Hey Folks,

Here’s the final Webisode.

On the day that Megaphone Magazine launched its special Olympic (Commemorative) issue we wanted to release our video about Garvin Snider, one of their vendors.

I first met Garvin in a cafe in the DTES.  I was meeting him to pick up my 2009 Hope in Shadows Calender and book.  A remarkable, compassionate guy  with a terrific sense of humor and a compelling story.  In the last year I’ve filmed Garvin at many different events and happenings. He has great insights and even greater outlook.  Committed to vendor training at both Megaphone and Hope in Shadows, Garvin is making change possible, not only by helping others in his community, but by being a poster for  human kindness.  Just before Christmas I met Garvin for a little catch up interview.  When we finished he reached into his bag a pulled out a Hope in Shadows toque with a Megaphone pin and said this is for you.  A small gesture with a lot of meaning.  I asked how calender sales were going and he spoke of donating some of his money from the sales to those in other countries facing similar problems of homelessness and poverty.  Reaching beyond his neighborhood Garvin truly is an agent for global change.

His convictions and devotion to standing up for what he knows is right and steadfast commitment has seen him through many things.  Will it see him through the Olympics?

This is his story. Enjoy

Andrew

Hello Again,

We are excited to present Webisode #2 the True North Media House story. When content consumers become content producers, what’s next?  How about a place for them to all hang out, share and publish their content together.  Join the TNMH folks as the invite the world to join them in Vancouver for this very large meetup called the Olympics. Watch Here

We will continue to document this story during the Games and are hopeful to capture social media’s next wave.  Bringing like minded folks together to share content can only lead to something special.  New tools, new technology, new ideas, what will it be?

In this video you will meet ‘Techartist’ Kris Krug and ‘Social Media Guru’ Dave Olson.  I first met Kris and Dave on Feb. 3rd 2009. There was a shout out on Twitter about a meetup at a Gastown tech company for those who were interested in exploring social media’s inclusion in the 2010 Winter Olympics. There was quite a buzz in the air that night as folks were excited about the idea of creating a non accredited media center.  That buzz has continued through the year and is reaching its peak  as Citizen Journalist from around the world gather in Vancouver.

“The way media is gathered and delivered continues to change – tools like YouTube, blogs, wikis, Twitters, RSS, FaceBook … etc. are several years old and all over the mainstream news now while newspapers close and TV seeks new revenue streams. Major stories break by amateurs with media capturing devices on their phones and important work is created by talented under-the-radar writers, photographers, filmmakers etc. who have significant online audience.

We feel the tools are mature, the bandwidth abundant, the creators eager and the world is watching.”

From truenorthmediahouse.com which I invite you to check out.  Regardless, if you are new to social media or a wily vet (to grab an appropriate hockey term) there is plenty of interesting information and people for you to connect with at TNMH.

Thanks and check back for Webisode # 3.

Andrew

Hello again Everyone.

It’s been very busy here at WGH as we approach the opening of the 21st Winter Olympiad.  We have been in the edit suite and at the computer trying to get some footage out to you.  We are committed  to getting 3 more Webisodes up before the games begin. So get ready for some exciting exclusive Vancouver Olympic social media stories.

I would like to take a moment to explain the ‘Chip In’ widget on our website.  WGH is an independent film project.  I explained in a previous post the importance of relationships…well in a movie such as this, one of the most important is with the audience.  Jon and I are the only permanent crew on this picture, a couple of burgeoning filmmakers and  have been working diligently to get financial contributions for our project.  We have approached broadcasters for licenses and we have applied for funding.  We have tried it all and have generated interest  but no commitments.  That is where ‘Chip In’ becomes so important.  We invite you to make a contribution and become part of the process as well as part of our team by performing in the role of  ‘Executive Producer’.

I realize these are most difficult times to reach out and ask for assistance and understand the sensitivity.  We really believe our project is one for positive change and would like to explain a little about the resources we need help with.  Many have made contributions so far.  All have been with the generosity of their time and we thank them for that.

Moving forward during the Games we have 12 days of shooting to do.  Our challenges will be offering our volunteer crew meals during that time.  We would also like to be able to provide some compensation for their work.  Working 12 hrs per shoot day is quite the endeavor and we would love to give back for that commitment.  Equipment is also expensive.  We have cameras, but require microphones.   To this point we have used  seven terabytes of drive space to store our footage.  We require at least another four.  We also feel that we will be shooting indoors and will require light rentals.

