Good harvest for Apple Box

In Vancouver, Apple Box Productions’ director Graham Hunt picked up two days for Cap Toys’ Stretch Armstrong and Vac Heroes. And Phil Spink directed a day for Cleveland-based Cap Toys’ latest water guns, with Roger Vernon and John Spooner splitting dop duties.

The Edmonton contingent of Apple Box completed a pool for Manitoba Telephone Systems through Palmer Jarvis, Winnipeg: Los Angeles-based Jerry Cotts shot and directed two days and Spink picked up one day. Quality Special Products, USA, awarded Apple Box a direct marketing assignment for Sophist-O-Twist. Bob Keates directed and Phil Kavanagh handled camera.

Moving to Toronto, Apple Box director David Van Fleet paired up with dop Martin Julian for Speedy Propane, while director/dop George Pastic worked on a 12-minute documentary for the Shaw Festival.

At Heathgate Films, Harry Lake pulled double-duty as director/dop on a Tropicana shoot, with XYZ Interactive’s David Buder posting. The two-day assignment was through Leo Burnett. Lake also handled dop duties on a one-day shoot with director Ron Leyser for McCain Foods. Reel Ideas posted and bws was the agency. Through Leo Burnett, Chris Woods directed and shot a day for Wrigley.

At The Directors Film Company, Doug Moshoian teamed up with dop George Willis on a two-day job for McDonald’s and Cossette Communications.

Dalton Films’ director Randy MacDonald landed two days for Great Financial Bank, with Fred Goodich taking dop credit. The assignment came from Buntin Advertising, Nashville. Todd Allan directed and Gary Shlifer shot a spot for Hechinger, Washington. The one-day job was through Adworks.

And director/dop David Insley picked up two days for kfc out of Young and Rubicam.

Director/dop Brian Coyne of Chaos International just completed a spot for McCain’s Ellio’s Deep Dish Pizza, with Peer Englehardt of Reel Ideas handling post.

Avion Films’ director/dop Shin Sugino scored two days for General Motors out of agency MacLaren:Lintas.

Damast Gordon and Associates’ Steve Gordon directed and shot a spot for Canon’s BJC 4000 out of Lackey Business Communications. ‘Cat and Fish’ was posted by Andy Attalai at Chameleon Film and Video. Post special effects were done at Spin Productions.

dga director Boris Damast worked on an assignment for Kellogg and Leo Burnett, Chicago, shot over four days by Ronny Dana. Director Glen Schultz joined forces with dop Yuri Yakubiw on a day job for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation/Honda. Smash’s Barry Farrell edited. Doner Schur Peppler was the agency.

David McNally of The Players Film Company directed a pool for the Ontario Lottery Corporation through Promanad Communications. Rene Ohashi handled camera and Peter McAuley of The Daily Post edited. McNally also landed two days for Leo Burnett and Bell Canada, with Doug Koch on camera.

Also at Players, Mark Walton had a day through FCB Canada for General Mills, shot by Ryan McMaster and edited by Chameleon’s Wendy Linton. And Keith Harrick directed a music video for Wild Strawberries’ Bet You Think I’m Lonely. Koch was the man behind the lens.

The Partners’ Film Company is keeping busy: Director Kari Skogland paired up with dop Willis on a two-day Metamucil shoot out of Grey Advertising. Brant Lambermont edited. Barbara Cole directed a day for Padulo’s H.H. Brown ‘Slip Airs’ campaign. Chris Holmes Jr. was cinematographer and David Hicks handled post.

Director Dale Heslip and dop Andre Pienaar hooked up for Labatt Blue through Ammirati and Puris. The assignment, a three-day shoot/one-day rehearsal, was posted by Bruce Copeman. And out of DDB Needham, six days for Royal Bank with Raymond Bark directing, James Gardner handling camera and David Baxter posting.

In Montreal, the four bigger houses are reporting a very busy fall slate.

At Cinelande, director Francois Girard and dop Guy Dufaux shot a 30 for Groupe Commerce’s fall insurance campaign out of Palm Publicite-Marketing. Erik Canuel directed and Pierre Gill was the dop on ‘Traffic Jam,’ a new 30 shot on location downtown for stcum, Montreal’s transit commission, and agency PNMD/Publitel. Director Charles Biname and Dufaux helmed the action on ‘Le Grand McDon,’ a sick children’s benefit spot shot at Anna Leberge Hospital for Cossette.

Also at Cinelande, Serge Jacques directed and Walter Bal lit the set for a 15- and 30-second French-language pitch for Whitehall-Robbins’ Dristan and Young and Rubicam, Montreal.

