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Making Icelandic Waves

November 15, 2020 by admin

It’s nice in Iceland this time of year, just ask The Garrys.

“We had heard of the Iceland Airwaves festival a long time ago, and knew it to be a really cool showcase of both Icelandic and international music. Playing there was something of a “bucket list” dream of ours for a long time.” -Julie Maier, Bassistn

Just arriving home from playing the 2019 Icelandic Airwaves Festival, the trio of sisters are finding success across the pond. n

After a single show in Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland, the city has managed to claim the top spot for Spotify followers. The band made the trip possible with an investment from our Market Travel Grant.n

You may be asking yourself why Iceland? Success happens by making the right connections.

While performing at M for Montreal 2018, also supported by our Market Travel Grant, the band made an impression on Iceland Airwaves’ creative director. The Garrys are positive this helped make their application stand out when they applied for the Iceland gig.

Describing themselves as playing chilled out garage surf pop, the band’s album, Surf Manitou, is the perfect soundtrack to cruise into the weekend.

Virtual reality project to boost training opportunities

July 9, 2020 by admin

White Rabbit VR, a division of Twisted Pair Productions, recently partnered with Saskatchewan Polytechnic to develop a virtual reality forklift training simulator.

The portable VR training system will allow Sask Polytech to quickly fill the province’s need for forklift operators. The mobile forklift VR system will be used by Sask Polytech’s School of Transportation for Warehouse Worker and Parts Management Technician programs, as well as the forklift certification though continuing education.

The growth of the e-commerce economy has led to huge demand for warehouse forklift operators. However, older models of training simulators are often large, expensive, and hard to travel with. The need for portable training simulators has increased because of health and safety restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Investment in Action Digital Game and Gamified eLearning Equity Fun

With an investment in the project from Creative Saskatchewan’s Digital Game and Gamified eLearning Equity Fund, White Rabbit VR will fill this gap in the market with a model that features the environment forklift operators typically work in. This includes creating a physical simulator with realistic controls and hand tracking technology to coordinate the trainees’ real hands with their “hands” within the VR component.

“Using virtual reality is a great way to create an immersive learning experience for students. The portable VR training system will be used by students this coming fall. This has been a great partnership with White Rabbit VR. We are excited to incorporate virtual reality into more of our programming and create engaging educational experiences for our students.” nn-Paul Carter, dean for the Joseph A. Remai School of Construction and the School of Transportation at Sask Polytech.

Working with Saskatchewan Polytechnic instructors, White Rabbit VR will ensure that simulator content adheres to Sask Polytech’s forklift curriculum and that the smallest details of the VR simulation mimic real work sites.

“Virtual reality training is becoming increasingly common in companies and organizations all over the world, but what we are working on with Sask Polytech is something really quite different. We are looking to push the boundaries of VR training to take advantage, not just of the VR technology of today but the VR of tomorrow.”nn-Mike MacNaughton, president of Twisted Pair Productions.

Once complete, White Rabbit VR in consultation with Sask Polytech will be able to export the product and its certified curriculum content to other educational institutions out of province.

Saskatoon artist becomes first Canadian licensed by Disney Fine Art

March 1, 2020 by admin

This past December artist Denyse Klette signed a contract with Disney Fine Art, opening doors to an international art market.

In 2016 Denyse received a Creative Saskatchewan Market and Export Development grant to show her artwork at several tradeshows throughout the United States. This included Miami’s Red Dot Art Expo, where Denyse first impressed Wyland Galleries with her bronze project Feeling a little blue, sparking an invitation to sculpt at the Disney Fine Art Show in Epcot.

“I can absolutely say that without Creative Saskatchewan grants none of this would have happened… I look back over the last four years and I know that the grants available through Creative Saskatchewan is one of the most valuable tools that an artist can use.” –Denyse Klette

Creative Saskatchewan invested again in Denyse’s business, this time with a Craft and Visual Arts Production grant to produce more bronzes in 2018. Wyland Galleries eventually sent Denyse’s sculpted Tinkerbell painting, finely detailed with Swarovski crystals, to Disney Fine Art for consideration. This piece based on Denyse’s favourite Disney character from childhood caught their attention, and the rest is history.

