Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Talented Kids




The kids used in the spots were incredible. They put up with a lot of hardship, patiently waiting...and spending an enormous time squished into the little red car they nicknamed Herberta in the cold and wet. It was really very cold. And they never complained. Kudos to them and to their performances.
Big thanks to Staff Sergeant Mark Hodgson for being so great about everything and braving the challenging conditions with me every step of the way.
A shout out to the West Coast crew who created an exceptional crash scene and gave me everything I need to create some fantastic commercials. Looking forward to getting them to post real soon.
Special thanks to Robin, Al, Trudie, Geoff, Cameron, Anita, Brittany, Sean, Gabe, Jonas, Shea, Corryn and the rest of you.

CRASH!

Just returned from Vancouver where we shot new Winnipeg Police commercials. These ones will be decidely more graphic than the earlier versions. We chose Vancouver due to the timing primarily. We didn't want to shoot with the snow on the ground in Winnipeg. Who knew we wouldn't have snow yet here at the end of November? We also were able to arrange some amazing participation by the Director and crews in Vancouver who were very interested in the spot and recognized it's importance as a public service announcement.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Time for an Update


Exciting stuff. We'll be heading out to Vancouver next week to shoot new commercials for the Winnipeg Police Service Just Slow Down campaign. Not wanting to give away any secrets but the reason we're headed out there is partly weather related and partly stunt professional-related. Working with a strong team on the coast and then will post back here at Midcan. Looking forward to the final result.

Just putting the finishing touches on the Grant Park Shopping Centre Christmas campaign featuring General Manager John Rooke as Jolly Ol' John Rooke. We had a lot of fun at the photo shoot. Thanks David Lewis from Tripwire and Marnie Stewart for helping us put it all together. John was a good sport about it all.

The Victoria General Hospital Foundation calendar is nearly ready to head to the press. Amanda designed another gorgeous calendar for this important and deserving group.



Keep an eye out for new Bothwell Cheese labels. Amanda redesigned labels for their line of cheddars as well as Edam and Gouda.





















New brand identities created in the past month include John Harrison Law Office and Women for Women Law Office and Accent Credit Union.

And we're about to get going on a new identity and design for Lansard Bros. Roofing.

In the meantime, getting close to posting Urban Harmony. We'll make a BIG noise when that is completed. Very, very exciting project for MTS Video on Demand.

Olaf continues to recover from his chemo and radiation therapy and the prognosis is very optimistic. He really had a tough time and we are so very glad his life is starting to return to normal. It's terribly hard when one you care so much about is going through such a tremendously difficult time.

Things are definitely not slowing down in the near future....other than those drivers out there who have been appropriately paying attention.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Last day of principal photography.








Today we'll finish Urban Harmony. What an amazing project. I think this week really topped it off for me. We recorded audio with Wab Kinew. Wab is a very successful Aboriginal Rapper. And it really hit home for me what I'm trying to achieve with Urban Harmony. I wanted to express my belief in the positives of different people from different cultures making up the fabric of our city. Winnipeg has had some particularly difficult times of late in the media - there has been some ugly violence taking place and it has shone a very disturbing light on us. But I know, that each and every day, solid, honest citizens go about their business - many working hard to make things better. The vast majority of people DO get along and DO contribute and display random acts of kindness and DO live harmoniously. Wab mentioned in his Twitter that he made me cry during the audio session. And it's true. Especially when he tributed Olaf and wished him well. Because that's where this all started.

Wab raps about a respect for varying cultures and a commitment to peace and harmony. Who better to be a part of this project.

We'll be taking to the streets this morning to shoot Wab for the music video and to do a quick interview for his UH profile.

We'll also collect some video of Alexander West who lends his musical talents in a violin riff to the chorus. And, Vina will join us for her interview and to capture a little more video of this 9 year old singing sensation.

Antiphony, Ben Wytinck and Elyon were completed last week.

In other news, working on the new credit union brand for a merger taking place between two credit unions in Saskatchewan, new Edwards School of Business profiles nearing completion as well as the documentary of the project, an H1N1 campaign developed for the Northwest Company and Paradigm Consulting and Amanda's been working steadily on the Victoria Hospital newsletter and calendar.

Next week we jump into Christmas with Grant Park Shopping Centre.

With luck, an approval to move forward with a new Just Slow Down campaign and we keep hoping we can look ahead with our Leaders and Healers project.

All in all, things are certainly looking promising.