Cowichan Valley videographer Mathew Gladman and his video production group Keywork Designs have received $10,000 in funding through Telus and Storyhive to create their debut short film, Picture Perfect.
He says hundreds of production teams in B.C. and Alberta pitched their short film concepts to Storyhive and the Cowichan team was one of the 20 teams in B.C. to be awarded funding.
Gladman, also known in the Valley for his music, says he “is interested in creating innovative and eye-catching visual products to capture the imagination. Since high-school I have been engrossingly enamoured in creative outlets such as music and film as well as arts and graphics.
“In late 2015 I decided to start my career within video production. Over the past couple of years, the Keywork Designs team has created over a dozen music videos, covered large scale festival events.”
The group has also been able to “maintain a well rounded clientele by offering services such as video production, motion graphics, visual effects, aerial cinematography and original content,” Gladman continued.
The actor in the Picture Perfect video is Tyler Rozendal, who describes himself as “young and very ready to take on any project. I want to get out there and work with as many people as possible, make magic and have fun.”
Arianna Augustine, the production assistant, is the final team member.
She likes “exploring community and culture through art. With a background in graphic design and practical experience in film I have a unique perspective.”
She has the advantage of having grown up part of an artistically talented Coast Salish family, and “as a production assistant for Keywork Designs and a second-year graphic design student at VIU, I have completed several film projects including a short introspective film that explored the relationship between my personal identity and cedar. My creative talents have also been commissioned for other art and design projects including logos, pamphlets for government organizations, artwork for internationally attended conferences.”
The film will be shown in the autumn.
For more information on the grant:
https://www.storyhive.com/digital-shorts/edition/id/2018-shorts-sh13
For more information on Picture Perfect
https://www.storyhive.com/project/show/id/3486
The Keywork Designs team rallied for community support to stretch out the budget amount they’ve been awarded to create something truly cinematic for the short film.
Location scouting and casting for the project was the next step.
Picture Perfect is set in a world without communication, where society only sees you as your avatar (a representational graphic); one man looks for a way to break free and forge his own path.
According to Kelly Furey of Storyhive, “out of over 300 entries, Picture Perfect was selected as one of 47 Top Awards from B.C. and Alberta. Each winning team will receive $10,000 to produce their digital short. The final projects will be available in fall 2018 on Telus Optik TV On Demand and on storyhive.com.”
