Filming complete for final Trailer Park Boys Movie

I recently read that the filming for the final installment of the Canadian comedy series, Trailer Park Boys. For those of you unfamiliar with the series it follows the lives of Ricky, Julian, and Bubbles three loveable low-lives who make their living by committing various petty crimes. It started off as a television series, but grew in popularity to the point of producing three major picture adaptations of the franchise. The series uses a mocumentary-style of directing and often the filming crew becomes involved in the plot of the story. 

Unfortunate news struck the cast when one of the shows main characters, Philadelphia Collins, died just days after shooting his scenes. His character is known for having an enormous gut and short temper. He also possesses many hilarious catchphrases such as: Bam! The character is one of my all time favorite because of how rare of an actor and character he is. I really look forward to seeing his last work.

 

Like many devoted fans of various T.V. and movie series I am skeptical that this installment will not meet the standards of the earlier work. That said, I cannot wait to see this film and if you have not watched the series before you should check it out, it is entirely on Netflix. It is one of the best TV shows on the network.

Same War, Different Battles

My newest TV addiction is Canada's Bomb Girls.

Set during the beginning of WWII, Victory Munitions is building bombs to help the cause.  A richer, well to do woman, Gladys Witham, wants to help out with the cause and not just by making appearances at her father's fundraisers. Instead of taking the office job at VM, she decides to go against her parent's wishes and ends up working on the floor. Her dad ends up using to his advantage and uses her as the spokeswoman for his grocery store chain.

At the factory, we meet a wide array of characters with great background stories for each of them. Like Kate, a woman on the run from her abusive bible thumping father. From the first episode, you know that she's had issues trying to fit in and keep the past, the past. She also gets the nickname "Church Mouse" for her gospel-like singing voice.

And my personal favorite character is Betty McRae. She's sassy and very strong willed and one of the best workers at the factory. She ends up taking Kate under her wing and falls in love with her. She tries to be a girl and dates one of the boys at the factory but it ends up more like a bro-mance with hanging out in bars and talking about hockey with him. She also is a farmer's daughter with three brothers so when someone twists her the wrong way, she can handle what's thrown at her. In an episode when three German POWs escape, she ends up finding one in her boardroom's basement and we learn that other than being a lesbian, we find an even bigger secret. She's actually German and her family has hidden fellow German's from internment camps. Although the escaped Nazi believes that she's fellow Nazi, she ends up ratting him out explaining that just because she's a German, doesn't make her a Nazi. She also beats him up a little bit which was pretty awesome to watch.

Vera Burr, due to a factory accident she's now slightly disfigured... well, has an awesome scare on her face, is known as a "Patriot-tute", a woman that sleeps with soliders for gifts. She's also sassy and very on her toes due to the accident.

Floor matron Lorna Corbett, whose two sons are pilots in Europe, her daughter is working as a nurse at the local hospital and her husband is a veteran of WWI and was left disabled and in a wheelchair after a bomb exploded near him. This all leads to affairs and stress at work... But she's also one of the strongest women next to Betty.

There are more characters in the show that really bring to life what it was like to really be fighting on the homefront during WWII. They try to show that this isn't just a man's war and that everyone can pitch in some how. With some great acting, cinematography and costuming, this is probably one of the best TV shows I've watched in a while.

Also... I need all of the shoes and dresses this girls wear... 

Bear 71

Alright, so I've posted about interactive filmmaking and storytelling before, but I just found about a really cool interactive online documentary named Bear 71. Done in partnership with Canada's National Film Board, the project debuted at Sundance Film Festival in January 2012.

At the age of 3, 71 was collared with a GPS tracking chip. Directors Jeremy Mendes and Leanne Allison then used trail cameras to record 71 throughout her entire life. Revealing some really interesting things.

The twenty minute 'experience' allows viewers (users?) to follow the bear throughout her entire life in Canada's Banff National Park. You are guided along the bear's path through the park in a video game style. Along the way, you can stop and watch footage collected by the cameras.

It tells a story in an engaging way, making the audience active. It provides context in a non-linear way, making it really really cool.

If you're interested in this story, check out Journey To The End of Coal. It's a make-your-own-story experience that lets you simulate a journalist's experience in China who is doing research on coal mines.

If you want to make one of these, you can try out PopCorn.js. It's a free tool in beta by Mozilla that allows you to create interactive HTML5 videos using a simple timeline interface. I know that I'm interested in making an interactive film, is anyone else? Let me know!

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