A Conversation with Cinematographer Ashley Phinney

By Jeremy Brubacher

JB: What sparked your interest in film?

AP: The second Lord of the Rings movie was released when I was in elementary school. At the time, my sister and I were very into magazines. One day my mom came home with a magazine that featured some behind-the-scenes photos and stories from the shoot. I must have read that article 50 times. I even brought it to school for 'show and tell.' That was the first time I considered that movies must be made and that they don't just appear out of thin air for me to enjoy. 

JB: What is your favorite film and why?

AP: My preferred genre of film is horror, especially when I am looking to watch something for the first time or with friends. I don't often stray too far from this genre. When I do, I often repeat an old favorite rather than see something new. 

Grizzly Man, Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away, The Silence of the Lambs, Across the Universe, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, The Pagemaster, The LOTR trilogy, The Sandlot, and Sweeney Todd have all held regular spots in my rotation for many years. 

JB: What are projects you have crewed on?

AP: At last count, I have worked on 28 member films and many other corporate and outside projects. 

JB: What are the creative roles you filled on the projects?

AP: I've done a bit of everything over the years. PA, AC, Sound, Gaffer, Grip, Producer, AD, Director, Production Design, DOP, you name it - I've tried it. I've even been known to do craft services on occasion. When you want to work in film in a province that doesn't have a booming industry, you learn to do a bit of everything to fill in the gaps.

JB: What is your favorite project that you have worked on, and what is your biggest takeaway from that project?

AP: I have had good experiences on many different projects. One of the more recent projects I was on was Ry O'Toole's feature film Further Than The Eye Can See. This project was a unique and exciting experience with challenges, particularly for the art department. I won't say too much as it hasn't been released yet, but when you see it, you will understand. What I will say is that I am incredibly grateful for all of the knowledge I gained while working on the project. It was a highlight for sure. 

JB: What areas of responsibility have you taken on at the Film Co-op?

AP: I've worked and volunteered at the NB Film Co-op many times for many things. I was an intern there in 2015, worked there as a recent graduate in 2016 and 2017, and went back again in 2019 for a few months to work on a VR project. Since 2015, I have been a member of the NB Film Co-op and have been actively working on member projects. It has been a pretty exciting journey, and I have learned much. 

JB: You started working at Outreach Productions; how long have you been there? What job position do you have at Outreach Productions?

AP: I started working at Outreach Productions in December 2021. I'm the Director of Video Production at Outreach. 

JB: What have you learned since working at Outreach, and how are you enjoying it?

AP: It is hard to describe how much I have learned since I began. As with any new job, there is a learning curve, and this is no different. It is very exciting to be working in video production full-time again. The team is excellent, and I've been enjoying it so far. 

JB: On films, what are the creative roles that you are most likely to take on if members from the Co-op were to reach out to you?

AP: Director of Photography and Key Grip are typically my preferred roles, depending on the project. 

JB: Are you currently working on any projects, and do you have anything in the works?

AP: I recently shot Kaitlyn Adair's short film Oculus for member projects. Other than that, I am focusing on projects through Outreach. 

NB Film Co-op member and cinematographer Ashley Phinney.

Ty Giffin is Passionate about Filmmaking

By Jeremy Brubacher

When speaking to Ty Giffin, I find him experienced, passionate, and heartfelt about his film career. There is much to glean from him in terms of the art of filmmaking, and I believe the things that he has to say will resonate with many.

Like many who fall in love with film and filmmaking, for Ty, it all started when he was a child. He enjoyed watching films and was fascinated by the 'making of' featurettes and documentaries included on most DVDs. Ty's movie-watching spurred him to make silly videos with his friends, homemade Star Wars films, and skate videos here and there. However, the film Goodfellas in 1990, directed by Martin Scorsese, took his deep curiosity and turned it into an unbridled passion for filmmaking.

