DECEMBER 2008
THE MURDOCH MYSTERIES wrapped last month after an incredibly successful second season. We ended the 13 episodes with two enormously ambitious sets. A late Victorian sweat shop and the Jewish Wards that once existed in downtown Toronto. I'll post photos of them along with others from the season soon.
Starting CHLOE this month. It is a new feature directed by Atom Egoyan and produced by Ivan Reitman. Looking forward to working with the team from ADORATION again! Phillip Barker is designing.
All this and my Christmas shopping....
(See the trailer for ADORATION).
(See the trailer for HEAVEN ON EARTH).
SEPTEMBER 2008
Summer's over? When did it start?
Both ADORATION and HEAVEN ON EARTH are premiering at this year's TIFF. Now if only I can get tickets...
Murdoch is maintaining it's brisk pace into the fall. It received many Gemini nods for last year. Let's hope next year's includes production design.
JUNE 2008
Decorating season two of THE MURDOCH MYSTERIES, an 1895 period piece based in Toronto. Previously, I decorated UNDER THE DRAGON'S TAIL, one of the Murdoch films. It won a DGC design award in 2005. Lindsey Hermer-Bell is designing this season.
ADORATION won the Ecumenical jury’s prize last month at Cannes. It is set to premiere at this year's TIFF.
APRIL 2008
Decorated an episode of PARADISE LOST for British Television. 15 Fraser stood in for Kazakhstan. Brilliant casting.
FEBRUARY 2008
Hello Mexico, goodbye snow!
DECEMBER 2007
Wrapped HEAVEN ON EARTH just in time for Christmas. Happy Holidays everyone!
NOVEMBER 2007
Wrapped ADORATION in October and immediately started decorating director Deepa Mehta's new feature HEAVEN ON EARTH. I worked with her a few years ago on the Triptych Media feature adaptation of Carol Shield's THE REPUBLIC OF LOVE. A great experience.
SEPTEMBER 2007
Going to camera on ADORATION this month. Along with a substantial studio build there are 'fall for winter' scenes we are dealing with. Also, Christmas.
Ringy Dingy is updated and back online. It now has all the new stock on the site.
AUGUST 2007
Decorating Atom Egoyan's new feature ADORATION. Phillip Barker is designing. An interesting script which examines communication and identity in a digital world.
JULY 2007
Totally revamping the Ringy Dingy website. Adding over 300 phones from the CBC and changing the format. Huge job. It was the first website I created and there are lots of little 'first time' mistakes and work-arounds that need fixing.
Spent a few weeks down east. Had an excellent time. The sunsets don't disappoint.
JUNE 2007
Doing reshoots for Sienna Film's feature HOW SHE MOVE. Paramount has snapped it up and is injecting some more money into one of the large dance numbers.
Did 3 Futureshop spots for OPC/ Radke. One features a fake Burt Reynolds driving a gold 1970's Trans Am. Now I've worked with both fake and real Burt. I liked real Burt better.
MAY 2007
Shot some film in Niagara Falls New York. What a difference from the Canadian side. Crumbling and abandoned. And somebody please wash that balloon.
Ringy Dingy purchased the CBC's entire inventory of prop telephones. A bittersweet transaction as the CBC prop department was an important supplier to the Toronto film industry. It will be greatly missed.
APRIL 2007
Been primarily concentrating on photography this spring. Specifically putting together proposals for two upcoming shows.
MARCH 2007
Created websites for Catering By Design and their sister company Bitchin Kitchen, two Toronto based catering companies.
FEBRUARY 2007
Did a much needed revamp of the Photoboy website.The menu is now at the side and I reformatted the images to eliminate scrolling. I understand the impatience of users trying to sift their way through convoluted sites. Easy is always best when it comes to the web.
The ACTRA strike is finally over! Hopefully everything will start coming back. I've never seen it this quiet.
JANUARY 2007
Ringy Dingy enters it's 10th year! It was April 1997 when Rick Gilbert and I came up with the name after we rented a few phones to another film production. Our catch phrase became: Need a phone? Give us a call! Could we actually make a business out of this?
ICE PLANET is on hiatus due to the ACTRA strike. Everything is in limbo. Hoping to get started soon.
DECEMBER 2006
The sets on ICE PLANET are coming together although it's a massive job with carpenters and painters working six days a week to finish on schedule.
NOVEMBER 2006
Decorating a television series called ICE PLANET . It's a sci-fi multimedia project set on an organic 'ship' marooned on an ice planet inhabited by hostile forces. The studio sets are massive and elaborate. Working with designer Gord Barnes.
Exhibited six photographs for Toronto Marketing firm, Brees Communication's 'Black and White Event'.
OCTOBER 2006
Did 3 spots for Dodge Ram for Ridley Scott's RSA Films in the UK. The premise for 2 spots was the classic 'Rockem Sockem Robots' battling a Dodge truck. The other, a futuristic 'Blade Runner' like environment where everything is futuristic except the truck - because it lasts... Lots of CG. Decorated an old factory like Million Dollar Baby complete with oversized boxing rings. Fun.
