A dandy day in Brandon.

It was a beautiful, warm day for a drive and my buddy Tony Wytinck and I had so much to catch up on the miles just flew by. We headed out to Brandon to shoot new video clips for the Sunrise Credit Union "Get to know us" campaign for the new Brandon branch. Branch Manager Mike Brolund, Ag and Commercial Specialist Randy Kuz and Personal Loans and Mortgage Specialist Cheryl "Charlie" Gunning did a fantastic job in front of the camera. Kept their cool and their sense of humour throughout.

The "Get to know us" campaign will launch this Saturday followed up by the exciting new Gold Rush deposit campaign on September 11th. So many exciting things going on at Sunrise.

A quick mention here of those who have allowed us to rehearse our presentation....Doug and Nancy, Kim, Tony and looking forward to tomorrow to a fab get together with Jamie from Grant Park. I feel like we have so much fan support heading into our big game. It is especially gratifying to hear the kind votes of confidence from many of our current clients who are genuinely wishing us well. Enormous and profound thanks to Jamie, Mark, Steve and Kaydee.

Dream Team

A dream team to create the new Winnipeg Police spots and having a similar experience working on an exciting new business pitch. What a pleasure it is to collaborate and explore with seasoned professionals. Kathryne Grisim, Lori Dyck and Eric Olson. We're creating and conversing and experimenting - it is about as enjoyable as it can be. And the results are incredible. We'll present next week and then await the final decision. Not only would it be wonderful to win the business but the business itself is fresh and exciting. So wish us luck!

In the meantime, we headed off on a perfect day for a Texas Scramble golf tourney in Treherne, Manitoba with the Sunrise Credit Union crew. We had a riot. Congrats to Kaydee Deremiens, client extraordinaire for her amazing win on Ladies Straightest Drive.

Thanks to the organizers for a fun event and thanks to Ken Stuart for getting us our tent in record time!

New spots are coming together.

In so many ways it was a dream shoot. The handpicked crew were there to make sure everything ran smoothly, looked fantastic and we all worked as a team. No egos, disagreements or frustrations. The cast (some were children and/or relative newcomers) did not disappoint at all. The clients Mark and Ray were on hand to help things go smoothly and even the weather cooperated.

And while I have directed several smaller projects, I would say this really was my first big-production Directorial debut. I am very, VERY happy with the result.

Ultimately, I think we're going to create something incredibly special here. Sincere thanks to Co-Producer/Director of Photography extraordinaire Adam Sliwinski. I could not have done this without you.

Additional thanks to the whole crew - Robin Lindala (first camera assistant), Bree Hawkins (second camera assistant) , Joao Holowka (gaffer), Rick Doyle and T'ai Pu (grip), Alana Pona (1st A.D.) , Ben Wytinck (audio), Shaun Gray (production assistant) , Jen Santoro (makeup), Allan Hawkins (locations) , Kari Casting, Kevin Uttenberg (City Film Office) , Jim McKendry (Winnipeg Paramedics) , Craig Oliphant (extras casting) Michel, Joshua, Lexie, Laura and Eric (cast), all the extras and especially Mark Hodgson, Doug Safioles and Ray Howes from Winnipeg's finest. Thank you for entrusting us with your important campaign.

Shooting was completed on June 27th and then it was off to Vancouver. A truly brilliant job of editing by Trevor Mirosh and the spots are now in the talented hands of Anet and John who will create an original soundtrack.

There may be some controversy when these spots go to air. I showed the rough cuts to Shea and her friends and several broke out crying. They were designed to be impactful and to inspire a new appreciation for the power of a speeding vehicle. I think we have achieved that.

Pre-production in full swing!

One week to go and lots of arranging to do. We have all our cast chosen now, the extras in place and the locations nailed. I must say Kevin and the staff at the City of Winnipeg have been fantastic in attending to all our street closure, permits and other needs. The crew is all set and schedule in place. It's a very exciting time - the goal is to have no unforeseen surprises and then hope that the one thing we can't control - the weather - cooperates.

The Winnipeg Paramedics are volunteering to appear in the commercials and the Winnipeg Police have a couple of volunteers too. Kari Casting did a great job of finding candidates to audition and I'm really pleased with our choices. Great acting makes a significant difference in something like this. Eric Olson did such an incredible job on the storyboards.

A debt of gratitude to Cinematographer Adam Sliwinski who is doing all he can to make this a huge success. I can't thank him enough.

Quite a lot goes into a production of this magnitude and each and every person who is involved is key to the final product. Will post lots of production photos after the fact.

In the meantime, great news from Sunrise Credit Union who have approved all the new plans and creative for the upcoming year. Thanks Dennis DeLeon and Lori Dyck for a job very well done. And thanks Kaydee, Tim and Harry for your continued trust in Picante.

And I'm now working on an exciting project that will bring Kevin Costner and his band to Portage la Prairie in August. More on that soon.

Congrats on your promotion Steve!

Was thinking I could use a pair of roller skates today. Began with a lovely send off for Steve West. Steve has been such an important part of the Just Slow Down campaign and he has moved on - over and up - to head all communications for the City of Winnipeg. Chief Keith McCaskill gave a wonderful tribute speech to Steve and it was just a perfect send off to a great guy. We know we're still going to be seeing lots of Steve but it was just terrific being in attendance at an event where he was so well recognized.

Then, it was off to Midcan where Ben Wytinck and Norm Foster worked hard to help me work on Urban Harmony. We're in the home stretch now.

Zipped over for a lovely lunch with the equally lovely Jamie Heiser - Marketing Director for Grant Park Shopping Centre. We really enjoyed our patio lunch at Hu's. Great food. Finally, as if I hadn't been treated enough for one day - we headed out to Red Lobster to celebrate my beautiful daughter Shea's 17th birthday.

Felt like a full day but there's no question....it's a WONDERFUL life!

Very exciting news!

We have liftoff on the new Winnipeg Police Service television spots. The new concept was presented to Chief McCaskill last week and we received an enthusiastic "thumbs up". We'll be shooting in Winnipeg in late June. Stay tuned for more updates.

On the road again.

I feel like I'm becoming one with the Trans Canada Highway. Last Friday it was off to Brandon to help launch the 13th Branch of Sunrise Credit Union. Had a fantastic time - food was awesome and it was great to talk to all the people who dropped by.

Then yesterday my buddy Dan and I had an early start and rolled on down the highway for a brief but highly productive and entertaining trip to Regina. Drove through a brief blizzard - lots of vehicles in the ditch - but we made it there and back safely.