielberg, Wes Anderson, and Scorsese, but as a young person, mostly Michael Bay. He knows how to use the camera, and he knows how to move the camera in ways that most filmmakers can’t even imagine - and that’s what I studied. I always wondered, How can I move the camera like this? 

I made a short film called Fight Scene about two guys at a warehouse who talked and then started shooting at each other to find out what I had the skill set to do on a film. I was testing myself by shooting something. They were shooting at each other, and suddenly, one character got a call from his mother and the other character a call from his girlfriend, and the fight was postponed until another time. The film's underlying message was that men are capable of violence, but at the core of it, people have mothers and partners. It was very successful, which launched me into making films."

Korex continued to detail his path through the film industry. From visual effects to his first DOP role - from romantic films to comedies, dramas, and animated films, Korex honed his eclectic repertoire of creative skills. Some of the movies we discussed aren’t out yet, so he had to keep some details to himself. Korex has filmed worldwide, including in tropical, rural areas of Nigeria where there were all kinds of mosquitos and in the UK as a media correspondence for the chief of army staff (who was there receiving an award for his efforts during the Boko Haram crisis). 

Korex has developed creative values throughout his creative journey, and he told me his ideals for his future work and the impact he wants to have on the film industry, internationally and especially in Nigeria. As I listened to him, I found myself connecting with his values. 

Stay tuned for Part Two of my interview with Korex!

Ty Giffin is Passionate about Filmmaking

By Jeremy Brubacher

When speaking to Ty Giffin, I find him experienced, passionate, and heartfelt about his film career. There is much to glean from him in terms of the art of filmmaking, and I believe the things that he has to say will resonate with many.

Like many who fall in love with film and filmmaking, for Ty, it all started when he was a child. He enjoyed watching films and was fascinated by the 'making of' featurettes and documentaries included on most DVDs. Ty's movie-watching spurred him to make silly videos with his friends, homemade Star Wars films, and skate videos here and there. However, the film Goodfellas in 1990, directed by Martin Scorsese, took his deep curiosity and turned it into an unbridled passion for filmmaking.

That passion grew as Ty sought out Martin Scorsese's filmography, firmly planting the seeds of his desire to make filmmaking a path in his life. Next, Ty looked for film schools, and that search ultimately landed him at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, where he completed an honours in Media Arts and Culture with a minor in Film Production. He was also introduced to the filmmaking community in New Brunswick through the NB Film Co-op, and he has been working on member's projects ever since. Some of the film roles Ty has taken on film projects are script supervisor and assistant camera or grip, but he feels fortunate to have had the chance to be director of photography on several projects.

Director of photography is a creative role well suited for Ty as any moving images he produces have a strong artistic flair and mood. The cinematographers who inspire his visual style and taste include some greats like; Roger Deakins, Sven Nykvist, Robby Müller, Sean Bobbitt, Robert Yeoman, Steven Soderbergh, and Gordon Willis. Some of the creative techniques that Ty loves in cinematography are deep shadows, high contrast, rich colours, dark blue evenings, and the quality of sodium vapor lights.

A recent film project that Ty had the privilege to work on was Ryan O'Toole's feature film Further Than The Eye Can See. While he was not the director of photography on Ryan's project, he did take on the crucial role of script supervisor. Ty formed strong bonds and friendships with many of the crew as being script supervisor put him in a position where he was in direct contact with all departments on the project. He also was the colourist, working closely with Ryan to create a look that Ty describes as, unlike anything he and Ryan have seen before. 

Ryan O'Toole is known for films that have been described as having an experimental quality that often seems to reach the metaphysical realm. This magic, combined with Ty's colour grading skills, should make Further Than The Eye Can See something exceptional.

Speaking of Ty's colour grading, he has gone through training to strengthen his skills. This involved him taking two intermediate courses, which certified him as an end-user for Da Vinci Resolve, a professional-grade film editor and colour grade software used on Hollywood films. Some recent films are Dune, The Green Knight, Godzilla vs Kong, and Black Widow. With these skills, Ty has created his own company for colour grading called Bison ColourWorks, where he has had the opportunity to grade music videos, short films, documentaries, and Ryan's feature film. In conjunction with Bison ColourWorks, Ty also created his production company called Bison FilmWorks. Hopefully, you will see his production company logo on many more film projects, as Ty will be producing all future film projects under this company banner. 

