I can relate. Before I came to work at Loyalist (and was living in Toronto) I didn’t really know where Belleville was. I remembered (sort-of) seeing a sign for it on Highway 401, when I was making a trip to Ottawa or Montreal. It was only when I began working here that I really discovered the area.

The first surprise was that the College is located about 90 minutes from the GTA, and 2 hours from Ottawa. In 40 minutes, you’re in Kingston. You can get here by bus, train or car quickly and easily. Belleville is a “feeder” city, and so contains businesses and services for over 200,000 people. Best of all, there’s no big-city traffic to tangle with – my drive to the college from downtown takes 10 minutes, door-to-door. The city also has a thorough transit system that goes right to the school.

Second, the College is on the doorstep to Prince Edward County, an emerging tourism destination, wine region and cultural hub for the area. Artists, photographers, filmmakers and other creative professionals are flocking to this area to take advantage of a good work-life balance, but also retain the same kinds of cultural connections they had in the big smoke.

Loyalist is located just outside the main area of the city, which means…. Nature! Not city-style nature, like a couple of dog parks. Actual nature – conservation areas, trails, waterfront, farms, beaches, and a whole lotta fresh air … no concrete jungle, no smog alerts. We have access to a full range of outdoor activities for all seasons, from skiing to wakeboarding.

Don’t be deceived – we might be located in a small town, but we’re still connected to the big time! The professors in our program have worked for the largest broadcasters and production companies in Canada, and stay current with their skills and industry connections by continuing to do professional development and production work. Our students have taken internships in L.A., Las Vegas, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and even overseas.

If you’re thinking about coming to Loyalist, remember: we’re not that far away, we’re located in a healthy, creative community, and we’re well set-up to help you connect to the opportunities to fulfill your dreams of working in film and TV.

–Michelle Grimes, professor, Television and New Media Production

The 8th Annual Sparkie Awards were handed out on Wednesday, March 21st.

Congrats to all the nominees and winners this year — outstanding work all around!

For the complete list of recipients, click here.

Check out this article for more details …

This is very cool stuff. I just entered the world of Apple TV. This is not an ad for Apple TV just a comment on streaming content on your computer and the web to the big screen. There are lots of devices out there.

I’m old school…ok I’m getting old too but that’s not where I’m going. I like the big screen. Most folks from my generation do. This is why we are now starting to see these streaming devices pop up. With this small box I can take the content from my computer and watch it on the big screen. I can watch podcasts, movies, home movies, pictures, and even stream music to the surround sound and to another hand held device in another room. The other cool thing is that if I’m watching something on my hand held device I can also push it to the big screen through the Apple TV box.

Now quality is an issue, some content doesn’t look that great. Movie rentals from Apple TV look pretty decent. Netflix artifacts a little more but I’m willing to sacrifice a little quality right now for the quantity I can get from all the online content.

In my last blog I talked about how the story is king. Well, what you do with that story as a director is extremely important as well.

A little gem of a movie from the 80’s called Angel Heart, is like a text book of how to use imagery to aid the story telling process. You will either love or hate this movie. Whichever way you go you will not deny that the powerful use of imagery and themes help take the viewer on a fantastic ride.

The imagery of fans, staircases, elevators, and religious icons and many more all tell the story of a decent into hell. The director also uses the hot Louisiana weather as an unspoken character in every scene.

Alan Parker writes and directs this classic, starring Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, and featuring Lisa Bonet of Cosby show fame. If you don’t know Alan Parker, get to know his movies, he one of the best directors of our time.

For those of you that want to make music videos and want a master class on imagery, please watch this movie.

I don’t care about all the special effects, 3D, fancy editing, humongous sets, outlandish costuming, or great high profile actors. If you don’t have a good story, you’ve got nothing.

After recently watching a TV series called The Black Donnelly’s it became very clear that my first statement is true. This series has no special effects, no outlandish sets, no overpaid high profile actors, and yet I could not stop watching because the story was so good.

Paul Haggis wrote and produced this series.  He is the same writer/director for Crash with Sandra Bullock, not the weird Cronenberg Crash with Holly Hunter. Here’s the other great thing about Paul, he’s Canadian.

All right, I have put my flag down and will continue telling you about The Black Donnelly’s series. It’s an Irish and Italian mob story set in New York City present day. It’s sort of Sopranos meets Boondock Saints. You are introduced to Joey Ice Cream an Italian kid from the neighborhood that is recounting the whole story while being interrogated by police. His narration helps connect the disjointed timeline of present day and historical flashbacks of the four Irish punk brothers.

I highly recommend it.

–Eric Howard