Streamlining and the Video Business

As of late I've been cleaning house (so to speak).  I've been reorganizing my blog, creating photo sets on a new flickr account, rebuilding my reel, and casually working out ways of adding more punch to my portfolio site.  All of this personal rebuffing may seem a bit indulgent, but I feel like it's already helping me expand in new ways.

Recently my Around the Hat photo series has helped me get a bit of local traction. When I kicked off the series with a set around Medalta Potteries, they were kind enough to give me a shout out on their facebook page.  More in line with what I had been hoping the series might do, it actually gained me a new contact with prospects for future video/photography work.  Work hasn't been in short supply these days either.  

Last week I had to turn down a New York production company who contacted me to shoot some behind the scenes footage and photography of an event for Glenfiddich Whiskey in Calgary.  It was a two day shoot and I just couldn't make it work with my schedule. Although, just getting the offer was pretty flattering considering that it came directly through my portfolio.

I feel like I'm at an interesting point in my career.  I'm on the hunt for new challenges, and ways to reinvent or diversify my approach to the kinds of videos I'm already doing. While making more money is always nice, I think what I'm really striving for is even more freedom in my schedule and maintaining the variety in the projects that I undertake.  Making some of these things a reality is going to require that I cast a bigger net, and I think that's what I've started to do.    

Savour the Southeast Project

Back in early March I shared my experiences from this shoot that I directed for Stream Media.  We were producing the video for the Economic Development Alliance's Savour the Southeast campaign, which was all about drawing attention to locally produced foods and the potential for continued prosperity for growers in Southern Alberta.

This was such a cool experience and a lot of fun to be a part of.  As of late, the majority of my work has been editing based, so getting the chance to direct again and get caught up in a day of shooting was a welcome change. I'm really proud of the finished product too.  The goal was to create something fresh, bright, and beautiful, and I think we achieved that.  I also believe it's a great showcase for Southern Alberta products and I hope to we get to work with the EDA again soon.  

When My Career Took Off (Literally)

Just a couple of days after starting work at Stream Media in June of 2008, my boss asked me if I wanted to accompany her on a helicopter ride to shoot aerial images of the city. Considering that just a few months before this I had been stressing myself out about how bleak I expected my post-university career options to be, this was the start of what only continued to be a series of 'I can't believe I'm getting paid to do this' moments with Stream.   

Agreeing to the helicopter ride was a no-brainer for three reasons.  One, I'd never flown in a helicopter before (let alone one with the doors removed so that we'd have an unobstructed view).  Two, I knew it would be a memorable experience and allow me to see the city I grew up in in a way I never had before.  And three, when would I ever get a more opportune time to joke, "look I can see my house from here" and actually mean it? I even found a screencap of us flying over the place I live now.  

Barb shot video and I shot stills. We hovered around Medicine Hat capturing different landmarks, development projects, and athletic facilities - really anything that we thought existing or potential clients might want to use in future projects. Needless to say, the views were awesome and surreal.




On one hand it was just a helicopter ride, but on the other, it marked a promising start to my life out of film school.  Professionally my work only continued to improve from there.  Although it's tough to beat a helicopter ride after only a few days on the job, the work continues to be unpredictable and spontaneous - if not still occasionally nerve-racking.  But, how's that for a symbolic start?

Medalta Potteries Historic Site

Known for an ample supply of natural gas and clay deposits, Medicine Hat, Alberta was quickly recognized as the ideal place for brick, tile, stoneware, and pottery production as shown by some of the very first industries established here. The low cost of energy was ideal for firing the kilns, and the high quality of clay in the area proved useful in numerous commercial applications. In 1912 the Medicine Hat Pottery Company was founded, but it changed hands in 1915 and the factory underwent renovation. Production resumed in 1916 as Medalta Stoneware Ltd. and by 1924 the company had reorganized again, finally settling on Medalta Potteries Ltd.

