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YXE videogame studio utilizes Creative Sask funding to market their latest game: Kaiju Wars

June 16, 2022 by admin

Kaiju Wars is the most recent digital strategy game developed by Foolish Mortals, a Saskatoon-based videogame company made up of an innovative gang of self-proclaimed ‘do-gooders’ to watch in the digital development world.

Play out a Kaiju movie as the (hopelessly) outclassed military in this stylish 2D turn-based strategy game. Construct buildings and defend your city with cannon-fodder tanks, jets and more as the devastating kaiju grow in power with every attack.

Earlier this year, Foolish Mortals received Creative Saskatchewan’s Market and Export Development – Micro Stream grant, to help them market their retro-Godzilla-Pacific Rim videogame to national and international gamers.

“A game’s trailer is its most important marketing asset. It’s what everyone sees when they go to the steam page to buy the game,” says Michael Long, Lead Developer of all Foolish Mortals projects, “…a game cannot be released with an excellent trailer.”

In addition to the trailer, movie-style game posters (available here) were made and strategically distributed, as well as a strong marketing campaign on Facebook and Twitter, resulting in a steady stream of ‘wishlists’ for the game, over 1,000 in just 3 months – and over 1,200 downloads.

How has this funding helped you expand your reach?

“Funding from Creative Sask has allowed us to greatly expand our marketing campaigns, primarily through the use of video trailers. I’ve always been a big fan of live-action films, and due to this funding was able to create several live-action trailers for my games ( KAIJU WARS | Trailer and TRAILER – Radio General). Live-action is fairly pricey, but I think it was worth the cost. We worked with a Saskatoon production company called Bamboo Shoots to make these trailers use all-Saskatchewan talent. I myself even got to act in the Radio General live-action trailer, and got to appreciate how much work live-action filming is (10 hours of filming for 2 minutes of footage, haha). For a videogame, the trailer is the most important marketing piece, and needs to be EXCELLENT. For Kaiju Wars, [we] were accepted into the prestigious MIX 2022 indie showcase, and also just presented the game at Dreamhack Dallas in Texas. Without our excellent trailers, we would not have gotten these opportunities.”

What was your experience working with Creative Sask like?

“Working with Creative Sask was straightforward and transparent. I look forward to applying to the newly revamped Digital Game Development Grant soon, and seeing the benefits it has on the grassroots Saskatchewan game development industry.”

What does engagement with your product look like so far?

“Thanks to the high quality of our Kaiju Wars trailer, we were able to garner critical reviews from prestigious game journalist websites such as Eurogamer and Cultured Vultures. Both user and critical reception has been good, with the game sitting at Very Positive on Steam and 82/100 on OpenCritic. It was also on OpenCritic’s top 12 videogames of 2022.”

“Due to the high quality of our game’s trailer, it was accepted into the MIX 2022 10th Anniversary indie game showcase. The trailer was livestreamed to over 20,000 viewers amongst other high quality indie games. Without the necessary budget to make such a high quality trailer, there’s no way our previous amateur trailer made by yours truly would have been admitted.” says Long.

It is Creative Saskatchewan’s mission to support local creative entrepreneurs in getting their product to market, and we could not be prouder of the Foolish Mortals team!

About Foolish Mortals

Foolish Mortals was founded in 2013, right after a game called ‘DoomBlenderCave’; was made (you delve into a cave fighting potato monsters… It was pretty cool). Fast-forward some amount of time and we’re now Saskatoon’s only non-mobile videogame studio. Not sure if that says more about Saskatoon, or us. Diversity is the spice of life, meaning we like releasing different genres. We’ve made a murder mystery, a lazer rope driving game and a game where you scream into a your microphone for Able company to respond GODDAMNIT!

,www.foolish-mortals.net/kaijuwars

Bearpawttery uses Creative Saskatchewan grant to participate in pre-eminent global online clay event

June 11, 2022 by admin

Bearpawttery is as adorable as it sounds…seriously, check out this amazing handmade “pawttery” here. Behind the bushy tails and little ears is a Saskatoon-based ceramicist, Bear Won.

Won first began creating pottery in 2018 with a class at a community studio in Saskatoon. In the months that followed, she began to experiment more and dipped her toes into a part-time practice.

By 2020, Won made the bold decision to build herself a tiny clay studio in her apartment to allow her to dedicate more time to further exploring clay and making pots. “This endeavour has been an evolution of my passion for clay,” says Won fondly, “so the process has been very natural and smooth.”

