2021 in the Spotlight
Happy New Year!
We’re looking forward to another amazing year at our little studio in Cobble Hill. But before we ring in the New Year, here are some of our favourite projects we had the pleasure of working on in 2021. Stay tuned for next week when we review even more accomplishments from the past twelve months that we’re excited to finally share in 2022!
Fragile Seeds
In 2021, we wrapped up post production on our first ever narrative feature film! It’s been a labour of love, but we couldn’t be happier with the results. The dramatic thriller follows Ryann Temple, a therapist working with sex offenders, who uncovers haunting secrets in her family’s past through the disturbed men she counsels every day. Mia Golden, our development coordinator, played the starring role, and also wrote the script and co-produced the film with Emrey Wright, Joseph Boutilier and Ana-Maria Butcura. The world premiere took place at the Hamilton Film Festival in November, where it sold out in its original venue in less than a day! But if you missed it, make sure you follow us on Facebook and Instagram for lots of exciting news on additional screenings in 2022. You can also check out the film’s official teaser trailer here.
Pacific Rim College Online
Filming with our friends at Pacific Rim College Online is always such a wonderful experience! It was great to be back in the gardens and kitchen of the beautiful Ravenhill Herb Farm to film an entirely new online program for the acclaimed school of holistic practices (have you heard about this historical Saanichton farm? If not, definitely have a read about their interesting history!) We’re excited to be working on the post-production for over 50 hours of new content through the first half of 2022. We may be a little biased, but if you’re looking at learning something new this year, we highly recommend having a look at the herbal medicine, health, holistic nutrition, and sustainability courses that Pacific Rim College Online has to offer. And if you haven’t already, check out the teaser we previously created for their incredible Community Herbalist Program.
Khowutzun Development Corporation
You might have noticed a special little sign behind the Duncan Village mall in the heart of the Cowichan Valley. That logo was designed by our graphic design team around the incredible work of local artist, Stuart Pagaduan, who illustrated the iconic “O” within the word Khowutzun. It’s been amazing to work on the branding for Khowutzun Development Corporation, along with their freshly revamped website and tons of new photo and video content. We love using our media skills to support local businesses and initiatives, and working with KDC has been a special honour.
Growing Hope Documentary
Another local project, Growing Hope started out as a Storyhive pitch. The documentary centers around Tracy Parow, the executive director of Providence Farm, a therapeutic farm community for people living with diverse mental abilities, age-related illnesses, brain injuries and developmental challenges. With the help of a diverse care team, Tracy has been coping with her own PTSD while preparing Providence Farm for a second wave of COVID-19 with half the usual staff. Every day is a new struggle, but the community is resilient, and hope grows right alongside the farm’s garlic, squash and apples. Our second short documentary with Telus Optik and Storyhive, Growing Hope will be released in the summer of 2022.
North Vancouver Island Aboriginal Training Society
Our web development team has been hard at work this year. With COVID-19 and other community challenges, NVIATS recognized the need to bring its skills training programming online. Now, more people can access these services for free, in more ways, from more communities, while learning at their own pace. With the website and branding redesign, we made sure to honour the existing material, while raising the bar in accessibility, functionality and aesthetic design. Now the website includes interactive, online course content for the first time, and a clean, streamlined new appearance inspired by original First Nations design elements. Its dynamic layout is optimized to support all screen sizes, devices and internet speeds. Welcome to the new NVIATS.com.
Anna Hilberry
A financial advisor with The Hilberry Group on Vancouver Island, Anna has kept us informed on financial matters throughout the pandemic via her growing YouTube channel. We edit Anna’s videos and make sure everything looks consistent with her brand and that of her parent company, National Bank Financial (NBF). In 2021 we had the unique privilege of meeting Jonathan Durocher, President of NBF, and other colleagues of Anna while filming a retrospective of her collaborative work with the company. Subscribe to Anna’s channel today – we promise you’ll learn some valuable insights that will help you grow your own financial security in 2022!
Esquimalt Fire Department
Our film production and editing teams also worked on a smoke alarm safety video for Esquimalt Fire Department this year. We worked closely with the department to develop clear, accurate messaging using a combination of candid interviews with experts, an original script and storyboard. Then we filmed live action video, which was combined with original motion graphics in post-production. The video reaches a broader audience, with a memorable, accessible campaign to address some of the most common issues in preventative safety: smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.
And So Much More…
In our next post, we’ll be sharing some emerging details on several new films and interactive projects that have kept us busy throughout 2021 and we’ll finally be able to share in 2022.
In the meantime, we owe a huge thank you to our amazing team, our clients and all our supporters this year. Can’t wait for another year full of exciting opportunities and projects. Happy New Year!