ESTEVAN - A former Estevan resident was one of 19 Saskatchewan residents recently selected for some significant training to further their skills for film and TV production.
Curtis McGillivray went through the National Screen Institute’s Crew Training for the Film and TV Industry, presented by Creative Saskatchewan.
In the program, Saskatchewan residents aged 18 or older learned the logistics and process of how a script evolves into something on screen. The program showcases career possibilities, provides industry connections and inspires a passion for filmmaking.
McGillivray first heard of the program through one of his former university professors. He also saw it promoted on Saskatchewan film pages. McGillivray applied and was accepted.
The training wrapped up earlier this month.
“It was a program based around trying to get crew people trained and prepared for if and when larger productions move into Saskatchewan,” said McGillivray. “A lot of the stuff that I personally have been on for film crews have been small 15-person crews for corporate work or independent projects.”
With the increase in funding for the film sector in Saskatchewan, McGillivray said this program was created to jump-start the industry and get a select group of people prepared and better equipped for when larger productions move in.
The 19 individuals did about a week of online course training, which went through a lot of modules, ranging from different stages in bringing a script from development to post production, as well as safety courses and other classes that are required when people go to work on bigger sets.
“It’s really nice to have the opportunity to have those completed, so that when the opportunity comes knocking, we’re good to go,” said McGillivray.
They also did a week of in-course training in which they applied a lot of the things they learned through the online course. Some “great” guest speakers came in that represent the different unions for film production.
Online work could be completed on their own time and required about 35 hours of work. And the in-person work was six straight 10-hour days.
The course had a lot of talented people, McGillivray said, ranging from those running their own independent production companies and doing film production for at least 10 years, to students who were just finishing up their final year of high school.
“It was a really nice range, and it did a really great job of showing a lot of individuals the different opportunities in film production, especially regarding working on larger crews, which is something that I don’t think has been seen in Saskatchewan for a while now.”
McGillivray has dedicated a big part of his life to film production. After graduating from Estevan in 2014, he studied computer science at the University of Regina, and after a year, switched to film. Since then he has been working professionally in film production, and has his own production company, Prairie View Productions.
He does corporate videos and personal projects, including a web series that he was the recipient of a grant from Creative Saskatchewan.
A lot of his teachers in Estevan allowed McGillivray and his friends to start submitting videos as their school projects. And the high school had programs that allowed McGillivray and others to learn about film production.
“Definitely the university was where I really started learning a really focused point on the film production itself. But it was good to have friends that were interested in it growing up, as well as some teachers and people who were open to letting us use it as a medium to present our projects.”
He also credits his family, saying they have always been supportive in allowing him to pursue his dreams. In a way, some of his interest in filmmaking goes back to things that they did together as a family.
His mother is a writer, and growing up, she was always working on poems and short stories that she would let him help with, and his father is a photographer. To this day, they still go on drives together looking for wildlife.
Film production is a medium to tell stories, McGillivray said, from as small as learning about somebody’s business to an idea that came in his head.
“Probably my favourite part is being able to tell stories and share all of these wacky ideas and concepts that you come up with in your head, and put them into a final concept that you can watch,” said McGillivray.
