The Film Liaison Industry Committee has fielded a suggestion from Absolute Location Support Services’ (Partners’ location arm) Paul Kenyon that he hopes will facilitate the observation of permit guidelines on commercial shoots in Toronto by adding the names of producers and directors to the shooting permit.

With the production company named on the permit and the locations manager currently the person responsible for attempting to keep a shoot within the guidelines of permit regulations (and also the person who is typically charged with the mending of fences with neighborhoods and the film office when things go wrong), Kenyon is proposing that the names of the producer and the director be added to the permit, thus making them accountable for breaches of guidelines.

Under the plan, directors, who are usually living within the time-is-money stranglehold of a shoot (and therefore sometimes open, say, to shooting until 3 a.m. rather than the stipulated midnight), would be accountable for permit no-nos and would risk being disallowed future permits if they operate outside permit guidelines.

‘The city is not a renewable resource,’ says Kenyon. ‘It seems big, but when you have 30 production companies and all the commercial companies shooting, people have to do what they say they are going to do.’

Kenyon says the industry must police itself lest the permit process assume the Kafkaesque proportions that it has in other markets and impede location shooting.

More info next time about decisions regarding location brokering and the use of brokered locations in the Ontario Film Development Corporation library.

– Creet bids adieu to T.O.

The suave, much-awarded team of Stephen Creet and Michael McLaughlin has finally been put asunder, with Creet heading off to assume the position of head creative honcho at Young & Rubicam in the tough market of San Francisco.

McLaughlin is staying put at bbdo, to be joined by new executive vp, joint chief creative officer Jack Neary, previously senior vp, group creative director at MacLaren McCann. Prior to that, Neary had a stint as creative director at bbdo’s Vancouver operation.

– Rave adds 11

Rave Films recently added 11 new directors to its roster for exclusive Canadian representation. Signed on are Brad Christian, formerly of Angel Films; Roger Tonry and Howard Rose from X-1 Films in New York and Los Angeles; Bruce Moore from Wyoming Films in l.a.; and from New York-based Passport Films, Nico Beyer, Jan Gleie, Roman Kuhn, Elena Colombo, Nikolai Karo, Jerry Sandoval and Dan Nathan, who has already landed an early June shoot for Labatt through Ammirati Puris Lintas.

– On the move

Rick Friedberg is the newest name on the Imported Artists roster. The l.a.-based director shot the 1996 Leslie Nielsen comedy Spyhard.

– At Marketel in Montreal, Maico Meier has been promoted to vp, creative director, Air Canada group.

Meier, who has been with the agency since 1992, has participated in the design and development of campaigns for Esso, Burger King, Nestle and Sprite as well as the ‘Hello, Goodbye’ spots for Air Canada. In his new position Meier will be responsible for creative activity for the Air Canada account.

– Lucky 13 for Zed Films

With 13 directors on board, Zed Films is Toronto’s newest dop repping company.

President Melanie Lambertsen has a twofold plan: she is giving people easier access to more guys, and financially, she says she will be a little more negotiable.

‘It’s a kinder, gentler company,’ says Lambertsen. ‘My guys are more junior so I will negotiate their fees and all the prep time will be included in their day rates.’

Zed’s roster includes two dops from Vancouver, a Montrealer, a New Yorker, a shooter from Colorado, one from l.a. and one out of Mexico City.

Lambertsen has been a producer on both the production and agency sides of the biz for around 15 years in Toronto, Chicago and l.a.

– Mom’s the word

In an effort to live up to its mission statement, ‘To make our clients rich and our mothers proud,’ Vickers & Benson packed the Toronto office last month with over 90 mothers of staffers to make sure it is, in fact, practising what it preaches.

While the majority of moms were from Toronto, some made the trip from Malaysia, Germany, Vancouver, Montreal, Newfoundland and Arizona.

v&b is opening a Chicago office in early June and one in China, where the agency is currently executive producing the tv series Dashan and Friends in Canada, an educational show about Canadian culture.

– Labatt’s ‘Cart Chase’ black-flagged

‘Cart Chase,’ the Labatt spot from Ammirati Puris & Lintas which showed people racing through the streets on shopping carts, has been pulled from the airwaves after Advertising Standards Canada received 15 complaints.

According to Laura Dallal, director of standards and compliance, the spot violates the council’s safety code.

The council – made up of agencies, media, suppliers to the industry and public representatives – says ‘the commercial encouraged the use of property in a hazardous way and showed a disregard for the safety of others as well as the individuals involved.’

– CCA tackles self-esteem

Why let someone else decide who you should be is the premise behind the Concerned Children’s Advertisers latest tv message.

The ad, ‘Boutique,’ tackles the issue of self-esteem and aims to help girls feel good about who they are and how they look. The spot follows two young girls through a fantastical store, which they quickly discover represents warped values.

Donating their time and talent were The Partners’ Film Company director Christina Hodnet, producer Evelyn Arthur and dop Chris Soos. Andy Sykes and colorist Walt Biljin handled the transfer at Toy Box. Online editor Ernie Mordack cut at d.a.v.e. with the assistance of Steve Lowrie. Koko Productions added in the jazzy tunes and the edit was done at Post Haste.

Agency credits go to Palmer Jarvis DDB associate creative director Alan Russell, group creative director Ian Grais, producer Terry Green, and Palmer Jarvis division Imagination Youth Marketing gm Lynne DeCew and Angela Scardillo, senior youth marketing specialist.