Always Pray Before Shooting

The producer was a fit looking thirty-five year old. His past contained the dubious accreditations of drug dealer and thief. He bragged on his two gunshot scars and everywhere he went, he carried a powerful telephone system in a sack at his side.

The rental van plucked a large man from a North Vancouver street at 5.30 a.m. It crossed Lion’s Gate and proceeded through the streets and avenues of Vancouver proper. A tall slim fellow from a home near U.B.C. came aboard and sat up front with the driver. The next addition lived in a rooming house and the one after that in a house without lights and no one to wave good-bye. Two hotels produced two more men. The van picked up the director about 6.30 a.m. He was second last on the list. The last was the producer who was allowed more sleep because he was the client, the decision maker and the man with the money.

Rain had begun in the early light. On the way out towards Simon Fraser, it thundered down and bounced back up from the road to slow the pace. It softened as they grabbed the Trans Canada and headed for Abbotsford.

Tires whispered and sung and the big man slept. The producer talked to Salt Lake City, Toronto and two other places. Men spoke quietly one to one. When talk slowed, the director outlined the job (a commercial film for the Mormon Church) for the men. He then turned to the producer and asked him to tell the crew what the Church of the Latter Day Saints stood for. The producer showed his usual pleasure at the request and explained the L.D.S. or Mormon Church was a spiritual com-

munity that believed Jesus Christ was the Son of God. For them, Jesus provided the path to eternal life. The community was called Latter Day Saints because they believed the leaders of recent history could add to their body of spiritual understanding.

A small pause and one of the men turned to the big fellow in the back corner and asked, “So, John, what’s your religion?” John, dozy and hoping to be funny grunted “T.V.” and rolled his body to the window. The tall fellow in front recognized this exchange might constitute an affront and said quietly, “I am a Jew.” After a pause he continued. “We are strong community supporters, both of our own religious community and of the broader community we live in. We believe the God of Israel gave us our credentials. Our ethical foundation comes to us via Moses and our holidays and festivals are commemorations of events like a second century revolt and a war with the Roman Empire.”

This quiet and articulate explanation was absorbed. Then the tidy man from the rooming house said, “I am a Muslim. Our religious community is based on obedience to the teachings in the Koran. We have daily regimens that in Canada are usually messed up by our work requirements. Canadian Muslims tend to be more casual than the Middle Eastern ones. We believe the prophet Mohammed spoke for God and his teachings give us everyday guidance.”

Not to be left out one of the crew said, “It’s a long story I won’t tell you, but I am a born again Anglican, Catholic, Presbyterian.”A long silence ensued off the ends of the smiles. The vehicle hummed. The sun pushed through. The rich odor of wet cedar filled the van.

Closer to Abbotsford one of the crew said, “I am a Roman Catholic. The actions of some of the clergy have not supported the pride I have in my beliefs. Human weakness aside, I believe the Pope in Rome to be a primary spiritual authority. It’s a convenient religion. You can misbehave on almost any level, go to confession and get back in the lineup for heaven.”

A stop at Abbotsford for egg McMuffins and then everyone spread out along a set of railway tracks to start their day. When the sun lowered and warmed the mountain backdrop, they agreed they had managed a productive day and piled back into the van. They picked up the opposite side of the Trans Canada and settled in for the return trip.

The driver spoke as soon as he reached speed. “Before you all drop off to sleep,” he said, “I want to inform you that I am a First Nations person from up the coast and the spiritual belief of my people is that God is the tree and the bear and me and the highway.”

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Bill Irish is a 40 year veteran of Canada’s Communication Industry.

Almost Canada's Last Cigarette Commerial

Written for Rogue Artists by Bill Irish

Allan Sneath worked for McKim Advertising in Montreal. McKim was Canada’s oldest advertising agency and had been responsible for many effective communicating concepts including Canada’s first bank ads.

The film production house director received a phone call from Allan Sneath on Sunday. He requested that the director be on a plane to Calgary the following day with a cameraman, a crew of film-makers and a pair of running shoes because the commercials he had to shoot must be completed very quickly.