That passion grew as Ty sought out Martin Scorsese's filmography, firmly planting the seeds of his desire to make filmmaking a path in his life. Next, Ty looked for film schools, and that search ultimately landed him at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, where he completed an honours in Media Arts and Culture with a minor in Film Production. He was also introduced to the filmmaking community in New Brunswick through the NB Film Co-op, and he has been working on member's projects ever since. Some of the film roles Ty has taken on film projects are script supervisor and assistant camera or grip, but he feels fortunate to have had the chance to be director of photography on several projects.

Director of photography is a creative role well suited for Ty as any moving images he produces have a strong artistic flair and mood. The cinematographers who inspire his visual style and taste include some greats like; Roger Deakins, Sven Nykvist, Robby Müller, Sean Bobbitt, Robert Yeoman, Steven Soderbergh, and Gordon Willis. Some of the creative techniques that Ty loves in cinematography are deep shadows, high contrast, rich colours, dark blue evenings, and the quality of sodium vapor lights.

A recent film project that Ty had the privilege to work on was Ryan O'Toole's feature film Further Than The Eye Can See. While he was not the director of photography on Ryan's project, he did take on the crucial role of script supervisor. Ty formed strong bonds and friendships with many of the crew as being script supervisor put him in a position where he was in direct contact with all departments on the project. He also was the colourist, working closely with Ryan to create a look that Ty describes as, unlike anything he and Ryan have seen before. 

Ryan O'Toole is known for films that have been described as having an experimental quality that often seems to reach the metaphysical realm. This magic, combined with Ty's colour grading skills, should make Further Than The Eye Can See something exceptional.

Speaking of Ty's colour grading, he has gone through training to strengthen his skills. This involved him taking two intermediate courses, which certified him as an end-user for Da Vinci Resolve, a professional-grade film editor and colour grade software used on Hollywood films. Some recent films are Dune, The Green Knight, Godzilla vs Kong, and Black Widow. With these skills, Ty has created his own company for colour grading called Bison ColourWorks, where he has had the opportunity to grade music videos, short films, documentaries, and Ryan's feature film. In conjunction with Bison ColourWorks, Ty also created his production company called Bison FilmWorks. Hopefully, you will see his production company logo on many more film projects, as Ty will be producing all future film projects under this company banner. 

Ty is a very talented up-and-coming director and writer. With a good number of short films under his belt. One short that caught my attention is his film Roles which he produced in 2017. The film displays his ability to create atmosphere and mood. And then, there is his other film, and even though the budget was tiny, the film was not. Ty made a Neo-Western called Sister's Dirge in 2018. It is an extremely intimate short film with a surprising scope that deals with loss, vengeance, and the deep bond between sisters. The story centers around the dark and relevant topic of the kidnapping and murder of indigenous women. Ty found the film challenging to research, and he was often in tears during the process. However, even with the difficult subject matter, he gathered many collaborators for the project professionally that he still keeps in contact with today. The film went on to win a major award at the New Brunswick Silver Wave Film Festival. An important lesson that Ty learned on this film project is that is you have to be careful how many hats you wear on a project as the art can suffer in the end, but at the same time, because of doing many of the roles himself, he was able to learn so much more. Ultimately, the project was immensely gratifying for him.

The lessons learned on Sister's Dirge are ones he took to heart and applied to his next short film Cicerone, which is currently nearing the end of the post-production phase. Ty gives special mention to his producers, script supervisor, and 1st AD as invaluable, highlighting the advantage of not taking on too much and having a good support network to help see things through. Without them, he could not have done it. 

Cicerone went through many script rewrites; in fact, the film initially started as a mockumentary, but by the end of the writing process had turned into a dramatic narrative short film. The film ended up with a much higher budget, as Ty was awarded the Short Film Venture Grant and an artsnb grant. Thanks to the additional funding, he was able to make a film that his younger self could only have dreamed of making. Ty describes Cicerone as a meta-text of writing and the gangster genre, bringing things full circle to the kinds of films that inspired him to make them in the first place. Though the film was his dream to make, it was not necessarily a cakewalk to produce. 

