Response to new regulations from the B.C. Ministry of Labour governing child actors has been varied among commercial producers in the province; while many view the regulations as necessary, some aspects may prove problematic for commercial shoots.

The regulations, issued at the end of September, stipulate, among other things, that all film, tv and commercial producers employing a person under 15 must obtain a permit from the director of Employment Standards, that 25% of a child’s gross income must be forwarded to a provincial trust, and that overtime after eight hours is forbidden for children under 12.

Tracy Barron, chair of the Commercial Producers Association of Western Canada, says the regulations are necessary but those concerning overtime after eight hours may be a detriment, since most commercial shoot days are 10 hours long.

Apple Box Productions executive producer Jane Charles says the regulations are more pertinent to longer form projects. ‘When all the commercial producers got together and discussed this we realized we play by those rules anyway,’ says Charles.

Charles says children are usually only in front of the camera for short periods of time, but for longer days when the child’s performances are split over long durations, the overtime regulations may be problematic and require much more planning regarding how long the child is on set.

The commercial producers association was formed this summer to provide the industry a cohesive voice distinct from the film industry. The association has brought on legal counsel to handle all questions concerning labor relations and unions.

The past summer saw issues arise between the Union of B.C. Performers and producers on non-union shoots that some producers say have kept needed u.s. work from shooting in the province. In a Vancouver newspaper, freelance production manager Christian Allen was quoted as saying the actors’ union pushed for the new regulations to fight non-union commercial productions and that the union, together with the u.s. Screen Actors Guild, acted to intimidate ad agencies undertaking non-union productions in the province.

Dan Cahill of the B.C. Labour Ministry says the child actor regulations will be revisited after 18 to 24 months, at which time employment conditions may be reviewed.

*Post party patter

The Post Group made some new friends at its well-attended and swanky soiree held Oct. 8 to celebrate its newly expanded facility. The shop is making larger strides into high-end commercial work and plans further expansion in its 411 Richmond Street East, Toronto, facility.

The event, lubricated by flavored champagne and the social stylings of Post Group senior vp operations Gary Freedman, drew flocks of production types from all corners of the city, including a large Partners’ contingent who made the trek across the road.

Sound was served up by a happening jazz trio featuring Nelvana music man David Shaw and Steve Kendry, ex keyboard player and current drummer for the label-defying outfit David Deacon and The Word (fronted by another industry type, Padulo coo David Deacon and playing every second Thursday at The Rex until Christmas).

*New dup and distrib player

A new duplication and distribution facility will begin servicing the Toronto commercial industry Oct. 20 under the stewardship of president Richard Knightley and vp Elsie Stavro, both veterans in the field.

The new shop, Broadcast Duplication Network, occupies space at 411 Richmond Street East and will offer radio and tv duplication, distribution, closed-captioning, restriping and satelliting, with full technical services in-house. bdn will be equipped for Betacam, Digital Betacam, Betacam sp, one-inch and 3/4-inch.

*Partners’ locates Kenyon

Veteran locations guy Paul Kenyon will head up the new Partners’ locations division when it gets underway, likely in the new year. Partners’ is also setting up, after much effort to find suitable help, an in-house post sync room.

*D’Amato wraps short

L.T.B. Productions’ George D’Amato recently completed a five-day shoot in Toronto and surrounding areas for The Final, a short film he is aiming to develop into a series for hbo. The 20-minute film was cowritten by D’Amato and bbdo copywriter Rob Tait and produced by Garner Kinmond, all of whom were brought together last year on a Dow Chemical job for bbdo.

D’Amato says the film is intended for the festival circuit and as a pilot for an anthology-like half-hour series comprised of a pair of 15-minute segments.

The Final is the story of a pair of honor students who miss a crucial exam after a weekend of out-of-town partying and the ensuing conundrum which brings into play basic questions of honesty. ‘It’s witty, poignant and has a moral,’ says D’Amato.

The director, who self-financed the project, plans to submit the film ‘anywhere that has a short subject category,’ including next year’s Toronto International Film Festival, Sundance and Cannes. D’Amato is finalizing negotiations with hbo pending delivery of the pilot.

George Willis was the film’s dop and Jeff Bessner edited on agency Vickers & Benson’s Avid system. D’Amato cites the generosity of members of the commercial industry, particularly William F. White, in the making of the film.

*Angelic addition

Angel Films has added a new Toronto-based director to its roster in the person of Daniel Sadler. New to commercial directing, Sadler brings a background in directing and editing short films and music videos. His film A Hollow Place has appeared on the festival circuit including screenings at the London Short Film Festival and the Toronto Images Festival. Sadler has also been an editor for Citytv property Ooh-La-La.

*Gable back at Sparks

Sparks has rekindled its relationship with l.a.-based director Jim Gable. The company had a previous affiliation with the director, who subsequently joined another company repped by Avion Films here.

Gable is back with Sparks and is currently shooting a major musical project for pbs, Sessions at West 54th Street, 23 hour-long performance shows featuring the likes of Beck, Sinead O’Connor and David Byrne.

Previously an online editor and cg artist, Gable began directing eight years ago on a Rolling Stones video shoot. Gable has a long list of music videos to his credit, and when he isn’t hanging out with The Stones he continues to direct out of his hilariously monikered post shop Graying & Balding.

Meanwhile, Sparks director Jerry Pope has become something of a folk hero among the bassmasters of Minnesota’s Lake 26. The now-complete angler fulfilled the fantasies of the hardest core polesmen and hooked not one but two large bass in one cast, as reported in the Burnett County Sentinel. With a giant red-tailed blue plastic worm with four hooks, Pope pulled two bass, both roughly the same size, out of the murky depths of the lyrically named lake and, being an identical twin himself, was a little freaked.

*ADCC Awards

The Advertising and Design Club of Canada’s Annual Show and Awards Presentation is being held Oct. 22 at the Design Exchange. Tickets can be had ($50 for members/$75 for aesthetically challenged nonmembers) from the adcc.