If you’d like to be considered for their official VIFF Insider position they’re looking for individuals with the following:
A passion for all things film and entertainment
A desire to rub elbows with celebrities
The ability to capture a moment in a short number of words
A pre-existing Twitter following and an interest in social media
Must have valid photo I.D. and be at least 19 years of age
It is a paid contract position that starts September 29th and will run through October 20th. The chosen Insider will be provided with travel, lodging and food. There’s no purchase necessary and you can apply online until September 25th, 2009.
The Vancouver Film School is a legendary institution of film-making here in Hollywood North. To give a brief yet recent example, the 2009 summer blockbuster, District 9 had a strong crew of VFS alums including its Director, Neill Blomkamp, co-writer Terri Tatchell, and Visual Effects Executive Producer Shawn Walsh. 40 other members from District 9’s visual effects team were also VFS alums.
Darren Barefoot recently pointed me in the direction of the VFS blog where students have been making their way across Vancouver, leaving an imaginary path of destruction. The blog post “VFS Students Wreaking Havoc” features a Google map of Vancouver mashed up of VFX reels. “It’s a funny thing about the Visual Effects specialization in 3D Animation & Visual Effects: since visual effects are all about combining real footage with CG creations, our students regularly blow up, knock down, or otherwise destroy Vancouver, from the landmarks to the back alleys.”
Here are a few samples of their work, which is pretty cool stuff:
John and I often play “Guess Where Vancouver” when watching a series filmed locally however it’s even more fun (or challenging) when you have visual effects to work with. Our city is often masked as Seattle in movies (or you know, the Bronx) but it’s kind of neat to see it as itself in these clips… even though it is being banged up a bit.
Half way through September and Vancouver is a hub of activity hosting festivals and events galore. Here’s a quick roundup of what’s going on around town over the next week or so.
Third Tuesday Meetup
This month’s meetup takes place on Thursday September 17th at Canvas Lounge. The featured speaker is Shel Isreal who is currently on a cross-country tour promoting his book, Twitterville. Tickets are $10.
Vancouver Canucks Tweetup
The first official Vancouver Canucks Tweetup of the 2009-2010 season happens Thursday September 17th at the Hurrican Grill in Yaletown. The Canucks are supplying some great prizes including gift certifitcate, signed merchandise and pre-season game tickets.
Affluenza: The Prodigal Children of Consumer Culture
The Affluenza event takes place Thursday September 17th at Chapel Arts from 6:30pm – 11:00pm. It’s a tongue-in-cheek evening for people to reflect on how values drive their spending patterns and why their consumer behaviour reflects how they feel about themselves. There will be refreshments, exhibits, discussions, debates, and they’ll sync up with a discussion on Twitter at the same time.
The Kitty Card Launch Party
Vancouver’s first discount card for women only is having a soft launch on Thursday September 17th from 8:00pm – 11:00pm. This “Sex and the City” style party will be at Zin on Robson, RSVP is required.
Virsa / A-Town Wine & Art Mixer
The SouthAsian non-profit organization, Virsa is hosting a fundraising mixer September 24th from 6:00pm – 8:00pm at Ginger 62 on Granville. Tickets are $15 in advance and includes wine and food sampling by local vendors. For ticket purchase information you can email: info [at] virsa.ca or call (778) 578-0620.
You can read about individual events that I have featured under the tag: Events, and should you have something you would like to promote please feel free to contact me.
We Day, a Free The Children initiative, is coming to Vancouver September 29th at GM Place. This event for young people and school-aged children brings together professional speakers activists and entertainers who share their stories to inspire and motivate young people. “We Day is an annual celebration of the power of young people to change the world,” — “a rock concert for social change.”
Free The Children programs include engaging youth through outreach initiatives such as this, across North America. The organization runs a type of Adopt a Village program, helping families and communities break out of their poverty cycle. They currently run programs in six countries, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, India , China and Ecuador.
Since 1995, Free The Children…
has built more than 500 schools around the world
provides education for 50,000 children everyday
has received the World Children’s Prize for the Right of the Child (also known as the Children’s Nobel Prize)
has received the Human Rights Award from the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations
has formed successful partnerships with leading school boards and Oprah’s Angel Network
Schools across the Lower Mainland have been allocated spots for this event which will pack GM Place at the end of the month. For more information they can download the Schools Logistics Package, email wedayvancouver [at] freethechildren.com, check out Free the Children on Facebook, or follow co-founder Craig Kielburger on Twitter.
Even if your class cannot attend you can still check out the “We Generation” initiatives online and CTV will have a live streaming broadcast on the day of the event.
A dozen venues including the Media Club, Lafflines, The Cultch, and the Orpheum will host multiple events throughout the course of the ten-day festival. Some of the other 80 performers include Pauly Shore, Last Comic Standing competitors John Heffron and Jon Reep, Flight of the Conchords‘ Arj Barker, and Canada’s king of duct tape, Red Green.
Tickets for some of these shows start at only $15, which is an amazing deal. They also have a 2 for 1 deal to see Tom Arnold and Red Green’s shows when you enter the promo code from the festival’s website.
I’ve only recently experienced Vancouver’s thriving local comedy scene for myself (thanks to Patrick and Art) so I’m sure an event like this will do nothing but good things to boost the community’s profile.
One of the official sponsors of this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival is Stella Artois and they would like to share the VIFF excitement with one lucky person.
