February 19, 2018
It’s not every day that Disney comes to town.
But, last January, as the temperatures dipped between – 30 and – 40 Celsius in Yellowknife, a small team from Disney arrived in Yellowknife to shoot for their next feature film. The snow-covered terrain, frozen lakes, and frosty temperatures of the Northwest Territories’ (NWT) offered the perfect setting for elements of the new sci-fi adventure A Wrinkle in Time starring Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling.
You didn’t miss seeing the film’s stars in person. The Disney crew was only shooting plate shots but it’s a sign that industry awareness is growing regarding the NWT’s unique and iconic film environment.
Plate shots are a technique often used in visual effects films. Scenes and landscapes are filmed without actors and then incorporated as the background for live filming later on in the production process.
Although Disney’s latest film is being kept largely under wraps, Mindy Kaling shared some photos from the set in which the NWT’s Great Slave Lake can be seen seemingly beneath her feet.
Plate shots are another example of the opportunities that exist to leverage growth and diversity for the NWT’s film sector.
The role of the ITI’s Film Commission is, in part, to heighten awareness of the NWT’s unique filming environment and to market and promote the growing capacity of the NWT’s film sector to support guest productions.
On this occasion the NWT Film Commission was pleased to provide logistical support to Gianna Isabella, Production Services Producer with Gate 67 Films.
“It was a truly unique and incredible experience filming in the Northwest Territories,” Isabella says. “We loved our stay and look forward to the possibility of filming there again.”
A key objective in the GNWT’s film strategy and action plan Take One is to further the skills and competencies of NWT film producers and provide a comprehensive suite of above-the-line training opportunities.
For NWT resident, CJ Eggenberger, hired by the Disney team as the 1st Assistant Cameraman on the shoot, it was an impressive experience.
“It was truly a great experience returning home to help showcase some of the unique locations only the NWT and Yellowknife have to offer. Knowing that the landscapes and terrain that I grew up surrounded by will be featured in the film is something both myself and other NWT residents can be proud of,” says Eggenberger. “With the greater exposure that productions on the scale of A Wrinkle in Time will bring we can look forward to a continually growing film industry in the north."
Eggenberger, who is currently pursuing film service work in Vancouver, has been an active member of the NWT’s growing film industry. In 2017, he directed the NWT Film Commission’s first promotional video, which can now be viewed at the Capitol Theatre in Yellowknife.
A Wrinkle in Time is set to be released March 9, 2018.