A Parksville man has been nominated for a Leo Award in the Best Music Video category.
Joel Grenz, who owns Motiontide Media, produced ‘My Homeland’, which features 12-year-old child prodigy pianist Isabelle Wang and internationally renowned violinist Rosemary Siemens performing perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean.
To get all the right shots, professional piano movers carefully placed a Steinway grand piano on a platform and used two drones to film.
Although most of the shoot went well, there was one shot above the ocean where a drone got caught in the surf and sank to the ocean floor.
“I immediately dove in after the drone as it sunk below the waves, but the water was so murky and deep, it was long gone before I was able to swim to where it sank,” said Grenz.
“You know you’re working with great people when bad things happen like losing a $2,000 drone in the water and you see their incredible reactions and professionalism,” said Siemens, who posted to her social media along with a photo of Grenz fully soaked in ocean water.
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Despite the loss of the drone and the footage stored on the memory card, Grenz and co-producer Bora Yenal remained upbeat and positive.
“It was hard watching that drone drown, but we are very pleased with the end result and how the story that we tell in the video came together. To get honoured with this nomination is very exciting and humbling,” said Grenz.
The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry.
— NEWS staff, submitted