The initial shooting schedule in spring 2020 to make the film was postponed by the Covid-19 pandemic, and then when they finally were shooting the film in September 2021, he and his cast and crew narrowly missed another lockdown due to the pandemic. Ty also had setups and plans fall apart on set, but that is part of the process and can happen. These experiences showed him that you must adapt and be creative. A couple of scenes required re-shoots, which can occur sometimes. The film is now in a place that Ty is happy with, and he is looking forward to submitting it to festivals soon. He also told me to keep my eyes peeled as a trailer for the film will be released soon.

I will leave you with Ty's philosophy for the filmmaking process, "filmmaking is a collaborative medium, and you are only as good as your collaborators."

If you want to see Ty's previous work, including Roles and Sister's Dirge, you can check out his Vimeo page: vimeo.com/tygiffin. 

If you would like to reach out to Ty for advice or to collaborate with him, you can reach out to him on Facebook, Instagram, and Instagram for Bison FilmWorks and Bison ColourWorks.

Ty Giffin

Ty Giffin

Participants Announced for New Regional Training Initiative

NSI Business For Producers – Atlantic Women’s Edition

Top row from left: Maja Jacob, Erica Meus-Saunders, NB Film Co-op member Gia Milani; middle: Lynn Matheson, Renée Hackett, Jessica Brown; bottom row: NB Film Co-op member Arianna Martinez, Jeana MacIsaac, Ruth Lawrence.

Today, through NSI Business for Producers – Atlantic Women’s Edition, nine Atlantic women set off on a new producing path as the first cohort of this regional training initiative.

The program, run by the National Screen Institute – Canada and program partner Canada Media Fund (CMF), is designed to foster the growth of women producing professionals in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The program aims to enrich the region’s production community, and its position across Canada and globally.

This part-time, six week program will build on participants’ essential producing skills, including preparing a pitch package for a current project in development. The program is customized to the needs of each participant, and includes expert training from women in the industry including Joan Jenkinson (Black Screen Office), Gloria Ui Young Kim (writer/director, Queen of the Morning Calm) and Anne-Marie Gélinas (producer, Beans).

The National Screen Institute is proud to introduce the nine participants and their projects:

Arianna Martinez (NB), Do I Know You From Somewhere?
Erica Meus-Saunders (NS), Not Worthy
Gia Milani (NB), Spychics
Jeana MacIsaac (PEI), Please, Return to My Father
Jessica Brown (NS), Above Snakes
Lynn Matheson (NS), An Rèiteach
Maja Jacob (NB), Motherland
Renée Hackett (NFLD), Birthday Balloon
Ruth Lawrence (NFLD), Party Pirate

“Creating training and mentorship opportunities for women in the screen-based industry is part of CMF’s commitment to gender balance,” said Valerie Creighton, President and CEO, CMF. “We’re thrilled to partner with the National Screen Institute to support nine talented women producers from Atlantic Canada. This program will help broaden their skillset, as they take their stories to the next level and reach new audiences.”

Over the next six weeks, participants will take part in masterclasses and one-on-one consultations on topics including pitching and packaging a project; incorporation strategy and business affairs; budgets and financing; legal contracts / agreements; distribution / festival strategy; working with union / non-union and guilds; managing productions; case studies and more.

Participants will work with a content development consultant to prepare their pitch. The program will culminate in an online forum where participants will pitch their projects to a panel of industry experts for their feedback.

Program faculty includes National Screen Institute co-founder Jan Miller as program advisor and Amy Reitsma as program manager, both of whom are based in the Atlantic region.

• • •
NSI Business for Producers – Atlantic Women’s Edition is funded by Program Partner Canada Media Fund (CMF); Strategic Sponsor Telefilm Canada; Provincial Sponsors Newfoundland & Labrador Film Development Corporation, FilmPEI, Province of New Brunswick; Industry Sponsor Nova Scotia Business Inc (NSBI) / Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA). NSI Core Funders are Manitoba Sport, Culture & Heritage and the City of Winnipeg through the Winnipeg Arts Council. More sponsors will be added as confirmed.

