Tell us about your organization. How big is your team? Where are you based? What is your organization’s specialty in the film and video space?
We are a two person team. I act as the director/cinematographer and Nik Dwolinsky is a full time editor. We are located in Port Alberni, British Columbia and we primarily create video content in an outdoor setting on the Pacific Ocean. Working largely in the tourism sector but we also do some fishing videos which is fun for us because we’re passionate fishermen.
Why do you do what you do? Was there a transformative moment that solidified your career choice, your org’s success, or your commitment to storytelling?
I recently discovered the term “Kuma Mata” and it means moved by love. A viewer experiences this sometimes when watching videos. Reflecting on my life behind the camera I’ve always been fascinated when people tell me they get feelings from my videos at different moments. This is why I do it. And for me it’s an awesome creative outlet and passion of mine to align all the different elements of cinema, to create this Kuma Mata feeling, and tell stories that make people have these feelings. Life is beautiful, wondrous and fleeting, and this line of work allows me to capture these things in life, meet new people, see new places, and hopefully tell powerful stories.
Tell us about your Telly Award winning piece. What’s the story behind it?
Marty Clemens and I were commissioned by Nimmo Bay to create a short film on their long-term photographer Jeremy Koreski. Marty A cam, me B cam/editor. Jeremy is a renowned outdoor photographer raised on the West Coast of Vancouver Island in Tofino, B.C. He is the adventurous type, not afraid to push limits and put himself into wild places and scenarios in which he captures amazing images. This video in particular he wanted to capture a specific image of an orca fin that he’s been chasing and imagining for years. It didn’t happen but it was really neat to follow him for three days and witness his process, dedication and approach to photography. Having the orcas show up turned out to be the challenge. We were in the Broughton Archipelago and every time I’ve ever been there in the past at that time of year I’ve always seen orcas. Of course, this time they weren’t there. That’s just how it goes. It made for some cool behind the scenes moments. The title Chasing Light came from our interview but also observations I have made working with him. He has an amazing eye for changing light and he captures fleeting moments in a matter of split seconds and it was so interesting to watch.
Can you share a behind the scenes story or fun fact about the making of your piece?
Well…kind of embarrassing but while freediving and filming underwater in the river (I had an underwater housing so I joined him underwater), I suffered some mild barotrauma. Essentially I was experiencing pain while trying to equalize and I kept pushing it and ignoring the pain. We were only diving 10-12 feet at the time, maybe 15 feet. Depths I’ve swam to quite comfortably before. When I came out of the water as soon as my head pushed through the surface I was experiencing vertigo. I couldn’t drive back to the next location. Long story short I spent the night in the hotel room shaking shivering, nauseous, and not knowing what was wrong with me. The next day I felt better and caught back up with the guys and got back into the swing of production.
What was your biggest challenge during production and how did you solve it?
The biggest challenge was no orcas showing up. We solved that by pivoting to filming salmon in the river and big schools of juvenile herring and making the story more about the challenge of wildlife photography vs the climactic whale shot itself.
What are you most proud of about this piece? What is the most memorable response you got from this work?
Personally there was a shot of Jeremy near the end where he is staring into the water and the ripples are reflecting off his face. It’s just one of those moments of contemplation and felt like such an honest moment of reflection. It’s hard to explain but these are the cinema verite moments that can’t be scripted or planned. I’m most proud of that shot. Also in the editing phase I had this idea for a while of finding a moment to play footage in reverse so it was cool to finally do that in an edit in a way that I feel sort of made sense and creatively elevated the video. I just received a lot of good feedback about the edit and it felt good to hear people really enjoyed watching it. Winning the award was also one of my first personal awards outside of working for bigger organizations and that was sort of reassuring and I was proud of that.
You won a Telly Award for this piece. Why is recognition important for you, your team or your work?
It’s important because it sort of tells us that we belong. As filmmakers we often work in the dark, not just literally but also metaphorically. We don’t often get pats on the backs and if we do as creatives we often scratch our heads and wonder if that’s a sympathetic pat on the back or what kind of weight the feedback really has. For instance people often consume media on their phones or at home and we just don’t get that real life reaction. Like you would building a house or hosting an event. So these awards are really reassuring and really important I think for filmmakers.
Tell us what you’re up to! If there’s a new project, launch, or milestone you’d like us to celebrate with you, let us know, and we might share it with our community.
We’re in early development of a pilot episode for a TV series! We’re seeking funding and planning casting dates. We’ve got scripts. It’s called Bait and Switch and the short synopsis is – A broke, delusional wannabe-mogul talks a burnt-out drug dealer into bankrolling a reality show about commercial fishing — and recruits one overqualified, underpaid editor to somehow make it all look like a career move. What follows is a season of poached fish, laundered invoice, moonlit dock crimes, and increasingly glossy delusions of grandeur, shot in the loose, deadpan, talking-head style of a documentary crew that clearly signed up for something else.