In January 2022, Won was invited to be a virtual market vendor at The Ceramics Congress, a five-day global conference of all things ceramic. “I was thrilled to have the chance to participate!” Won says. Vendors at this event must have a way to present their work to the market, so building a website was an important component for Won’s growing business. It was a fellow ceramicist who encouraged Won to consider approaching Creative Saskatchewan for assistance. “As I did not have a lot of funds to invest in this project, the Market & Export Development Micro Stream grant from Creative Saskatchewan seemed like a perfect opportunity to reach the milestone.”

When asked about her experience with Creative Saskatchewan, Won says it has been positive from the start. “I am very new to making applications for grants, so I had a lot of questions from the beginning. It was very easy to set up an online meeting with a Creative Saskatchewan program officer, and they were all very helpful and friendly during our meetings, and beyond. The support from the staff has helped me a lot and made writing the grant application much less intimidating than I imagined.”

The Market and Export Development – Micro Stream program has helped Won to build her brand with a quality logo, recognizable identity, and digital sales outlet which is more flexible and powerful than the limitations of social media. She can now better reach both new and existing customers in a professional way. “The financial support I received has given me the opportunity to comfortably expand the scope and vision of my project, instead of trying to aggressively manage my expenses alone.”

Won will tend to her website regularly, and once her sales increase she plans to reinvest the revenue back to her business and use it to innovate her practice.

Won’s ceramics-related activities have expanded to entirely fill the amount of time she would otherwise dedicate to traditional workplace. While her practice is new and she has some growing and learning to do before her business is in a place to provide her with long-term, sustainable income, we hope that this is the first step of many on Won’s journey to becoming a self-sustaining ceramicist.

When asked what advice Won has for aspiring artists looking to commercialize their business, she says “If you are considering writing a grant application but are not sure if you’re ‘good enough’, DO IT!”

About Bear Won

Hi, I am Bear. I live in Saskatoon, Canada.

My ceramics are made for daily enjoyment. I try to create pieces which are special, yet not too precious to be touched. As much as I enjoy making pots, I LOVE to know others enjoy using them. I don’t always have deep thoughts about why I make what I make, but that’s only because my creations sometimes make people smile.

One of the things I love most about clay is the community which surrounds this practice. Since I started my clay journey, I have been very fortunate to meet so many people who are generous with their time, knowledge and resources. I am grateful to have been welcomed into this global clay family. This environment continues to strengthen my desire to explore my possibilities in clay world!

“I take a lot of inspiration from the brighter and cuter aspects of nature. Illustrations from cartoons and comics have given me a perspective on the natural world, and help me transform my imaginations into reality.”

Bear’s work is available for purchase at www.bearpawttery.ca, and at two Saskatoon retailers, Handmade House and Alt Haus.

Live Performing Arts Professional Development Hub organizes 1st full season with Creative SK Support

June 8, 2022 by admin

On Cue Performance Hub is Regina’s newest live performing arts organization. It is a cooperative producing platform and incubator offering professional development opportunities for underserved artists. On Cue is a hub focused on providing creative entrepreneurs in the performing arts with the support and training they need to create and present new work that speaks to diverse audiences in Regina and beyond.

On Cue Performance Hub will be completing its Test-Drive mini season in mid-June. This mini season featured the work of more than a hundred artists over four productions and ten events across the spectrum of dance, music, theatre and spoken word poetry. It is now planning the launch of its first full season which will run from fall 2022 through May 2023. Creative Saskatchewan’s support via the Business Capacity and Market and Export Development programs will be helping to fund and mentor the organization’s first administrator as well as the development of a business plan and marketing strategy to get the organization off to a good administrative and financial start.

This organization has been actively building a network of artists, volunteers, sponsors, and partners. It is working in partnership with Toronto’s Why Not Theatre to make their National RISER Project available to Regina artists. In May 2023 On Cue will launch RISER Regina, the repertory production of four new works by underserved Regina artists, all of whom will have had the benefit of several months of intensive professional development and mentorship to prepare them for successfully producing their work locally and within the National RISER network of companies and cities.

For the Hub all of its programming begins with open calls for artists to propose work they want to bring to its season. The open call for season programming has closed but they are still taking applications from artists wishing to participate in RISER Regina: https://oncueregina.ca/riser-regina-applications (but hurry, applications close June 30, 2022!)

