Tag: filmmaking

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Updates

422/129

Outline view in my writing software

I search for the line of the film from amidst a mountain of impressions, annotations and intuitive connections. To get there, each of the best moments receives a digital “3×5 card” with a title, impressions, tags for scene type, songs and characters, and a summary transcript or translation. With just the best material, I have 422 index cards—too much to parse. So I slice further to just the scenes that send shivers down my spine.

I must be easily impressionable because after the latest cull I still have 129 “so great it has to be in the movie!” scenes…

Categories
News

A New Economy is now on Netflix!

Exciting news! My most recent documentary is now available on Netflix in Canada & the U.S.!

Categories
News

A New Economy Premiere—SOLD OUT

The premiere of my latest documentary A New Economy screened to a sold out audience last night at the Rio Theatre in Vancouver. What a surreal experience to see a lineup around the block…

Thanks everyone for coming out and for being a great audience!

Categories
Photography

Wallpaper – Kigali Airport

Kigali Airport

Here is a fresh wallpaper for you. This was taken on approach to KGL (Kigali International Airport) while filming aerials for Rwanda: Hope Rises in 2008. Click on the photo to download a full-size JPEG.

Categories
Video

Waiting to Belong

Waiting to Belong from Storyspark on Vimeo.

Over the past several months I’ve been working with a dedicated group of people who want to see the end of the waiting generation in Canada. More than 30,000 kids in Canada are waiting for adoption – and they aim to change that.

My journey with them began by helping uncover their core story through a process I call “story finding”. We found that, though the number of waiting kids is a daunting challenge, it’s also a great opportunity. This is the first of a series of videos talking about adoption and what it means to those who experience it.

Find out more at waitingtobelong.com.

Categories
Video

Seth Godin in NYC

Marketers are not Advertisers – Seth Godin, 2010 Contagious Conference from Storyspark on Vimeo.

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of filming Seth Godin in New York as part of a series of videos for the upcoming Contagious Conference. We had a great time during the interview, with Seth sharing lots of insight and new ideas about marketing, gift culture, and what it means to be a Linchpin. If you’d like to see the full interview… well, you’ll have to come to the conference for that :)

This is round two or three of a series of projects that have quietly launched my new venture, Storyspark. If you haven’t already, head over to the website to check out what it’s all about.

Categories
Video

The Wellspring Foundation PSA

(Alternate iPhone version)

In 2008, Lyn & Jesse Rosten and I headed to Rwanda to do the last round of filming for Rwanda: Hope Rises. Our hosts were our friends at the Wellspring Foundation for Education, a non-profit working in Rwanda toward quality education. They do the hard, everyday work of training teachers, educating kids and working with headmasters & the ministry of education to deliver the best possible education to Rwandan kids.

My friend and fellow creative Craig Harris just completed editing footage from that trip into a promotional film for Wellspring. The piece is a great example of collaboration at its best. A hard-working non-profit receives the combined efforts of several creative people, melded into a cohesive finished product. Have a look and let me know what you think in the comments!

Categories
Sidenotes

Werner Herzog’s Rogue Film School

Werner Herzog’s Rogue Film School.

“… for those who have a sense of poetry. For those who are pilgrims. For those who can tell a story to four year old children and hold their attention. For those who have a fire burning within…”

Some of the discussion points on the about page caught my attention:
“How does music function in film? How do you narrate a story? … How do you sensitize an audience? How is space created and understood by an audience? … How do you create illumination and an ecstasy of truth?”

Categories
Sidenotes

Credit Stills from The Duchess

Peter Chlebak (who did title design for The Duchess) mocked up some frame grabs to include in the credits. They didn’t make it into the final film because of time but you can have a look here.

Categories
Video

Rwanda: Hope Rises Trailer

Trailer for the documentary Rwanda: Hope Rises. More info and DVDs for sale here.