Disney Fine Art, though not owned by The Walt Disney Company, is the official licensee of The Walt Disney Company and the exclusive global publisher of Disney fine art. There are only forty Disney Fine Art artists worldwide, making it ground-breaking that Denyse has become the first Canadian in the twenty years of Disney Fine Art’s history to be signed on, quite fittingly, on Walt Disney’s birthday.

Artists licensed by Disney Fine Art have permission to take any Disney creative property and create artwork inspired by that material. Each piece goes through a rigorous approval process with everything from conceptual drawings to the final completed artwork requiring approval by Disney artists from the original Disney or Pixar film. The originals are displayed in galleries at Disney’s international parks, including the Wyland Gallery Boardwalk flagship location in Disney World where Denyse’s Disney and non-Disney work will be displayed in an art show on March 19, 2020.

“I have been doing art for over 37 years full-time and to have this privilege to create Disney art is truly a pinnacle in my career.” –Denyse Klette

To follow along with Denyse’s creative endeavours, check out her Facebook or Instagram. More information about Creative Saskatchewan’s investment programs can be here.

Cagefighter Director Thrilled with Saskatchewan Soundstage Shoot

January 31, 2020 by admin

Cagefighter has been Jesse Quinones’ passion project for several years. In 2019, he began to bring his feature-film to life in Saskatchewan. His shoot took over the Soundstage for several weeks, he put many local talent and crew to work, and his production spent more than $400,000 on local goods and services.

Now, Quinones is back in Regina from London, England to edit the project. He offered us a few minutes to describe his experience in Saskatchewan.

“The first time going to the Soundstage I was blown away. It allowed us to make the film as close to the vision I had as possible.”

“I’ve been working on this film for five years. I love it and I’m passionate about it. Here, there was a real buzz. It felt like everyone here had their own piece of this film. I was very excited about that.”

GREAT WESTERN ORIGINAL 16 BREWERY SESSIONS

January 23, 2020 by admin

MUSIC VIDEOS PRODUCED AT NO CHARGE TO MUSICIANS

ABOUT THE ORIGINAL 16 BREWERY SESSIONS

Great Western Brewing Company collaborated with Saskatchewan musicians to create “Original 16 Brewery Sessions”, a series of music videos filmed onsite at Saskatoon’s Great Western Brewery.

Selected musicians were invited for a single-day video shoot to create three professionally filmed and edited music videos at no cost to the musicians.

The music videos were then posted to the Great Western Brewing Company website and social media channels, and the musicians were provided with the videos to use as they like.

The best fit for a Original 16 Brewery Session was deemed a folk/roots, singer/songwriter vibe. Musicians were required to include a link to an audio sample of their music when they applied.

Great Western Brewing chose the successful applicants, and covered all the costs of video production.

Check out the session samples!

Saskatchewan Producer Announces New Animated Series

February 4, 2019 by admin

Saskatoon production company, Cheshire Smile Animation Inc. is proud to announce the launch of an all new pre-school children’s TV series, made possible with support from Creative Saskatchewan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElNGJfwA91w

BotShop with BeKa and BuBo (aka RoBOTiK for french audiences) is a 52-episode series entirely created in Saskatoon. It will air across Canada beginning in May 2019 on both ICI Radio Canada Télé and TV French Ontario.

Cheshire Smile is also currently in talks with a number of international broadcasters who are interested in airing the program in their countries. n

Cheshire Smile is currently in its 12th month of production of the series. This has been a significant job creator in Saskatoon resulting in approximately 100 weeks of full time employment and $100,000 in wages paid to the animation crew alone to date.n

BotShop with BeKa and BuBo chronicles the moxy, pluck, and creativity of the heroine BeKa and her dog BuBo. They make their world a better place, and have a ton of fun on the way. The show combines physical stop motion style settings with 3D animation and an original non-verbal communication style.

“The magic in this work is the way we’re able to connect this simple human story of being a young child in a way that resonates with children across Canada and hopefully with children all around the world too,“ says Tim Tyler, producer and editor.

Click here to learn more about Cheshire Smile.