TV, eh?

From Travis Fickett of IGN:

• Inside Sci Fi’s Sanctuary
  “The panel featured (Amanda) Tapping and Robert Dunne who plays Zimmerman, producers Sam Egan, Martin Wood and Damian Kindler. Sanctuary is notable because of its production method. The show will shoot on a green screen stage and utilize digital sets much in the way Sin City and 300 were made. It’s a revolutionary step for television, and one the series employed when it began as a web series before making the move to Sci Fi as a TV series.” Read more.

From a media release:

Making its debut in October 2008 is the new Canadian original series Sanctuary that comes from some of the creative talents behind Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. Starring Amanda Tapping, Sanctuary is shot almost entirely on green screen and is the first television series in North America to use the RED camera system, a digital medium that offers more than double the resolution of a high definition camera. In early 2009, The Movie Network will unveil the Paul Gross executive produced drama ZOS: Zone of Separation and playwright George F. Walker’s The Weight, two Canadian original series which chronicle a war abroad over religion and a war at home based around the drug trade.

From Marx Pyle of SyFyPortal.com:

• Kindler: ‘Sanctuary’ Experiences Creative Regenesis
  “But even if you have already seen the eight Webisodes available online,executive producer Damian Kindler guarantees that what is seen on the TV screen will be 98 percent rebooted. Kindler told SciFi Stream that the show is going through major changes because the SciFi Channel wants “the scope and scale of the show to be very different.’” Read more.

Director David Winning (Blood Ties, Andromeda, Earth: Final Conflict, Dinosapien, Naturally Sadie, etc.) talks about his long and varied career, and Martin Wood, executive producer and director of Sanctuary, shares his thoughts on that web-based series moving to television.

Listen below, visit the show site, or subscribe via iTunes or with any other program via the TV, Eh? feed.

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This Sunday is another TV, eh? show on Blogtalkradio, and it’s a Banff World Television Festival director extravaganza. First up is director David Winning, who has directed numerous television and film projects on both sides of the border. Call in at 646-200-4063, 11 am Pacific/2 pm Eastern, to talk about his adventures on shows such as Blood Ties, Andromeda, Earth: Final Conflict, Dinotopia, Dinosapien, Are You Afraid of the Dark, Sweet Valley High, and many more.

Following that live discussion, I’ll play an excerpt of the interview I did with executive producer and director Martin Wood of Sanctuary, Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. It includes material that didn’t make it into my article , such as more on Sanctuary’s innovative filming process and a solid answer to the elusive question I’ve been asked more than once: Why is Vancouver such a hotbed of science fiction filming?

Tune in to TV, eh? on Blogtalkradio Sunday, June 22 at 11 am Pacific/2 pm Eastern or listen to the podcast later.

From a media release:

The Movie Network and Movie Central announce new original drama series set for production

Astral Media’s The Movie Network (eastern Canada) and Corus Entertainment’s Movie Central (western Canada) today announced production dates for the original drama series Sanctuary, Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures and the second season of The Weight.

Currently in production in Vancouver until September 10, 2008, Sanctuary is a 13-episode series that is shot almost entirely on green screen using cutting-edge visual effects and the latest in camera technology. Sanctuary is commissioned by The Movie Network, Movie Central as well as SCI FI Channel in the U.S. and will premiere in October 2008.

Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures, an eight-part drama series based on the Scotiabank Giller Award-winning best-seller by Vincent Lam, will begin production in Toronto in spring 2009 and will debut on The Movie Network and Movie Central in fall 2009.

The second season of George F. Walker and Dani Romain’s The Weight begins shooting in Toronto in July 2008 with seasons one and two premiering consecutively on Movie Central and The Movie Network in spring 2009.

“From Durham County and ReGenesis to Slings & Arrows and Terminal City, The Movie Network and Movie Central have successfully carved out a niche in Canadian television for original drama that boasts bold and intelligent story-telling, high production values and strong on- and off-air creative talent,” said Michelle Marion, Director of Canadian Independent Production, The Movie Network.

“This year’s slate of new series illustrate the kind of smart, provocative programming that our subscribers have come to expect,” said Erica Benson, Vice President, Programming, Movie Central. “And with the upcoming premieres of ZOS: Zone of Separation and The Weight, our audiences will get to experience the visions of some of the country’s finest creative talents.”

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