About the National Screen Institute – Canada
Propelled by a visionary network of donors, private and public organizations, board and staff, the National Screen Institute supports creators from across Canada to tell unforgettable stories. Through industry-informed training and mentoring in film, television and digital media, students and alumni find their voice and place on the global stage, inspiring us to shape a better world.

The National Screen Institute is committed to training participants from a diverse community of voices including Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning and two-spirit (LGBTQ2S+), people with disabilities, those outside large urban centres, those from regional and remote areas and various religious groups.

For the Love of Film - Ian Estey

By Jeremy Brubacher

When he was a young lad, Saint John-based member filmmaker Ian Estey's parents took him to see Star Wars, which was the catalyst for his enduring love for film and filmmaking. That early experience really ignited his imagination, and he and his cousins would record Star Wars radio plays that he assured me have great cringe value, but they were all part of that creative passion that Star Wars stirred up inside of him. What inspires him now is not so much what comes out of the Hollywood system, but more so the films coming from local talent made right here in New Brunswick.

As a child, Ian also did sketch comedies and put together a KISS airband with his cousins in his grandparent's garage. He shot 8mm films on his cousin's camera, which transitioned into him shooting many music videos later, which he still does today. He won a Saint John Music Award in 2013 for the music video he made for the local band Rock Cliff Overview. Ian has also done documentaries, the first of which showed at the Silver Wave Film Festival. The film was about people who use bodybuilding as a way of healing. The story went against the stereotype that people only participated in competitions for vanity and showed that everyone has a deeper story.

On the more narrative film side of things, Ian has done many short films, and he also did an episodic project called Hard Times in Maritimes, which was shot over two years, with each season having 6 to 7 episodes. He also has done feature films; the most recent is Larry Strange, a comedic film about a paranormal investigator. In all these different projects, Ian has taken on different roles, which has strengthened his experience in all aspects of filmmaking. Name a role; Ian has probably done it.

Recently things have changed for Ian. Due to creative differences, he has more free time to help out with Film Co-op member projects. Over the course of our conversation, I realized that because of all the experience that Ian has gained, he has a wealth of great advice to tap into, be it shooting a scene, how to run a healthy set, marketing your film, and finding locations to shoot your projects. Ian has a lot of wisdom to share with his community. He is also willing to take on different roles on set; some to highlight would be Director of Photography and Producing. Ultimately, he is willing to help out in any capacity, so definitely reach out to him, even if it's just for sound film advice, as this article is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what Ian can bring to the table experience-wise.

See below for previous work Ian has done. He can be emailed at: iestey@nbnet.nb.ca.

IMDB:

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6059500/

Youtube Page (Groove Hill Studio)

https://www.youtube.com/user/GrooveHillStudio

"Reprobate Road: A Hard Times Movie"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2X98Kxt2ks

Reboot: Rebuild

https://youtu.be/xGZ4fFeEX8o

Larry Strange Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9jYVkQ98eM

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Ian Estey - Shaken and Stirred by Film

Bright Star: Christine McLean

By Brenda Malley

If you are fortunate enough to meet and talk to long-time NB Film Co-op member Christine McLean, it becomes immediately apparent that her staying power as a Canadian journalist and filmmaker over the last two decades is primarily the result of her tenacity, hard work, and ability to recognize interesting stories from her natural surroundings. 

This sweetheart of the Maritimes hails from Nova Scotia, where she currently resides. However, she spent years early in her career living and working in New Brunswick, a time and place she recalls with fondness and gratitude.

As a young child, Christine was not thinking about pursuing one of the more traditional career choices. Instead, because of her love of literature, storytelling, and visual arts, by the age of 10, she knew that she wanted to become a photojournalist someday.

Following high school graduation, Christine obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Dalhousie University, followed by an honours degree in Journalism from Carleton University in Ottawa. She returned to school in 2008, earning a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University School of Journalism in New York.

