There are many ways young documentarians hone their art during those early, hungry years. Some spend years in school, while others compete for covered internships. For Moncton, New Brunswick\u2019s Craig Norris, it was a long stint spent living out of a car with his fianc\u00e9e, crisscrossing the continent from the East Coast to Alaska to Costa Rica, armed with a few cameras and rolls of film. It\u2019s a romantic image, but Norris says the learning curve was steep: \u201cI found out I didn\u2019t know what I was doing,\u201d he says. \u201cI didn\u2019t know how to pick the frame, do the lighting. Really, what I didn\u2019t know was how to tell a story. I decided I had to learn how to take one picture at a time before I could try to do twenty-four frames per second.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Norris did just that, studying photography and showing work in small exhibits while supporting himself as a wedding photographer. But a gig working as DOP on Ian Mauro\u2019s\u00a0Climate Change in Atlantic Canada<\/em>(2013) reminded Norris of his passion for filmmaking and social change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI guess I felt that if you aren\u2019t pursuing the things that are important to you full-time, you\u2019re not going to find enough time during evenings or on weekends to really make an impact.\u201d FINDING FUNDING OFF THE BEATEN PATH<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For each of his films, Norris has shied away from the beaten path to find support. \u201cNone of my projects are traditionally financed,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019ve gotten funding from the European Union and from Mountain Equipment Co-op. And I think people think that we\u2019re an ad agency, or that we\u2019re making branded content, but in the end we\u2019re just trying to tell a great story. I can\u2019t think of a single time I was forced to tell a story a certain way, or that I was handcuffed. Honestly I think it might be harder in certain ways to work with some broadcasters than our clients\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Norris has come to trust his own vision, and that his clients will recognize the importance of the topics he explores. \u201cWe get to make the movies exactly the way we want to make then. We\u2019re not surrounded by a bunch of people trying to tell us how to do our job. If I\u2019m happy with it, they usually are too,\u201d he says. This frees Norris up to focus on what his films are all about: changing the way we think about our place in the world. \u201cOur aim has always been to try and change the culture. Whether it\u2019s just the people who hike one trail in Atlantic Canada or an entire country, we\u2019re always trying to make films that shape the culture. We\u2019re still learning how to do it, but we\u2019re getting better every day, and I like to think we\u2019re just getting started.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the three years since launching his production company VideoBand, Norris and his collaborators have certainly filled their time. They\u2019ve focused on telling stories about our changing environment and the people who are dedicated to protecting it. Surviving the Fundy Footpath<\/em> (2016) follows Ben Persaude, a first generation Canadian and novice hiker as he tackles one of Canada\u2019s most beautiful (and challenging) trails, and Kokota: The Islet of Hope<\/em> (2016) tells the story of a tiny, rural island off the coast of Tanzania as it struggles to adapt to the havoc wrought by global climate change.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With three projects currently getting ready to tour and three more about to go into production, 2017 will be a busy year for VideoBand\u2019s small, two-person crew. Norris looked to DOC for help with the aspects of promoting his films that he didn\u2019t feel as at home in. DOC\u2019s Festival Concierge helped him develop a festival strategy for Kokota<\/em>. \u201cI don\u2019t have a lot experience with festivals and it was really good for finding national and international opportunities. We\u2019ve been really lucky and have gotten the film into Planet in Focus, Hot Springs, and some other international festivals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n