Cinema Canada (Jun 1982)

ee UC Ne|6 Ma LULL Academy makes great musicinworkshop ExtraModern scales heights TORONTO — Though the Academy of Canadian Cinema’s Music for Motion Pictures Workshops, May 24-June 1 in Toronto, drew little fanfare from the public, it received an enthusiastic response from its participants. “I don’t know anyone anywhere who has set up this kind of program successfully. They've given people interested in film music a darn good insight to all facets which go into the business,” said composer Earle Hagen, who led four days of classes for over70 students and a two-day recording session for 20 students. Hagen, composer of numer ous film and television scores (‘I stopped counting after 2,500”) and author of the definitive text on film music technique, Scoring For Film, was one of three top film music figures invited to the seminar by organizers Lawrence Shragge and Jim Henshaw. Composer Jerry Goldsmith, nominated 13 times for Academy Awards and considered by many the best film composer in the business, screened segments from his previous work and addressed the audience on Saturday, May 29, at the Roxy Theatre. Don Wilkens, composer, music editor, and professor of film music at Berklee College in Boston, gave a nightly series of lecture screenings on film music classics and assisted Hagen in the classroom. The highlight for several students was the recording session at Manta Sound, where they conducted their own twominute composition to a film segment in front of a 20-piece orchestra. “It was really an important chance to have composers write their own music to picture and apply what they learned all week,” said Shragge. “They couldn't have picked three better people,’ said student Doug Timm, a composer from Houston, Texas, who attended the seminar on the recommendation of former teacher Don Wilkens. “They go through everything, technical aspects, aesthetics, dealing No one with producers. They have given us a much better understanding of how the motion picture business works.” Added composer Allan Bell, who attended from Calgary : “It was absolute: ly and totally practical, as insightful as it could be. Earle Hagen literally wrote the book. It was good to touch base with that kind of experience.” A weekend series of lectures chaired by ACC chairman and composer Paul Hoffert offered a condensed version of the weekly classes to the general public, and among those featured on the various panels include Hagen, Canadian filmmakers Peter O’Brian, John Eckert, and Allan King, and Canadian Broadcasting Corp. producer Stanley Colbert. The music For Motion Pictures Workshop was sponsored by the Ontario Arts Council, PROCAN, the Canada Council, the National Film Board, Manta Sound, and the Canadian Motion Picture Distribution Association. can hold a candle to us Help Cinema Canada celebrate 10 years of publication by taking ‘out a subscription. In return, we'll provide all _ the film news, views and interviews you'll need to keep abreast of developments both artistic and commercial in Canada D Individuals: $18. NAME ADORESS INCE D Bill me. P.O. no MATURE D Payment enclosed C0 Companies and institutions: $24. (a saving of $6 off cover price) (Add $5 postage for USA and overseas per year) Please enter a CO Renewal 0 New Subscription for: ee Ee Se CITY COUNTRY C.Ghi my VISA acc. no. EXPY Cole ce 8 et * CODE _—_-_ —--_--——- Mail coupon to Cinema Canada, Box 398, Outremont Station, Montreal H2V 4N3 TORONTO — Describing it as “the most incredible experience we've ever been through,” director Peter Walsh and his Extra Modern Productions crew of Rene Ohashi, John Dawson, and Aerlyn Weissman recently returned from China, where they filmed the unsuccessful attempt to scale Mt. Gongga by a Canadian mountain-climbing team led by Roger Griffiths of Vancouver. “They didn’t make it, but it will be a great film,’ Walsh told Cinema Canada at the 1982 Toronto Super 8 Film Festival, where he showed slides of the expedition and discussed the use of Super 8 equipment to film part of the climb. “We all came out of it very different people. They didn’t fail, they only gained experience.” Walsh was extremely pleased with how the project's equipment handled in the extreme weather conditions, especially the Vulcan solar charger, which he said “worked all the time, in sunny or cloudy weather.” Some equipment, particularly the cameras, had problems with retaining moisture, and Walsh estimated the crew spent “3040% of the time” nursing their equipment. The greatest hardship was living and working for five weeks out of tents ona climb that experienced bad weather for 20 out of its 30 days on the mountain. “It changes your perspective when you know you can only do three shots a day,” said Walsh. “On the mountain, life is reduced to a very simple state.” Walsh feels enriched by the experience of shooting in China. “We had to remind our selves we were making a film on mountain climbing, not about China,” he said, describing the trip through China and Tibet as like going through a time warp. “Some Tibetians had never seen westerners before. It was like being part of a royal entourage. Everything was laid out for us.” The film is sponsored by Labatt Breweries and must be completed by September 15 according to a _ contractual agreement. Walsh hopes to tiein the film’s premiere screening with the Chinese exhibition running through to October at the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto. . Extra Modern’s other project, Bruce Cockburn: Rumours of Glory, a performance film featuring the Canadian rock singer, has completed picture editing, according to Walsh, co-producer of the film with Bill House. Walsh said Extra Modern has entered into an agent's agreement with Simcom Ltd. to find distribution for the film and has also been negotiating with national pay-television licensee First Choice for a premiere broadcast. Walsh said the Canadian Film Development Corp. was instrumental in bringing the Cockburn film package _ together. “The CFDC were there with support at the crucial moment. They were behind us 100%. But we had to demonstrate to them we were filmmakers who weren't going to lie down.” Second Atlantic Film & Video Festival October 18-24, 1982 Halifax, Nova Scotia A competitive showcase for Atlantic Canada’s film, video & television For rules & regulations entry forms please contact Mike Riggio Festival Director Atlantic Film Festival Association clo National Film Board of Canada 1572 Barrington Street Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 1Z6 (902) 426-6011-6 10/Cinema Canada-— June 1982