Canadian Film Digest (May 1974)

April-May 1974 The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and The National Film Board got together on May Ist for a two-and-a-half hour chunk of programming in the first ‘theme’ evening run by the CBC. Subject was the Arctic, and the show consisted of several NIB shorts on that topic, with a live transmission from a lab below the polar ice at Resolute Bay. Co-produced by the CBC and NFB, the films were not made specifically for the evening, but all were premieres — one was finished only days before — and fit into the topic well. Program title, ‘Inukshuk,’ is taken from the sculptures found all over the Arctic. Eskimo and pre-Eskimo, some are 4,000 years old, said show host Patrick Watson. “They mark the presence of life in a hostile environment, and are a friendly symbol that man has passed this way.” Eugene Hallman and Knowlton Nash are in favor of such evenings, and Hallman began pushing them some time ago. The Arctic show was proposed ten months ago. The CBC had been looking for new types of programming, and this form of vertical programming seemed useful to try. ‘‘The purpose is not to be too indepth or controversial, just to entertain and inform.”’ said a CBC spokesman. Simon Fraser seeks film resident Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Communications and the Arts is looking for a resident in film. The film program emphasizes ‘| production and offers a basic workshop program. Teaching period is September through July. An assistant is provided. The employment period begins September Ist, and the contract runs one year initially. Salary is negotiable. Application deadline is June Ist. Resumes should be specifically orientated to film, listing where the applicant’s films can be obtained, and accompanied by three letters of reference. Preference will be given to applicants with extensive Canadian filmmaking experience. Contact The Director, Centre for Communications and the Arts, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby 2, British Columbia. The Canadian Film Digest CBC and NF B join for theme evening Inukshuks are the title source for the CBCNFB theme night seen on May Ist. Added Patrick Watson, ‘‘We must have more of the North going South. Up to now it’s been the other way around only. It’s great TV, a beautiful marriage of film and Television. Tt? Ss what TV should be: an experience conveyed that has not been communicated previously or is unknown.”’ Co-executive producers of the project are Pierre Normandin of the CBC and James de B. Domville for the NFB. Production responsibility for the telecast at CBC lies with the features unit, headed by Liston Mclhagga. Facilities for the Arctic transmission are via Bell Canada and the Telstat satellite Anik. ‘David Novek of the NFB said that the Board is very excited with the collaboration with the CBC, and sees the effort as a growing collaboration between the two bodies. One of the films included is The Aviators of Hudson Strait. Compiled of old film footage and a contemporary interview with one of the participants, the film recounts a Canadian government survey expedition in 1927-28 to the North to determine how long the navigation season might be for ocean vessels. It was the first aerial expedition to the Arctic. William Weintraub wrote and produced it; UVesmona Dew was executive producer. Sub-Igloo is about the building of a plastic bubble under the ice at Resolute Bay. Divers cut through four feet of ice in December 1972 to construct a dome for scientists to work out of under the water. Colin Low was executive producer and directors were James de B. Domville and Dr. Joseph MacInnis. The idea arose ‘when MacInnis approached his friend Domville about obtaining footage for a film of the expedition. Domville, also an underwater diver, asked if the NFB could make the film. It wasn’t easy. A Feranzi camera with no alterations was used. (Now a new.one with special housing, weighing 210 pounds is used. The weight is neutral underwater.) The water temperature is 28142 degrees, and even Rick .Mason, the cameraman, could not operate for oa) Ps } =long without fatigue. The thing is, explained oF: Domville, that you don’t notice the fatigue. “And the film consists of most of the footage we shot.” In Search of the Bowhead Whale is by Bill Mason, with Bill Brind as producer. The film tells about the search for the legendary whale, hardly ever seen in the last eighty years. Started in Spring 1973, the expedition doubted they would ever find it. Said Mason, “‘It’s fifty to sixty feet long, just unimaginable. When I saw it [had the most incredible feeling. That’s what film is for: people making contact with the effect of seeing it.’ Short segments, but fascinating ones, are Page 19 | Inuit Animation and Inuit Masterworks. Inuit Animation are the results of workshops set up by the NFB at Cape Dorset. Eskimo Artists worked with the equipment without any intrusion by the NFB, and the results are highlighted by the recurring shaman figure of transformation. Sananguagat: Inuit Masterworks is a film directed by Derek May and produced by Tom Daly, with Colin Low as executive producer. Eskimo sculpture is interspersed with scenes from daily life, and it is remarkable how vividly alive the sculpture becomes when shown in conjunction with the real people upon whom it is based. Watson said that he was ‘knocked out by the films.” He described the live broadcast as a bit of hockum, but he emphasized that it is a good start in North-South communication. ‘‘We’ve seen more of the surface of the moon, and here we have a polar continental shelf of a million square miles.” And in Sub-Igloo, what did the divers find under the ice and water: evidence of pollution. Bellevue gets Disney group promotion a re nnn A private plane carrying six performers, a | manager, two pilots, and loads of costumes | descended upon Toronto in mid-March, and | brought happiness to many youngsters as well | as some very effective promotion for Bellevue | Film Distributors. The performers: were they. did a half hour show. Backed by his cohorts, three of whom are | musicians, Boag did some of his best-received tricks, including making an animal out of a © balloon, and using ventriloquism withacakein — hat. And Alice sang a song. The kids loved it and the turnout pleased both Eaton’s and Bellevue. At Scarborough Town Centre a full house arrived through freezing rain for a ten a.m. show. TV exposure included the Uncle Bobby Show, Claire Olson Show, Global and CITY. Eaton’s ran ads in the newspaper and were delighted with the reception of the group. == RESULTS OF IMPORTANT SURVEY JUST IN! An exhausted survey among the owner and president of Quinn Laboratories, Mr. Findlay J. Quinn respectively, has just been digested by the computers; wheezing, hissing and zapockating. The key question in sub-section 18C, namely #319 a, b, c, & d, ran as follows: in the guise of | characters from Walt Disney’s Alice in Won| derland, and their fifteen city tour included . Toronto. Led by M.C., Mad Hatter Wally Boag, | they visited four Eaton department stores in plazas in the Toronto area. At each location Wally Biag eeleat as Teante entertainer and M.C. for the Disney Alice in Wonderland contingent. =a “What, in your unprejudiced opinion, is the overwhelming causative factor in the unprecedented success of your film laboratory; (a) because your people care more, (b) that your technological advances, both (b1) chemical and (b2) mechanical, have revolutionized film processing, (c) that your (cl) size and (c2) ultra-modern procedures have resulted in (c3) faster, (c4) more accurate customer servicing, and that, (d) if given half a chance, you will do even better?” In a firm, clear and unequivocal gurgle, the computer printed out Mr. Quinn’s retort: “I like your style!” QUINN LABS 380 Adelaide Street West / Toronto 2/ 368-301 |