Ty is a very talented up-and-coming director and writer. With a good number of short films under his belt. One short that caught my attention is his film Roles which he produced in 2017. The film displays his ability to create atmosphere and mood. And then, there is his other film, and even though the budget was tiny, the film was not. Ty made a Neo-Western called Sister's Dirge in 2018. It is an extremely intimate short film with a surprising scope that deals with loss, vengeance, and the deep bond between sisters. The story centers around the dark and relevant topic of the kidnapping and murder of indigenous women. Ty found the film challenging to research, and he was often in tears during the process. However, even with the difficult subject matter, he gathered many collaborators for the project professionally that he still keeps in contact with today. The film went on to win a major award at the New Brunswick Silver Wave Film Festival. An important lesson that Ty learned on this film project is that is you have to be careful how many hats you wear on a project as the art can suffer in the end, but at the same time, because of doing many of the roles himself, he was able to learn so much more. Ultimately, the project was immensely gratifying for him.

The lessons learned on Sister's Dirge are ones he took to heart and applied to his next short film Cicerone, which is currently nearing the end of the post-production phase. Ty gives special mention to his producers, script supervisor, and 1st AD as invaluable, highlighting the advantage of not taking on too much and having a good support network to help see things through. Without them, he could not have done it. 

Cicerone went through many script rewrites; in fact, the film initially started as a mockumentary, but by the end of the writing process had turned into a dramatic narrative short film. The film ended up with a much higher budget, as Ty was awarded the Short Film Venture Grant and an artsnb grant. Thanks to the additional funding, he was able to make a film that his younger self could only have dreamed of making. Ty describes Cicerone as a meta-text of writing and the gangster genre, bringing things full circle to the kinds of films that inspired him to make them in the first place. Though the film was his dream to make, it was not necessarily a cakewalk to produce. 

The initial shooting schedule in spring 2020 to make the film was postponed by the Covid-19 pandemic, and then when they finally were shooting the film in September 2021, he and his cast and crew narrowly missed another lockdown due to the pandemic. Ty also had setups and plans fall apart on set, but that is part of the process and can happen. These experiences showed him that you must adapt and be creative. A couple of scenes required re-shoots, which can occur sometimes. The film is now in a place that Ty is happy with, and he is looking forward to submitting it to festivals soon. He also told me to keep my eyes peeled as a trailer for the film will be released soon.

I will leave you with Ty's philosophy for the filmmaking process, "filmmaking is a collaborative medium, and you are only as good as your collaborators."

If you want to see Ty's previous work, including Roles and Sister's Dirge, you can check out his Vimeo page: vimeo.com/tygiffin

If you would like to reach out to Ty for advice or to collaborate with him, you can reach out to him on Facebook, Instagram, and Instagram for Bison FilmWorks and Bison ColourWorks.

Ty Giffin

Ty Giffin

Pay Attention to the Things that you are Naturally Drawn To - Vu Pham

By Brenda Malley

Pay attention to the things that you are naturally drawn to. They are often connected to your path, passion, and purpose in life. Have the courage to follow them. Ruben Chavez

This quotation poignantly describes New Brunswick Film Co-op member Vu Pham.

Born and raised in Saigon, Vietnam, he was in his mid-teens when he moved to Orange County, California, to experience the western culture. Despite his young age, no family, and only a few friends he made despite his shyness, Vu says he appreciated the experience. He learned some essential life skills from which he continues to draw today: independence, self-sufficiency, critical thinking, and problem-solving. 

Vu attended and graduated from high school in California. Then, his parents immigrated to Fredericton, New Brunswick, from Vietnam, and Vu joined them. He transferred to the University of New Brunswick, where he pursued a degree in Psychology. However, after one semester, he changed to Business and graduated in 2020 with a concentration in Marketing.

In 2016 while in the Business program, Vu discovered the filmmaking program at UNB. He decided to take a film production course as an interesting elective. His instructors were Toronto-based filmmaker Cam Woykin & NB Film Co-op film pioneer, Tony Merzetti. Little did Vu know that this one course would instantly unleash a passion in him that changed his life trajectory forever.

He continued taking film courses as electives throughout his time in University and participated in a number of film shoots around Fredericton. During this time, Vu worked in various roles ranging from production assistant to sound but discovered cinematography and editing to be his specific interest.