(See the third spot)
SEPTEMBER 2006
A Depression era period piece I decorated for Shaftesbury and the CBC, BOOKY MAKES HER MARK, was nominated for a DGC award for Production Design. Another period piece I decorated for Shaftesbury, THE MURDOCH MYSTERIES: THE DRAGON'S TAIL, won in the same category last year.
Did 3 Nissan spots for OPC/ Radke. Bunnies, snakes, forestry and garbage sewing.
(See the spots)
AUGUST 2006
Wrapped up CAMILLE and headed down east for a mini roadtrip. Weather, people and photos were great. I'll be posting some soon.
JULY 2006
Still shooting CAMILLE. Four days of the schedule were shot in Niagara Falls. It's interesting to expore the city a little deeper than Clifton Hill. Got some good photos but want to spend a few days exporing the environs. Currently decorating a small town strawberry festival set in Kentucky. It's a fun set complete with game tents, a ferris wheel and a giant strawberry.
JUNE 2006
Started a feature film called CAMILLE. I'm decorating for designer Phillip Barker. It's an irreverent roadtrip movie starring Sienna Miller. It's all white trash, motels and country and western bars. My kind of movie.The film ends in Niagara Falls where we are shooting for a few days. Fun.
MAY 2006
Spent a few days in NYC. A bit skinny on the photos but had a great time watching a game at Yankee stadium and betting on the ponies at Belmont.
Did a Coors Light ad for Partners. I can't really comment as it's not my brand...
APRIL 2006
Did 3 spots for The Power Worker's Union of Ontario with Imported Artists. The premise is a comical look at the results of another blackout like the one in the summer of 2004.
MARCH 2006
Went on a fabulous roadtrip around the Sierra Nevadas in California. Started and ended in Reno. Took many stills and will have them posted soon. All the character of downtown Reno is quickly being torn down and replaced by condos. Photographed a few of the remaining motels. Sad.
Designed and built the new Syndicate Films website. The original site was a mixture of styles that didn't communicate clearly. I took their logo design and mirrored it throughout the site and created a simple NAV bar to anchor it all together. The result? Fabulously minimal and slick.
Did some prop buying for a Nikon print ad. Love those Nikons. I've shot stills almost exclusively with them.
FEBRUARY 2006
Finished editing and posting my reel. My good friend Craig Boland at Syndicate Films worked his magic with Final Cut 5 and put it all together for me. I'm quite happy with the result.
(See Reel)
Did a Gatorade commercial for Imported Artists. The premise was kids playing street hockey and hockey star Sidney Crosby throws his stick in to join. After somehow seeing this, everyone in the neighbourhood pours in (including the three Hanson Brothers from Slapshot) to throw their stick in the pile. It was a lot of fun, especially seeing the Hanson brothers lift their 'Lambie' hockey sticks.
JANUARY 2006
Photoboy enters it's third year with a great list of accomplishments for 2005. From a commision by the ABC television movie TRUMP UNAUTHORIZED to photograph Trump buildings in NYC to adding Canadian comedian Rick Mercer to the list of owners of my photographs. In addition to having my photographs appear in such films and television series as SILENCE, a Universal Pictures feature starring Donnie Wahlberg to THE PATH TO 911, a huge ABC mini-series starring Harvey Keitel and Amy Madigan. Many thanks to all!
DECEMBER, 2005
Decorated another period piece for Shaftesbury Films and the CBC called BOOKY MAKES HER MARK. It is set in depression era Toronto (1938). Again it had many budget challenges but ended up looking fantastic. Found great locations in Hamilton, which, in parts has been relatively undisturbed since the 1930's or earlier.
OCTOBER, 2005
Shaftesbury Films 1890's period piece, THE MURDOCH MYSTERIES: UNDER THE DRAGON'S TAIL wins a Director's Guild Award for Outstanding Achievment in Production Design. I was the Set Decorator on this television movie. The film was an excellent experience that despite it's modest budget ended up looking fantastic. Many thanks to everyone involved.
AUGUST, 2005
Started a photoblog on Google's Blogspot. I created it to accompany this site. I have begun to shoot digital more frequently and this was the perfect venue to show it. I'm not sure if I would show the digital work any other way - not yet anyway.
JUNE, 2005
Several new photos shot this summer on an East Coast roadtrip and in NYC. Some are posted in ROADTRIP.
MARCH, 2005
After seeing my photos on the set of THE MONDAY REPORT, comedian Rick Mercer purchases Television Close. An edition of three was printed. One of which I will keep and the other went to a private purchaser.
(See Television Close )
FEBRUARY, 2005
Commissioned by Kim Rennick of Ambition productions to photograph 9 Trump buildings in NYC for the ABC television movie TRUMP UNAUTHORIZED . The prints were needed to decorate Trump's offices and apartments.
JANUARY, 2005
Ringy Dingy enters it's 8th year, Photoboy it's 2nd. Photoboy's first official year was quite a success with numerous photographs appearing in over 10 productions, including a series of three in Dennis Hopper's apartment in George Romero's LAND OF THE DEAD.
All
images and photographs are registered copyrights of Jim Lambie, 2008
All reproduction is strictly prohibited
December 14, 2008