By this time Medalta had been shipping its stoneware crocks, jugs, and bowls all across Canada, and by the end of the 1920s they were producing 75% of the pottery in the country. However, production plummeted after the stock market crash in 1929 and the company struggled to stay afloat. The war effort from 1939-45 revived the industry as imports from Europe and Japan stopped, and the army demanded record amounts of stoneware. Medalta employed a large female workforce during this time, and even employed German POWs.

The end of the 1940s saw Medalta struggle with increased production costs and renewed competition from imports. By 1954 the company officially disbanded, but the history of Medalta has since remained a great source of pride for locals. Stoneware produced by the company remains highly collectible, and pieces produced for the railways, military, and restaurants are highly sought after.  

In 2010 I was fortunate to act as videographer with Stream Media for certain portions of the excavation and capture some of the archival work that was going on at the site. I witnessed them uncovering one of the original kilns that had long been buried under one of the factories concrete floors. Even walking around the site now you can still see countless pottery fragments buried in the dirt.

Medalta has now been largely renovated and restored as a national historic site and museum. It's also home to the International Artists in Residence facility providing studio space and access to equipment. I toured the outskirts of the original buildings in March to capture these photographs for this series. 

For more, view my images of the historic Medalta site in the throws of winter here, or have a look at some of the vintage machines scattered at the site. I also explored the interior of the Medalta factory and you can view those additional photographs here.

Medicine Hat Pottery Company ca. 1912-1915

A 1915 postcard showing local industries.  Medalta is shown bottom right.

An Epic Day to Direct

It's not everyday that you get paid to work on something that you're genuinely excited about.  Throw in what is quite possibly one of the nicest houses in the entire city for a shooting location, stunning HD footage captured on a DSLR, a small and enthusiastic crew, and me, as director, heading up the shoot for a concept that I played a large role in developing? Well, now we're on to something!

Ok, so I'm laying it on a bit thick, but the truth is that the project we shot over the weekend holds a lot of potential for the future videos that we might get a chance to create.  It's also the opportunity to broaden the scope and style of our productions and give our client something that we'll both take a great deal of pride in.  I believe they call that a win-win.

While I can't go into much detail at the moment, what I will say about the project is that it involves working with food producers in the region.  And wouldn't you know it, just as many of our successful projects have begun, we prepped for our shoot over a meal at Local on Friday night.

The week up to this point had been a bit of a crap shoot.  I was still nailing out a shot list up until the last minute, and wanting to switch from the HD video camera things were still up in the air about whether or not we'd have a new DSLR to work with in time.  What panned out was actually a pretty exciting opportunity.  After realizing that we wouldn't have the camera in time, Barb found someone who owned one and asked if I'd like to have him as a shooter so I could focus entirely on directing.  This has happened zero times before.

You have to understand that working in a small production company it's a luxury when our roles aren't bleeding into one another.  Having the chance to navigate a concept/shot list/script without my face being either glued to the viewfinder or to a monitor after joining the project in post production was a welcome upgrade.  Creatively speaking, it was actually quite a challenge to wrap my mind around at first, but ultimately resulted in a more eclectic and thorough series of shots. To be involved in this one from creative brainstorming to completion has been awesome!

The sequence we were shooting took place in a kitchen, and through Stream's connections the resulting locale that we decided on could have earned the 'epic' portion of this posts title all on its own.  The home was beautiful, gigantic, and featured stunning views of the river.  The kitchen itself could give most cooking show's sets a run for their money. But on a necessary side note, my car looked right at home in the driveway.

As for the shoot, things went really well.  With Barb as producer, Ross on camera, Julie acting, Lee Anne as production assistant, Jesse capturing what was going on behind the scenes, and myself as director, we had a good mix that made the day fly by. I've yet to preview all of the footage though, so there's not much more I can say at the moment other than that I`m looking forward to editing this one. Fingers crossed that it turns out as well as I imagine it to. A lot of cool things could happen if this campaign takes off.