About On Cue

On Cue’s overall goal is to strengthen Regina’s performing arts community, generate greater and more diverse public access to these art forms and increase the career viability of professional performing arts groups and individual artists.

It has three primary objectives:

1) To support and enhance the capacity of the full diversity of Regina’s performing artists, cultural workers, and smaller performing arts groups to realize their creative objectives, take risks, and make a living from their creative work through a cooperative producing and mentorship incubator;

2) To cultivate broader and more inclusive community engagement in understanding and appreciation of the work of Regina’s performing artists; and

3) To increase the availability of affordable and accessible spaces suitable for the needs of performing artists and cultural workers in Regina, including digital facilities and a professional quality performing arts theatre.

On Cue is working towards its vision for a broader and more diverse community of Regina performing artists and groups realizing their creative visions, and a financially sustainable creative practice through the engagement of citizens and visitors in a robust array of well-presented and produced performing arts offerings.

https://oncueregina.ca/

3 Story Pictures Launches with a Bang!

May 31, 2022 by admin

“Newly formed media production company 3 Story Pictures Inc. is hitting the ground running as its three partners receive accolades and opportunities at both the Realscreen Summit and Banff World Media Festival in June 2022.”

Read the full story here.

3 Story Pictures has received Market and Export Development and Market Travel grants from Creative Saskatchewan over the past year – we’re thrilled to see the fruits of their labour paying off!

Saskatchewan resident, Hannah Hermanson, and partner Ell McEachern, are in the top 100 women entrepreneurs selected as part of the 2022 cohort for the BANFF Spark Accelerator for Women in the Business of Media.

“Chosen from hundreds of applications from across Canada, Ell and Hannah will participate in tailored business development programming, one-on-one mentorship, and exclusive access to top international media industry players at the 2022 Banff World Media Festival.”

Their partner Saxon de Cocq, a Métis writer, director and creative producer, will also be in the spotlight at Banff as a Professional Development Program Participant in the Netflix Diversity of Voices initiative.

About 3 Story Pictures Inc.

3 Story Pictures Inc. is a recently formed original content production company with a presence in Saskatchewan, Alberta and BC, Canada. Founded by Ell McEachern, Hannah Hermanson, and Saxon de Cocq, the company’s focus is bringing to life stories that are meaningful and to which the partners feel personally connected. With decades of expertise built in separate yet complementary areas, the partners have each played pivotal roles on production teams and have a proven ability to bring media projects successfully to completion: on time, on budget, and with the best on the screen.

Fransaskois Ponteix streamed over 10,000 times thanks to Creative Sask’s Market & Export Grant

May 30, 2022 by admin

La version française à suivre.

Fransaskois pop artist, Ponteix, is a recipient of Creative Saskatchewan’s Market and Export Development – Micro Stream grant.

Having received the producer of the year award both at the Saskatchewan Music awards and the Western Canadian Music awards (in collaboration with Rayannah), this artist was ready to take the next step and release his next wave of music to propel his career into new international markets.

Thanks to our funding, Ponteix was able to implement an aggressive web promotion, media placement, radio promotion, and social media campaign for maximum coverage of his work. Here’s what Ponteix had to say:

“With the EP streamed over 10 000 times and being featured in more than 10 playlists, our social media posts were seen by more than 15K people, we reached a physical audience of over 600 Ponteix fans and new fans, culminating over 9 shows for of the release tour, radio placements, more than 20 media mentions and over 9000 views on our music video for “Les années”, it is safe to say our goals for the release of this EP have been reached.”

A round of applause to Ponteix and team!

Ponteix, l’artiste fransaskois de pop, est récipiendaire de la bourse ,« Market and Export Development – Micro Stream » de Creative Saskatchewan.

Ayant reçu le prix du producteur de l’année aux Saskatchewan Music Awards et aux Western Canadian Music Awards (en collaboration avec Rayannah), cet artiste était prêt à franchir une nouvelle étape avec sa prochaine vague de musique.

Grâce à notre financement, Ponteix a pu mettre en place une promotion agressif en ligne, un placement de média, l’avertissement sur la radio et une campagne sur les réseaux sociaux. Voici ce que Ponteix avait à dire :

“Avec l’EP diffusé plus de 10,000 fois et présenté dans plus de 10 listes de lecture, nos publications sur les réseaux sociaux ont été vues par plus de 15,000 personnes, nous avons atteint une audience physique de plus de 600 supporteurs, culminant avec plus de 9 spectacles, des placements radio, au moins 20 mentions médiatiques et plus de 9,000 vues sur notre vidéoclip pour “Les années”. Il est sans danger de dire que nos objectifs pour la sortie de cet EP ont été atteints. ”

Un gros applaudissements à Ponteix et son équipe!

