Week 5: PMA

This week has simply disappeared. I actually came in yesterday when I had an extra hour to spare to get some extra work done.

I have been learning so much about the business just by being here. The work that I’ve been doing this week has involved the Emily Carr biography that’s being made for the Extraordinary Canadians series (the same one with Nellie McClung that I was researching for). What I’ve been doing is going through the Carr paintings in the show, figuring out what they are and when they were painted, and compiling a document of these. A rather time-consuming process, but Kenneth seemed really pleased when I sent him my work.

I’ve also been working on more archiving of photographs for Plague, as well as going through Jefferson (the director)’s shooting notes and finding other images and documents that we wants to include in the film.

The shooting last week was really great. I got to see a small film crew in action — from filming in a studio with a dolly to filming on location with and without a tripod. Watching the DOP and her assistant in action is incredible. They don’t even need to speak to one another to communicate. They clearly work together so much that all communication is physical. It’s like watching a well-oiled machine. They are also really nice people, which is a great bonus when working non-stop for 5 days with the same little group.

I only have two more weeks left here. I can’t really believe it!

Kenneth wants to meet next week to talk about the Nellie McClung research I did, and also to discuss what I’m planning for my documentary in Israel. We’re also going to have an informational meeting in which he and Agata are going to debrief me on the industry, on funding and broadcasting in Canada — all information I’m desperate to get.

As I’ve said before, I’m extremely pleased to be working in a smaller production company. I’m really getting a good idea of how things work, and most definitely think that I’ve chosen an industry very well-suited to my interests!