We continue to do post production, to be ready to broadcast after the Games,  editing ourselves and with other volunteers.  We would like to make some funds available to editors and musicians, that have been providing us and continue to compose music for the soundtrack.  The Olympics are an important time in Vancouver’s history and Jon and I feel it is important to document it, from this new media perspective….sure the News and live Broadcast are great but it comes and it goes and the reference is gone.

I understand asking for assistance at a time when there is such a crisis in Haiti might feel inappropriate but seeing the world galvanized in an effort to help out is heartwarming.  A large percentage of that aid is being generated by social media and truly defining its power.  Here are a couple I found on Twitter @crisiscamp & @care.  The  stories in our film continue the exploration of social media for positive change.  We would appreciate your help in telling our story.

I would like to thank cousin Vicki for being the first to contribute and thank you all who continue to help.

Andrew-

As a footnote, you’ll note that the Paypal transaction is conducted in American dollars.  For all us Canadians the amount will automatically be exchanged into Canadian dollars so keep that in mind when calculating your contribution.

Ok, a few things to tell you about:

We, in conjunction with our ‘Socialmediaists’ and their groups are releasing a series of webisodes.   Our film breaks down into four story lines that we will weave together in the final film.  To give you a feel for these stories we will post them in separate linear time lines on the websites of each group.  For instance the W2 story will be embedded on their site. Back on wghthemovie.ca we will post complimentary additional footage.  The goal is to allow you, the viewer to be a participant in this story, see the videos, explore more about those in the stories and connect with them if you choose.

In the previous post I mentioned the W2 story thread. It is one of the four and will be the second video release.  The 1st one, I want to tell you about now.

April Smith is an incredible young women facing a boat load of challenges.  She has graciously allowed us to follow her for the last 8 months and gather the footage we used to compile this story thread. Hers is a story full of both despair and inspiration. Please watch and leave some feedback.

I would like to share something else.  Many wonderful things keep happening to us in the making of this film.   Here is an example.

I was working with Editor Hart Snider on April’s story in the Dominion Building on Hastings St.  It just so happens to be in the DTES where our story unfolds.  Editors have the wonderful job of spending lots of time with people they might never meet…and if we as filmmakers do our job well, the editors get to know the people in the story pretty profoundly…so imagine ‘a knock at the door’ when Hart and I were reviewing the edit.   We stopped on an image of AHA Media’s (April-Hendrik-Al- the three founding members.) opened the door and there, completely by coincidence, stood Hendrik.  Hart was a little confused as was I.  Was Hendrik supposed to be there?  Did I have a meeting planned with him?  It was a bizarre little moment yet on this project very appropriate.  Hendrik just so happen to be doing his rounds selling the Hope in Shadows Calendar, something he has been doing for years as well as  participating in the photo competition.  It was fun for them to meet and added another deeper connection to the story.

It took us a moment before we all had a laugh about the coincidence…Hendrik was excited to see what we had done but agreed to wait until we had completed the edit.  I am excited for his feedback.  He is a  real interesting guy with tremendous insight into the DTES and it’s history.

So it is that time of year, Hope in Shadows time. A great community initiative in the DTES.  The calendar is being sold on the streets by some 200 vendors trained by Garvin Snyder (not the editor or even related to Hart) but someone else who’s story we are following in our film.  His is a story about civil liberties and social justice issues we are currently editing to bring to you early in the new year.  It  begins with Garvin’s outrage at the arrest of a 80 year old Grandmother.

Enjoy the video and get your Hope in Shadows Calenders before they sell out….last year they were all gone before Christmas…on that note I encourage you to check out the book as well, there are some very inspiring stories including that of Alisha May Walker on page 203.  Her photo is of children playing with ‘Box Houses’.  The photo is in the shadows with sunlight in the background. Here is her description.

“The theme of the contest was ‘Hope in Shadows’.  What the photo means to me is that the boxes make the shadow, like the Downtown Eastside. the homelessness, and then the kids are the hope.  There’s still hope. That’s what made me take the picture.”

from Hope in Shadows Book, Stories and Photographs of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

I believe very strongly in these stories and I hope after you’ve had  a chance to see some of them you will feel inspired to participate.  Enjoy

-Andrew-