"CHURCHILL FALLS INTERVIEWS" MOVIE MAKING BLOG
Hockey Day in Canada
Yesterday was "Hockey Day in Canada" on the CBC. What a great job the CBC did on it. Stephenville, NL, was the host town for a coast to coast hockey celebration. Amongst it all, short documentary pieces connected to hockey in Newfoundland were shown.
For the first time in I don't know how long, Canadians had programing from Newfoundland showing what this place is really like. Programming showing Newfoundlanders as a proud people, and not as farcical bums in fictional comedy shows. I used to think there was a rule that Newfoundlanders could only be shown as fools in comedy shows, if they were to be shown to the rest of Canada. "Hockey Day in Canada" broke that rule, and showed the heart of this province, and I hope more programming like this will be on the way. (Jan. 8, 2006)
Seeing Yourself on TV
As a people, I personally expect to see Newfoundlanders & Labradorians to be shown every week on national Canadian TV. This week, CBC is going to start showing some Codco inspired comedies. One pilot for a show, and then a series that should last a few months this season, called Hatchings, Matchings, and Dispatchings. It is good that CBC are showing something from here. They, of course, are funded by the taxpayers of Canada, so, they should show programs from all provinces.
When you get past the CBC, Newfoundland vanished from the other 40 channels on my TV. Most weeks, nothing on the other channels show anything from Newfoundland & Labrador. My problem is, they manage to have programming from the other provinces most of the weeks of the year. Why can't they show something from here? When is the last time TSN showed sports filmed in Newfoundland & Labrador? What TV shows does the Global Network make here? Or CTV? CTV doesn't even have a station here in Newfoundland & Labrador anymore. In St. John's, on Rogers Cable, CTV isn't even shown.
The Newfoundland & Labrador film community, and the government agencies that promote it, are failing if Newfoundland product is not being shown on TV every week. That's how I feel. (Jan. 1, 2006)
Digital vs Film
Digital vs film. Which do favor? Well, I think that if a billion dollar Hollywood entertainment company wants to make a $150 million movie and use film, that's fine. But if a small time guy or company wants to make a movie, the easy answer is, go digital, friend.
Newfoundland's film industry is really a failure, in my mind, when compared to Nova Scotia's. 2004 was a bad year. People here are excited about 2005. I'm not.
I can turn on my tv most weeks, and on 40 channels, I can see nothing from Newfoundland showing on any of it. (Not counting local news). No movies made here. No documentaries. Certainly no tv shows. Yet, I can easily see tv shows made in Nova Scotia. Shows like This Hour Has 22 Minutes on CBC and Trailer Park Boys on Showcase are hard to miss. And the tv show from Newfoundland that is hard to miss is?? And it is recorded at what famous sound stage? Oh, that's right. St. John's, the major home of the province's film industry, doesn't even have a sound stage.
Maybe it's all for the best. Newfoundland has only dipped its toe in the film industry. Maybe it's time to skip over it all together. Let's take the small number of film cameras we have here, and dump them in St. John's harbor (they won't last there long). Go right to digital.
Want to hear my plan? Okay, seeing as how you asked nicely...
Buy not just a digital camera, but an under $7,000 High Definition digital camera. Then the picture will look damn pretty. Record most scenes outside, so the lighting won't look less than perfect. Edit it on my computer with $2000 off the shelf editing software. And, best of all, make something that people actually would want to see.
Actually, the best part is, in theory, anyone else can do this. If you are 18 years old, and you want to get involved in the movie industry, if you forget about film, and learn about tech, you can do it. If enough people do this, Newfoundland can catch up to Halifax pretty quickly. (Oct. 14, 2005)
Book World vs Movie World
I have a novel I've written. For now, it just sits there. I decided that working in movies is a better direction to head in when you are starting out, if you want to be in both fields. I just think it's easier to succeed in movies than in books. If you are a Canadian, and you make a half decent movie, it will get shown, because there is such a small number of Canadian movie made each year. If you write an excellent novel, and it is your first novel... it could be very hard to get many people to read it.
Yet, I love writing fiction by far more than movie making. I didn't want to leave that world behind for a shot at the world of movies. And I would have to, because movie making just takes up too much time.
I decided that if I got my small grant from the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), I'd go in that direction. If I didn't, I'd put aside the Churchill Falls project for a while, and publish my novel.
And the winner is? The NFB gave me a grant. I'm really happy about it. It's very exciting when the organization that truly is the most respected documentary group in the world gives you a grant to help you make a documentary. And it's more than a grant. I get to ask them for advice when there are things I can't figure out. That alone is a giant help.
I just feel really happy that this organization decided to help me out.
My novel gets to wait for now. It seems like Churchill Falls is about to get its day in the sun. (Aug. 22, 2005)
What's in a Name?
There are different, unwritten rules for naming a movie. One of them that I like is, let the audience know what the movie is about in the title. If you can. With that said, I've changed the name of the project to "Churchill Falls Interviews." That name gives the viewer a pretty good idea what this film is about, doesn't it? Adding "Interviews" to the name came to me because an author I know received complaints from some people about the number of interviews in his books. The complaint was that they didn't realize his books were interview ones. Even though in everything but name it was clear they were. With this film, no one will get confused. (June 1, 2005)
Getting Some Help
I applied for a small grant from the National Film Board of Canada. If you are living in Canada, and you plan to make a documentary, it only makes seems to ask them for help. In my opinion, they are the greatest body for making documentaries the world has ever seen. The large number of Oscar awards they've won over the years certain proves that.
I will be sure to let you know how that turns out. (May 17, 2005)
Worth Fighting For
If someone says to me, "Oh, there's nothing you can do about the Upper Churchill contract. Just forget about it, and move on", you know what I think? Coward. That's what I think.
Why give up on trying to change it? Because it is a hard situation? Look, anything worth something in life is worth fighting for. Ending this contract is a matter of pride. That's something you never give up on, no matter how hard the fight is. (Mar.3, 2005)
First Thoughts
I've begun work on "Ending Churchill Falls". It's at the research and writing stage now.
Almost everyone who lives in Newfoundland and Labrador realizes that the province is in a bad hydro contract with the province of Quebec. I certainly did. But even I didn't know some of the insane things in this contract. It gives new meaning to the term, "one-sided". It's like Quebec wrote up a fantasy wish list, and Newfoundland signed it.
Still, the contract can be changed. Contracts are changed all the time. But it will never happen if everyone just gives up trying. If this documentary can do just one thing, I hope it reminds us to never give up. (Feb. 27, 2005)