This is now the sixth week of my Before and After photo series. I was a bit stumped this morning when trying to think of a theme so I just started typing random search words into the City Archives photo database.
What I ended up with was a small collection of points of interest and touristy landmarks throughout the City (and on the North Shore). Enjoy!… Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
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.
They’re on the hunt to find a special Insider who will attend galas, parties, screenings, and premiers on their behalf.
Responsibilities:
Stella has already been pulling in tweets from those covering TIFF and VIFF on their Insider page (including tweets from Marina Antunes and me) to help keep the social media buzz going for these two wonderful festivals.
If you’d like to be considered for their official VIFF Insider position they’re looking for individuals with the following:
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.
Launch Party Vancouver 8
In this eight installment of Launch Party a new set of applications and tech developments will be showcased tonight at Circa Resto Lounge on Granville @ 6:00pm. View demos and meet the creators of: Hootsuite, get Yowza, My Wedding Match, Deqq, Wireless Image, Seattle’s Gist, Seattle’s Lilipip Studios, and Kelowna’s Groove Systems. Tickets are $10.
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.
Global Wake Up Call for Climate Change
Monday, September 21 is the Global Wake Up Call for Climate Change. Events are being organized around the world and so far there are 14 registered in Vancouver that day including a meetup at the Vancouver Art Gallery at 12:18pm.
International Day of Peace
The International Day of Peace is September 21st and there are several events taking place around the city. Hold Hands for Peace is happening the day before, on the 20th, in Stanley Park. More information is available on their Facebook page.
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.”
If the idea behind the event isn’t impressive enough, check out this year’s lineup: Louise Kent, W Brett Wilson, Spencer West, Michel Chikwanine, Jason Mraz, the Canadian Tenors, Mia Farrow, Dr Jane Goodall, Free The Children co-founders Craig and Marc Keilburger, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
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…
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.