An explanation on the plane included the information that a person who watched the activities of American owned Marlborough Cigarettes for Canadian owned Imperial Tobacco, had, on Sunday, warned Imperial Tobacco that Marlborough was going to introduce their cigarettes into Canada. A strong and well advertised brand name like Marlborough would do Imperial Tobacco’s brands considerable damage. The ‘spy’ who seemed to have very specific information, claimed Marlborough’s first step would be to run test commercials in Peterborough, Ontario.

Allan Sneath’s job was to make three competing commercials that could run in Peterborough at the same time. The Marlborough images were of very strong, healthy looking Montana cowboys riding, roping and living in the outdoors. Allan’s plan was to make commercials with images of strong, healthy, Alberta cowboys. Marlborough had the advantage of time but Imperial Tobacco had an interesting advantage of its own. A smart Imperial executive had, long ago, purchased the rights to the name Marlborough in Canada. If the American Marlborough was going to invade Canada, they had to give the product a different name.

The U.S settled on the name Maverick. Allan Sneath’s commercials for Imperial Tobacco could carry the name Marlborough. The Americans put the name Maverick on the papers of their Marlborough cigarettes. Imperial Tobacco took their Belvedere cigarette and rewrapped them with the name Marlborough.

Meanwhile, in a field at the Rafter Six Ranch near Canmore Alberta, the director was bouncing along in an old truck as the crew shot a stampede of thirty horses and two handsome cowboys. With that segment completed, they raced over to the Kananaskis River to film a pack train of mountain horses, led by the same, freshly mounted cowboys.

The following morning, the director and his crew arrived early at Horseshoe Canyon near Drumheller. They pulled into the viewpoint above the canyon at 3:00 AM to catch a sunrise that was to appear at 4:30. At 4:00 the camera, crew and cowboy were ready but the man with the single sheep that the story needed, had not arrived. At least the worried director didn’t think he had. Finally in a desperate state, he went over to the only other car in the parking area and woke the man who was sound asleep at the wheel. “Of course I have the sheep,” he said. “It’s in the trunk.” When the trunk was opened, a sheep that had never seen a car before, became airborne. The sheep owner fought the leaping, bouncing, frantic animal down into the canyon, found a few blades of grass, tethered it and left it in to recover.The story the filmmakers were shooting was about a handsome cowboy who looked all day for a lost sheep until, as the sun set, he came upon it beside the canyon wall. The earlier searching portions had already been shot and the sunrise that was to pretend it was a sunset in the story, was what they were attempting to shoot.

The sun was an inch above the horizon when the cowboy spotted the sheep and rode towards it. The sheep that had never seen a car, had also never seen a horse, so as the large dark thing with a man thing ontop approached, the sheep pulled its stake and ran for its life. It should be mentioned that in addition to the problems the director already had, the horse had never seen a sheep! When the sheep bolted south, the horse bolted north. The cowboy was good at his job; he rode the horse to submission, then gently led it to the patch where the sheep had been and tied it to a stone. He turned to the harried director and asked, “If you would bring the sheep back here and give me five minutes, I will make it possible for you to finish your shot.” The director, if a little doubtful, was thrilled.

The sun was a foot above the horizon. Ten minutes later, the sheep was lifted and placed in the arms of the cowboy. Asking everone to step back, he proceeded to walk in circles around the nervous horse. The smell of the sheep began to mix with the smells of the man and the sheep/man that was walking circles around him, became less frightening. The horse calmed and the man/sheep moved closer until the cowboy was rubbing the sheep back and forth along the horse, again mixing smells. The cowboy quietly asked, “roll the camera please” and hearing the camera start, he gently lifted the sheep onto the horses withers then swung aboard behind it. The rising sun was only a little bit past where it should be for sunset.

The commercials were edited in time and sent out from Toronto. The Canadian cigarette ads were shown on the same day, in Peterborough, as the American cigarettes. The stores displayed the two packages side by side. Smokers were confused and both products were dead in a week. The Amer- icans withdrew, their attempt to launch a cigarette into the Canadian market failed. The Marlborough name went back to bed in a vault in Montreal.

Alan Sneath smiled a little smile.

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Bill Irish is a 40 year veteran of Canada’s Communication Industry.

Thanks!

A big thanks to our Agency Producer Blogger - great work keeping us up to date. Her thoughts throughout the day shows us the difference experience makes. Thank-you.

