Thursday, July 17, 2014

Scenic Charms/ Theatre Production/ Story Hive



Jun. 12 Scenic Charms: I cut out this Edmonton Journal article “Making the journey from props to property" by Irene Seiberling on Jul. 9, 2011.  It profiled Charmaine Husum who worked in the film industry as a scenic artist and prop painter.  Here’s an excerpt of the article:

She worked alongside directors and cinematographers on such films as Brokeback Mountain, War Bride, The Claim, Night at the Museum, Twilight, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Passchendaele, Snow Dogs and Snow Days. She's worked with Johnny Depp, the late Heath Ledger, Colin Farrell, Jude Law, Brad Pitt, Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway.

Husum said she's thoroughly enjoyed working in the fast-paced, demanding film industry -dashing onto a set, colour-matching on the spot, then quickly touching up and repairing scenic art and props. But she noted it's extremely stressful work because "there's really no room to mess up."


Here’s her personal website Scenic Charms:


My opinion: This is related to the film industry, though not exactly in the writing way.  You guys may not know this, but after NAIT didn’t work out, I did look into MacEwan’s Theatre Production program.  It was creative and practical like Graphic Design. 

I didn’t apply to Theatre Production, and went and took a few classes at the Arts and Cultural Management program instead.  Well, theatre production isn’t totally for me.

Theatre Production: Here’s what it says at the MacEwan website: 

A booming arts and entertainment industry in Canada is creating enormous opportunities for skilled technicians. If you are creative and passionate about sets, costumes, props, and the latest sound and lighting equipment, then MacEwan University is the perfect place to start your challenging and rewarding backstage career. You are someone who is invisible to audiences, but without you the magic of theatre, television and film would not exist. A career in theatre production requires creativity, accuracy and determination. Following two intense years of study in MacEwan University’s Theatre Production program, you’ll have the skill set and experience you need to market yourself in a thriving industry.

In the first year of the two-year Theatre Production program you will learn about all aspects of theatre production. In the second year you can specialize in the area of your choice. Learn about:
  • Props and set construction
  • Lighting and sound effects
  • Costumes
  • Stage management
  • Collaboration with actors and directors
Jun. 13 Story Hive: I got this email “Edmonton Filmmaker granted $10,000 for passion project.”  I had to read it: 

Hi Tracy,

Hope you’re well! I thought you might be interested in the story of a local Edmonton filmmaker that has just received a $10,000 community grant to bring his dream series to life.

Ryan Northcott will be creating Against the Ropes, a series that profiles ex-pro Boxer Benny ‘The Jet’ Swanson and other pro-boxing hopefuls including an 11 year old boy that frequent Panther Gym in downtown Edmonton. His series will show how the sport and boxing community can provide a sense of family and belonging, often for those that need it the most – take a look at his pitch video here.

Ryan is one of 10 Albertans that received this grant. More info about the grant is below my signature, but let me know if you have any questions, or if you’d like to speak with Ryan!

Thanks,
Rosie

Over the past few weeks, Edmonton filmmakers have been campaigning for votes from the community in hopes of winning a $10,000 grant from STORYHIVE, a community-powered grant program from TELUS that is set up for local filmmakers and content creators. These are dollars the winners can put towards the production of their next big project, short film or documentary.

The community voted and 10 Alberta winners (5 from Edmonton) were revealed last week. With their STORYHIVE grants these young filmmakers are now able to create their short films in the next ten weeks and see their visions come to life. Once complete, their projects will be featured on TELUS Optik TV On Demand in the fall, ensuring they get the exposure they deserve.

Jun. 17 Liberty Entertainment Group: I was reading in the Globe and Mail on Jun. 14, 2014.  It profiled Nick Di Donato’s wine cellar as a home décor article.  It says he owns the Liberty Entertainment Group.  It’s more hotels and night clubs than TV production.  However, the website is really good.  Look at the hotels and night clubs.  They look so good.


Jun. 23 Much Music: I was reading the Globe and Mail article: “Much Music’s growing pains” by Simon Houpt on Jun. 14, 2014.

In 2007, the channel had more than 140 people working there.  Last year, there are now 75 people working there.  CRTC said the channel lost $1.5 million last year.  It’s because of the internet.  You can go on Youtube and watch whatever music videos you want, anytime you want.

Lacey Chabert: I was on Yahoo news and I found this.  Here it is:

In "Watch What Happens: Live" Thursday, actress Lacey Chabert talked about why she quit as the original voice of Meg Griffin on "Family Guy" after just one season. Turns out her parents thought that between her school work and her gig on "Party of Five," it was just too much for the 15-year-old to handle. Little did they know that "Family Guy" would be running 15 seasons strong with Mila Kunis now voicing the part.

Here are some comments:

Chris: They always say Money isn't everything when they lose out on over 15 million in wages for doing a bit of work over the years she's missed.

Ira:You also have to remember that FG was CANCELLED real early. Not sure if it was after the first, second or third season--but it was viewer anger that forced FOX to bring it back.   chances are she and her family thought the show was a red herring anyway, with no future.  Kind of surprised that this fact wasn't mentioned in this article.

Matthewp: That's not at the whole story.  Her parents are Christian Conservative and objected to the show.  Being the sixth lead on a half hour weekly animation series, does not take that much time st all.

My opinion: I do have to say that being on a 1hr drama show and school is a lot of work.  An animated TV show seems like an extra that is not totally necessary.  That’s the thing with TV, it’s unpredictable with the successes. 

For example, when Dark Angel came out in 2000, I thought it was going to last a long time like years.  Then it got cancelled after the second season.  FOX told the show to be more like their other hits like The X-Files and X-Men, and it was put on a Friday night instead of staying with Tues. nights.  So I was angry about it.

There are also poor shows like Secret Life of the American Teenager and that lasted 5 seasons.

Tyra Banks: She’s coming back with her new talk show.  I remember back in 2010 she was ending her talk show after 5 yrs.  I was kind of sad and thought: “Now where am I going to get my teen pregnancy and prostitution episodes from?”

I’m sure some of you guys are laughing at me, but I seriously thought that.  I can go watch Dr. Phil and Teen Mom for the teen pregnancy.

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