Though she had initially expected that her career would involve journalism in print form, little did she know that she would diversify into other mediums, specifically radio and television. 

Christine was a feature presenter at CBC Radio for more than a decade. She regularly filled in for Terry Seguin, the former host of Information AM, CBC Fredericton, while also occasionally filling in for the hosts of Information AM in Saint John and Moncton. She was also a guest host for Shift New Brunswick for several years.

From 2007-2010, Christine was a panelist on CBC’s Short Film Face Off, showcasing films from across Canada. For four months the following year, she wrote and presented a bi-weekly CBC radio column called Just Sayin’ about the use of slang. In 2013, she conceived and conducted panel discussions for Canada Reads, and in 2015 she conducted a series of feature interviews on masterworks at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery.

Christine revealed that a series of unforeseen circumstances and associations with some amazing creatives, as well as her involvement with some phenomenal creative organizations (e.g., artsnb, WIFT- Atlantic, Women in the Director’s Chair), gave her the confidence to “talk business” and to “think big,” leading to her foray into filmmaking. 

She has written, story edited, and/or directed more than thirty documentaries to date. Most of these documentaries have been nationally televised, appearing on CBC’s Land and Sea and The Nature of Things. Her work has also been televised on APTN, Discovery Canada, and National Geographic.

Some of the “one-off” documentaries that she wrote include The Paramount (2012), The Boy Who Was Bullied (2013), At the Dance (2013), and Code Kids (2014). Also, Christine directed The Girls of St. Mary’s (2016).

As well, she contributed to many documentary series including, Stones of Fate and Fortune (2003, one episode as director, consultant for three others), Frontiers of Construction (2004, wrote and directed five episodes), CBC’s Opening Night (wrote and directed two episodes), Keeping Canada Alive (2015, director of two online stories), Mega Marine Machines (2020, head writer and story editor, TV series documentary), If We Built It Today (2020, story editor and producer).

One of her most memorable documentary episodes, Wild at Heart (for Land and Sea), had a large viewing audience. It told the story of people who brought wildlife into their homes, like Ellie the Moose from Giberson Settlement, NB. Christine also contributed to other episodes that focused on urban foxes in PEI, black bears in NS, bald eagles, and bats in the Maritimes with white-nose syndrome. Christine’s most inspirational documentary was The Power of Play for The Nature of Things that can still be viewed on CBC Gem. This show examined research on the benefits of free, risky play in nature and its impact on children’s mental and emotional development. She and her crew visited a daycare program in Norway where children between 2 and 4 years old spent their entire day outdoors where they ate, played, and slept. 

For the last year, Christine and Tim Hogan (an Emmy award-winning producer whom she enjoyed collaborating with on past projects) co-produced a “visually rich” and fun documentary, The New Human, for The Nature of Things. It aired on November 26, 2021, and is still running on CBC Gem. The New Human explores how the human body will biologically develop in the near and far future. This is because of evolution, technology, and changes in our culture. Some examples of these changes are our hair colour, height, and physical strength. 

Christine hosts and presents at various venues and events within the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia artistic communities if all this filmmaking is not enough. These include In Conversation, a public interview series presented by the Fredericton Playhouse, keynote conversations for Women Making Waves, public interviews with Canadian authors at Fry Literary Festival, discussion panels at Silver Wave Film festival, and Lunch and Learn events through Doc Talks (2015). 

She also taught senior television workshops at the University of King’s College in 2011-12 and was a full-time assistant professor at St. Thomas University from July 2009 until May 2011 in the journalism program. 

What does Christine plan to do next? She and Tim Hogan hope to work on another episode of the Nature of Things that could involve filming in Africa, Western Europe, and/or the Canadian North. Also, given that she has significantly benefitted from other females and female organizations throughout her career, she intends to continue supporting women in film whenever she can, including employment and mentorship opportunities.

Her significant contribution to film and television was recognized by WIFT Atlantic in 2017 when she was one of three women that year selected for the WAVE Award. 

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Christine and her film team in Berlin.