A Blogger Ends Her Day

Ok a few more things from me and then I'm done - have a 9am session tomorrow

The folks out in BC are doing some fine work... Lots of awards going home to Van this year.

Have been to this event at least 15 times and feel older every year, can no longer do the after parties- recovery time is too long!

Event gets more expensive and less is offered- no souvenir books or dvds, very little food, remember when the event started with coffee and donuts in the am?

Still, it's nice to see everyone and The Work (even if I haven't seen half of it- must spend more time on Youtube!) Spiess award and don award janet woods award are always given to deserving people.

I say I won't go again next year, but you know that I will :-)
Until then, leavin' the after parties to the hard core ragers.
G'nite!

After Bessie Partying Begins

Bar was the usual mayhem, 20 deep to get a drink!

Good "mini" food, mini burgers, fries, of course not nearly enough to soak up the amount of alcohol being consumed

11 bucks for a glass of red- don't they know ad folks are cheap?

Awards Part 3

Bob mann post prod award:
Michelle at panic and bob, great gal.

Gold campaign TV:

Viagra "confessions"
Sport BC Camapign - fun


Gold online campaign:

Promos for national advertising awards

Janet woods award; sue bell

Best of show campaign - VIAGRA!

Best of show single - artic sun - pepsi- tropicana

All in all, nice quick show, my usual complaints about work I've never seen winning. Gotta run, phone is dying!

Online Gold

Food Lift - BC Dairy Foundation
Dream - Girl Guides of Canada
Sugar Streak- koodo mobile

Best of Series- Production Design - The Race, Stella Artois

Cinematography/ editing - Dream

Gold Award

The Race-Stella Artois
Balloon Boy - A+W

People are actually invited to podium this year!

The Sun - Tropicana/Pepsi
Ice Creamy Goodness- Science World
Sexuality- Vancouver Film Festival

Speiss Award

Spiess award- Derek van Lint. RIP, he was a nice man

Accepted by Joanna van Lint

Work Part 2

The kidsport.ca stuff is good, check it out.

Viagra campaign is funny too.

Work

Chris Mably, DP, showed some of stuff- beautiful work.

Craft Awards

Craft award for Chris Sargent, DP for Flame Trail -RBC

Colorist Billy Ferwerda for NewFoundland Tourism

Hard to catch all- credits are fast.

Roche

Geoffrey roche talks about courage, the demise of boards magazine.

Finalist

Finalist reel- where did these spots run because I have seen about 30 percent.. Must stop setting my PVR.

Sound Speakers are terrible for a music venue!

Huh?

Info on event is sketchy- no one knows when it starts, when it ends, is there food? They need a freakin producer!

Keynote

Keynote speaker is the guy who directed precious- awesome film. Auditorium half full even though bar is closed outside- why do we come again?

Venue

New venue this year- Royal conservatory of music. Nice windows. But we just got here and bar is closed... WTF?

Rain - Vancouver?

Still waiting for cab - still raining - I moved back to Toronto for this!?

Rain!

Oh well - waiting for a cab - still pouring rain. Not good.

Cocktails

Cocktails hosted by Grayson Matthews at 'le select bistro'. Enjoying quiche and Kir Royale. It is pouring rain right now - with start time at 4:30 pm EST - hopefully we won't get too wet.

Bessie After Parties

First Post of our Bessie coverage - we begin with some After Party locations.

Amber - in yorkville
Ted's Collision Bar - on College St.
Blondies - Queen St. W (10 pm - 2am)

Stay tuned for all the reasons people will need these After Parties...

2010 Bessie Awards!

Bessie Countdown begins... 10 am PST the live blog will open its doors for all of you out there who Can't, Won't or Don't - go to the Bessie Awards show.

Starting next week, guest bloggers - Directors, Agency and Production types will blog on how it all comes together.

For now though catch all the glory, dirt and fun that make up the Besssie Awards. There may not be a Long Bar anymore but after the last year of budget cuts, layoffs and the many compromises we have all made, my bet is that more than a few people will need to let off a bit of steam!

Best of luck to all those nominated and to those who weren't and feel slighted, feel free to express yourselves!

Launch with US - Live blog of Bessie Awards Thursday June 3rd. Then come back to see guest blogs from production and agency people as we blog about media Production and Execution