About Ponteix

From the epicenter of the Canadian prairies, Ponteix condenses hypnotic grooves influenced by RnB and psychedelic indie pop. Mario Lepage’s soft and sincere vocal melodies are sung brightly above saturated electronic motifs, a warm blanket of lush synthesizers and buttery bass lines. The Fransaskois’ pop outfit harbours nostalgic lyrics sung mostly “en Français”. Now as always, Ponteix explores language barriers while delivering to its audiences what is undeniably central to music, emotion.

De l’épicentre des prairies canadiennes, Ponteix condense des grooves hypnotiques aux saveurs RnB et psyché-pop planant. Le projet est né d’explorations musicales du multi-instrumentiste Fransaskois Mario Lepage. Sa voix douce et sincère parcourt des motifs électroniques saturés, recouverts d’un nuage de synthétiseurs et soutenus de profondes lignes de basse à faire vibrer le plancher. La poursuite infinie de Ponteix vers de nouveaux horizons sonores nous emporte dans un univers serein qui donne envie d’en découvrir plus.

https://soundcloud.com/ponteix

Announcing the 19 SK participants for new NSI Crew Training for the Film + TV Industry

May 27, 2022 by admin

Shared from the National Screen Institute of Canada’s news release.

Training began this week for 19 Saskatchewan residents hoping to break into the film and TV business through the National Screen Institute’s Crew Training for the Film + TV Industry, presented by Creative Saskatchewan.

In this brand-new, entry-level pilot program Saskatchewan residents aged 18 or older learn the logistics and process of how a script evolves into on-screen magic. The program showcases career possibilities, provides industry connections and inspires a passion for filmmaking.

The National Screen Institute and Creative Saskatchewan are proud to introduce the 19 selected participants:

Allia Janzen
Anna Hrytsenko
Blair Doucette
Blessing Alasan
Chelsa Reil
Craig Farrell
Curtis McGillivray
Hayden Schutz
Jessica Gares
Justin Erhardt
Legbo Menegbo
Madison Osterhout
Maria Hirsi
Maximillian Poelzer
Parker Dittmer
Steven D. Schneider
Tess Dueck
Tyson Zack O’Brien
Wendy Whitebear

Read more about the participants.

“Film and TV is bringing big business into Saskatchewan,” says Erin Dean, CEO of Creative Saskatchewan. “We’re proud to work with a training partner nationally renowned for its high-quality programming to prepare the next generation of filmmakers to meet industry demand. The skill sets obtained in this industry lead to well-paying careers and are transferable across sectors, creating strong economic spin-offs for the province.”

“We hope to inspire a passion for filmmaking, educate the participants on career possibilities in the film industry and immerse them in the wonder that is filmmaking,” says program advisor Lesley Oswald.

This week, participants are working through a series of online learning modules covering different aspects of the industry, including script writing, set orientation, locations, background performing, post production and essential paperwork.

Once completed, participants will attend a six-day, intensive, in-person workshop in Regina where they will experience what it’s like to work in the industry and immerse themselves in the production of a short film. Participants will schedule, budget, prep, cast, scout, location survey, tech survey, shoot and edit their project using an iPhone and iMovie. Participants will receive a $600 stipend upon successful completion of the training.

• • •

NSI Crew Training for the Film + TV Industry is funded by Presenting Partner Creative Saskatchewan; Program Partner Reel Canada; Service Sponsors TWA Solutions, The Wireless Age. NSI Core Funders are Manitoba Sport, Culture & Heritage and the City of Winnipeg through the Winnipeg Arts Council.

About Creative Saskatchewan

Creative Saskatchewan is the economic development agency for Saskatchewan’s creative industries. Creative Saskatchewan unlocks the potential of the creative industries and fuels the economic engine of homegrown talent, converting creativity into cashflow. The agency’s investments propel creative entrepreneurs as they create, perform, innovate and export in their pursuit of commercial success.

Creative Saskatchewan funds seven industry associations, amplifying their members’ skills, and helping them build extraordinary careers.