Here is a brief
overview, from memory, of what was happening in the Ottawa Production
community when we opened in 1985. This is my recollection of
things and don't hold me to it.......after all my brain is 25 years
older.
When we began,
there were no fax machines, no internet and we considered ourselves
ahead of the game with our shared company computer! Facebook
was one of us with our head in a ledger and a message was something
you left on our answering machine. A text was the actor's script.
Twitter was what we felt before an audition and social networking was
going to the HBS January party. A virus was something you would
get once or twice a winter and we don't even want to go into what
poking was. A messenger was someone who hand delivered our
packages and "I" was part of "ego" not Imac,
Iphone, Ipad or Ipod. You would always run into someone you
knew at the "Deluxe" or the "Express".
Yes, a lot has changed in the past 25 years but what hasn't changed
is the quality of the actors, the determination of the producers and
the willingness of all involved to create an amazing final cut!
In 1985 Chris
Stone was the director of the "film and video center",
under the Department of Supply and Services that had just crossed
over from the National Film Board. With him were all the agents
representing the different government departments. Doug Merriam was
their in house producer, Richard Robesco the executive producer
alongside Jay Sonley, Marcel Clément, Bernard
Léveillé, Jack Horowitz and Dan Burk. Bob
Foster kept Ottawa busy with Department of National Defense video
work and the college in Rigaud had the biggest and the busiest
government studio. Ottawa's main production work was corporate
work for government clients.
Mitel had an in
house studio with Allan Hansen, Dave Depper, Lorne Bergstrom, Dan
Chaput and Steve Fenn. McMahon Productions was producing multi
screen multi projector audio visual shows. Loeb's AV department
under producer Sandy Durocher put more work through Ottawa than just
about anyone else that year. Jacques Ménard was
busy directing made for TV movies for Radio-Québec in Hull.
Ken Stewart and
Alan White had just started General Assembly Post Production Services
and Alan hired senior producers Tom Pepin and Susan Finestone to
manage Corvideocom Productions. Derek Diorio and Dan Lalande
along with Skit Row were Ottawa's hottest names in comedy.
Stewart Dudley was directing some of Canada's first music videos with
Eight Seconds and Peter Stewart. Michael Hicks was the creative
force behind the United Way's Imagine Campaign and he lent a
creativity to fundraising in a way that had not been done in this
town before. Hewson Bridge and Smith was the biggest and
busiest advertising agency and Media Plus was just starting out.
Neil Bregman
and Katherine Jeans at Sound Venture Productions were putting out the
country's best award winning radio ads in Ottawa's busiest studio.
Bomi, Topek
Productions, Carleton Productions, Turnelle, LRS Trimak, Marc
Productions, AV+ and Scott Films were all busy and all needed
writers, directors and actors.
Kevin Gillis
and Sheldon Wiseman at Evergreen Raccoons were producing The Raccoons
series and Lacewood Productions was starting work on the Teddy Bears
Picnic.
Ken Rockburn
was the news director at CHEZ FM and Mike Giunta was hosting the
drive home. Delmer and Cecil were making fun of everything and
Geoff Winter was the morning man... Michel Picard headed up the
morning team at Radio-Canada. Serge Dion was a television host
for Radio-Québec and Ian Parker was the anchor for the CBC six
o'clock news show.
Edgar Demers
was the Theatre Critic at Le Droit and Barbara Crook was the critic
at the Citizen. The hottest English theatre productions were
"Talking With" directed by Jan Irwin at the NAC Atlelier
and the award winning "Le Nez" directed by Robert Bellefeuille.
Andre Brassard was the artistic director of the National Arts Center
French Theatre Department and Andis Celms was the director of English
Theatre at the NAC.
Patrick
MacDonald was the artistic director at the Great Canadian Theatre
Company, Brigitte Haentjens was the Artistic Director at Le Theatre
du Nouvel Ontario.
The Summer
Institute of Film, under the direction of Tom Shoebridge was allowing
students a week of workshops with the cream of the crop of directors,
writers, actors producers and this in both official languages and the
Ottawa Hull Film and Television Association was beginning to be
political force with which to be reckoned.
The energy in
the city was as contagious then as it is now and it really has been a
wonderful ride.