Meanwhile, ‘Black liste,’ a major prize promotion on behalf of Black Label/Black Ice and Brasserie Molson O’Keefe, was shot by director Jean-Marc Piche and dop David Franco. The spot features giant-sized characters in a warehouse and was composited and posted at Pierre Raymond’s Hybride Technologies.

Fall action at Figaro Films includes spots for Loto-Quebec, Opera de Montreal, Rotisseries St-Hubert, Procter and Gamble’s Vicks and Bureau Latier.

‘Tyrolien,’ a 15-second spot for the Avalanche lottery out of agency Palm, was directed by Claude Brie, with dop J.P. Trudel. Metaphore and Centre de montage electronique combined on the post. Former ad agency creative turned director Martin Ouellette and dop Guy Dufaux teamed on ‘Werther,’ a new French 30 for Opera de Montreal and agency bcp.

Director Glenn Bydwell and dop George Morita handled the big six-day assignment for the 1994 St-Hubert campaign – five French/ English 15s, three French 15s, one French/English 30 and one French 30. The pool is out of bcp.

The Bureau Laitier good-like-butter ‘Popcorn’ spot, also out of bcp, is a 17-second cinema promotion shot in both languages. Several directors worked on ‘Popcorn,’ which was transferred to wide-screen format at f/x house 4MC in l.a. and posted locally at cme.

Still at Figaro, director Cosimo Cavallaro and dop Peter Hartmann were in the Big Apple where they scored a lucrative five-day shoot for Vicks and agency Cosmic Picture. The three 30-second English tv spots, ‘Competitor,’ ‘Airplane’ and ‘Litany,’ were posted in nyc.

La Fabrique d’Images reports production on behalf of Consumers Distributing and Blouin Coulombe Dube Thompson, Pfizer Canada’s Plax and Cossette, Le Chateau and Prisme Communications, Michelin and Palm, McDonald’s Restaurants and Cossette, Depan-escompte Couche-Tard and Groupaction Marketing and Cantel Amigo, also out of Groupaction.

The McDonald’s cd promo features La Presse’s irrepressible entertainment columnist Francine Grimaldi and was shot over three days by director Marc S. Grenier and dop David Franco. The three-day Amigo pool, three 60s and a 30, all French, features up-and-coming comedian Stephane Rousseau and was directed by Karim Waked, with dop Yves Belanger. Buzz handled post duties, Astral Tech provided lab services, cme did the transfer, and Franz Leitmotiv did the sound and music.

The Couche-Tard ‘Massicotte’ campaign was directed by Francois Gingras, with Belanger the dop. The French-track Michelin Alpine tire 30 was directed by Meinert Hansen and posted at Buzz.

Grenier and Belanger also got the call on four English/French 15s for Le Chateau’s smart ‘Wear to Be’ campaign. Judy Hendersen wrote the music and Supersuite handled the film-to-tape transfer.

Also at La Fabrique, three new national French/English 15s for Plax mouthwash, with Kari Skogland directing and dop Franco on board for the two-day assignment. Two 15s for Consumers Distributing, ‘Alain’ and ‘Magasineuse II,’ were directed by Michel Poulette, who’s prepping a major film noir tv series, and busy dop Belanger. Studio Marko did the final sound edit. Studio Tempo recorded Jean-Marie Benoit’s music track and Buzz did the edit.

At Jet Films, it’s been a major month of activity. Topping the list are the fall ’94 Metro campaign out of bcp, new spots for Carling and Cossette, 14 30s for GM Concessionaires and Cossette again, a big commercial pool with lots of tongue-in-cheek humor for Journal de Montreal and agency Bos, a French/ English 30 for Canadian Airlines and bcp, and a new spot for Nissan Sentra from Bos.

Bos creative director Roger Gariepy directed kids who dream of cars on the Nissan message, with a little help from cinematographer Pierre (Pret-a-Porter) Mignot and animation/motion-control specialist Productions Pascal Blais.

The Canadian Airlines spot features nice-guy sprinter Bruny Surin and a slick composite job done on the new Henry at Supersuite. Shot at Cite du Cinema, t.o.-based Alastair Paton directed and David Franco was the dop. The production is the first locally produced Canadian Airlines spot in more than two years.

Still at Jet, Greg Gold and Jean-Marc Vallee directed a major pool of 10- and 30-second retail and institutional spots for Metro. The Journal de Montreal pool, 13 15s, was directed by Bos’ Gariepy.

And two new 30s for Carling and Brasserie Molson O’Keefe, directed and lit by u.s.-based shooter Lewis Roth, mark Cossette’s entry into the Quebec beer market.