Vu is appreciative of every opportunity that has come his way, describing everything as a learning experience, each one another step on the road to perfecting his craft. For example, in 2017, the UNB Student Union hired him to make an orientation video, which resulted in more opportunities.

Vu was fortunate to work part-time for UNB Media Services for three years while studying Business. In early 2018, he secured a 4-month paid internship with Sabian Cymbals in Meductic, New Brunswick. This was followed by a contract with the Government of New Brunswick in Communications. In both positions, he was tasked to produce social media videos to promote the products & services of each organization. Through these jobs, he learned the importance of precision in words used to tell stories and the impact of words when communicating with the public. He stresses that it forced him to think critically and communicate in the most neutral way possible, thereby improving his storytelling craft.

Since graduating two years ago, Vu has been working full-time as a freelance cinematographer, focusing on commercial and training videos, as well as short films. He has produced videos for Loblaws, CBC, Symbodi (a massage product that receives funding from Dragon Den), and The Football Academy.

As well, Vu was involved in making a music video that was released in March 2022. He says it came about after realizing that the music scene in Fredericton is vibrant and filled with undiscovered talent; however, sometimes artists lack a platform to visually showcase their talent. In a bid to challenge himself, he and his long-time collaborator, director MacKenzie Kierstead, became acquainted with a Nigerian rapper (living in Fredericton since 2017) whose stage name is Josh the Killer or JTK. 

Sharing a similar work ethic and passion, they decided to support him by making a music video for him. Though disappointed in their failed attempt to secure government funding, they decided to go ahead and invest their own money. It has received excellent reviews, and they have garnered public exposure, including newspaper and magazine articles.

https://youtu.be/-ZK5COguQGQ

Check Out this cool article in Grid City about the music video!

The Artist: Formally named Chijioke Okorie, Josh the Killer (JTK) is the musical moniker for the emerging rapper currently based in Canada whose name plays off an alternate meaning of the word "kill", which is to overwhelm someone with emotions. He strongly ties its meaning to his intentions whenever making music. The rapper who is an iron-ring holder and graduate of the University of New Brunswick moved to Canada in 2013 for university and has since then released a steady stream of singles, covers and EPs, keeping his listeners engaged and excited with his raw and authentic sound. His slogan goes as follows; I paint pictures with words and sounds.

Vu acknowledges that the last two years have been hard on everyone given the global pandemic, and it has resulted in him reassessing his future career plans. While he is confident that he could secure employment in marketing, Vu knows he is happiest when making films.

If anyone wants to see some of his work or to contact Vu, visit his website at www.vuspectrum.com

Josh the Killer (JTK)

Member of the Week - Jeremy Brubacher

Bathurst-based NB Film Co-op member Jeremy Brubacher started making films with his brothers at a very young age. This creative passion led to him studying filmmaking at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton.

Jeremy is an active member of the NB Film Co-op. He has also competed in the Fredericton 48 Hour Film Competition for many years and continually learns and works on different projects.

Jeremy's style of filmmaking and cinematography has been described as haunting, moody, and melancholy. His short film Goblin won for Best Genre film at the 2021 Silver Wave Film Festival. It was nominated for several awards and snapped up an Excellence in Music Composition Award.

Email info@nbfilmcoop.com to reach out to Jeremy.

Member of the Week - Becky Parsons

Becky Parsons is an award winning cinematographer (Rhonda’s Party), fine art photographer (Kodak Achievement Award) and nominated director (Le Coeur Qui Bat – best music video – Music NB). A graduate of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, she has 20+ years experience in the photographic and motion picture arts.

She is Director of Photography and/or camera operator on a number of well known productions. For example – Bruce McDonald’s feature film ‘Weirdos’, feature music documentary ‘Carmine Street Guitars’ and the popular new CBC TV series ‘Son of a Critch’.

Her fine art photography has exhibited in Halifax and other cities in Nova Scotia, Moncton, New Brunswick, Toronto, Ontario and London, England and has entered private collections throughout Canada and the UK.

In 2018 Becky Parsons created her production company No Fear Films and as a producer she is in development with writer Sarah Gignac and executive producer Terry Greenlaw with horror feature film ‘The Apartment’.

Becky is based in Atlantic Canada.

BECKY’S CINEMATOGRAPHER REEL: CLICK HERE