Production on the Creative Atlantic Communications series Liography has commenced in Halifax at the Electropolis Studios. Executive produced by Greg Jones and Janice Evans, the 13 half-hours are set to air on The Comedy Network.

As one might expect, Liography is a spoof of a&e’s Biography, and replaces Peter Graves with Canadian comedy legend Leslie Nielsen as host.

‘Leslie introduces us to famous people who don’t exist but remind us of somebody we know,’ explains Jones. ‘Basically [the episodes] are done in the traditional Biography style format…documentaries made up of interviews with people who have known these characters. They are supplemented by archival photographs in which we are using green screen and Photoshop to plant talent into the photos.’

The series introduces its audience to a number of fictitious characters, with episodes devoted to boy band Boyz R Us, children’s entertainer the Fiendly Giant, horror novelist Simon Duke and preteen dot-com prodigy Bobby, to name a few. The characters are billed as politically incorrect, much like the show itself.

The series is budgeted at $2.6 million, with funding coming from Comedy, the lfp, Rogers, the Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation and an undisclosed private investor. Minds Eye International is handling distribution.

Liography creators Peter Hays and Ian Johnston are creative producer and writer, respectively. Director is Gemini Award winner Alan Resnick (This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Jest In Time For Halloween), who also serves as story editor.

The first season’s 60 roles have gone almost exclusively to East Coast talent, including Sherry Lee Hunter, Jackie Torrens, Tara Doyle, Maynard Morrison, Bette Macdonald and Ed Macdonald (who also serves as a writer on the show).

As for the show’s legendary host, Jones says Nielsen seemed as excited to be a part of the series as producers were to have him on board.

‘Maybe timing had a lot to do with it, but we just sent some scripts to him and he replied quite quickly, saying he thought they were really great and that he wanted to be a part of it,’ says Jones. ‘We were quite pleased with the response; I think he saw himself in that role. The scripts were pretty much written for him conceptually, so when we actually gave him a call and he got to look at it, he could see himself in that role quite quickly.’

Liography will shoot in Halifax until mid-December, moving into post after the holidays, although editors have already begun work on some of the rushes.

Jones also foretells of a pair of projects currently in development at Creative Atlantic.

The first is a dramatic series in development with cbc called All Fall Down, written by Michael Amo. Amo’s last project with Creative Atlantic, the one-off half-hour First and Lasts for ctv, is reportedly on the back burner. If All Fall Down gets the go-ahead, Jones is hopeful Amo will direct one or more episodes.

The second project is a comedy series, which sees Creative Atlantic once again working with Comedy Net. A spoof of the soap-opera genre, The White Way (working title) is in early development and is being penned by first-time writer Nancy Hunter.

*Folkus’d in on $cotch

$cotch Music, a one-hour documentary special from Syndey, n.s.-based Folkus Atlantic, recently wrapped shooting in the u.k. The first letter of the project’s name is strangely appropriate as it explores how traditional Celtic musicians from the East Coast make a living playing music and touring.

The film, slated to air on CBC Atlantic, is directed by Folkus’ Joan Weeks and produced by her husband and partner Dr. Richard MacKinnon. The couple went on tour to Scotland and England with a number of East Coast-based musicians as part of Cape Breton Connections, a series of musical tours designed to strengthen the musical ties between Cape Breton and Scotland.

According to Weeks, she and MacKinnon followed their subjects everywhere, from interviews on bbc radio to television shows. The Folkus folks also followed their musicians to fiddle workshops and inevitably to live concerts as part of the tour.

‘They were playing everywhere, from pubs to huge concert halls,’ recalls Weeks, who wielded her camera no matter what the venue. ‘There is a lot of music and step-dancing and entertainment in there, but there is also a look in the interviews about how you make a living off this traditional music industry. It’s kind of docu-entertainment – a new genre!

‘Being on the road was not really what I thought it would be,’ adds Weeks. ‘I thought it would be about partying and eating out and having fun. It was fun, but we were working 24 hours a day. You have to get up, get on the bus, travel, set up the gear, play – and the next day it is the same thing again, But they were a really fun bunch to travel with.

‘With a project like [this one] you don’t mind taking a long time to earn some money back, and even if we just break even, it was a great experience.’

$cotch Music, budgeted in the $40,000 to $50,000 range, was financed by Folkus, with assistance from the Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation, CBC Atlantic and the International Year of Music Program, a Nova Scotia provincial program derived from a federal/ provincial agreement with a mandate to promote the Nova Scotia music industry.

MacKinnon and Weeks are in talks with Scottish broadcasters, and Weeks says some recent events may have flattened the path to an international buy.

‘We made some connections at the Baddeck International New Media Festival and before that it was Celtic Colours, which sort of started us talking to Scottish broadcasters,’ says Weeks. ‘The events that bring people from Scotland here are great because it gives you a chance to meet them face to face, which always helps.’

*Helix Digital to expand?

As the work continues to roll in, Helix Digital is looking at a major expansion in the coming months, says Richard Lorway, gm of the Sydney-based shop.

Helix handled the compositing work on the imX communications/Funbag Animation animated series For Better or For Worse, which premiered on Teletoon Nov 4. It also handled compositing on Catalyst Entertainment’s Eckhart. With the Helix name getting out there, Lorway says the shop is looking at a huge slate of work over the next year.

‘It is anticipated that we’ll have to double in size,’ says Lorway. ‘We are about 30 people now and we may have to go to 60 next year, which is a nice problem to have.’

Correction

atlantic Blue is produced by Mary Sexton and Rosemary House’s Dark Flowers Productions, not Rink Rat Productions as reported in the Oct. 16 Atlantic Scene. *