Footage starts with the winner and goes unedited for 12 mins. Shot on Lemarchant Rd by the top of Lime Street. This is probably about 4 minutes from the finish line at Bannerman Park.

It’s a Rex-Goudie-on-Canadian-Idol big deal.

Newfoundland filmmaker Jordan Canning has a short film in the finals — the very, very finals — of the nation-wide CBC Short Film Faceoff competition.

It’s a huge deal.

Her film, “Not Over Easy,” follows a couple’s breakup using two eggs and stop-motion animation. She directed and co-wrote the film with Jody Richardson, and Sam Pryse-Phillips produced it.

Canning and her film appeared on episode one of the CBC TV’s Short Film Faceoff series on June 16. “Not Over Easy” was chosen by audience applause and a panel of judges to move on to the finals and compete for almost $40,000 of cash and in-kind services to make a film. Canning is up against two other filmmakers for the prize, which she says she’ll use to make her very first feature-length movie.

We all have an opportunity to help her do that — the winner is decided by online voting. On June 30th, at 8:30 p.m. Newfoundland time, the second-last episode of the Short Film Faceoff series will air on CBC Television. As soon as it’s over, online voting opens. But it’s only open for 24 hours.

Tell your friends, tell your employees, tell your networks. Tweet it, Facebook it, pin it, whatever. Let’s help get the word out.

Here’s a Facebook event for the voting blitz.

The Hidden Cameras are currently on tour in Canada, with two gigs at The Rockhouse coming up during their stop in St. John’s on June 22nd and 23rd. Frontman Joel Gibb recently took some time out of his busy touring schedule to answer a few of my questions about the tour, Caramel Logs, life, and that whole “gay church folk music” thing.

How’s the tour been going so far?

We played Ottawa last weekend and it was fantastic. Westfest is a free outdoor street festival and we headlined the main stage on Friday. It was a great reunion with the band and audience.

The last time you played here, Caramel Logs were tossed out into the crowd by the dozen – I was even lucky enough to catch one. Did you know at the time that they were a local specialty? It’s kind of an obscure thing to know, and the crowd loved it. Is doing this sort of thing normal for you wherever you play?

There is no “normal” thing we do when we play. It all depends on the people and the circumstances that bring us to a certain stage.

Can you tell me about your last visit to St. John’s? I know you were in the middle of a tour, but were you here long enough to take in any of the city, meet any of the locals, try dressing and gravy on your fish and chips?

We went to the Christmas party for the weekly magazine you got there. I won movie passes to the local cinema. I still have yet to redeem my prize.

Boys of Melody appeared on the soundtrack for Shortbus, which just seemed like the perfect film to find your music in. Could you tell if this opened The Hidden Cameras up to a larger audience at all? Is appearing on soundtracks something you’re interested in, and have you had any other soundtrack experiences that you’d care to discuss?

Lots of people were exposed to the The Hidden Cameras from hearing “Boys of Melody” in Shortbus. Our music has been used many times in movies.

The tone of your music tends to be one of either whimsical joy or solemn melancholy. Your songs sort of live at the extremities of the emotional spectrum. Why do you suppose that is?

I’m a complex guy. I guess it reflects my personality. I also think music should reflect life and life is full of both joy and melancholy.

The record store clerk that first turned me onto The Hidden Cameras upon the release of The Smell of Our Own described your music using the now well known description you gave in an interview with The Advocate, “gay church folk music.” Would you still describe The Hidden Cameras this way today?

Our last record Origin:Orphan (2009) had mild traces but overall was something completely different. The new one has none.

What were your influences going into putting The Hidden Cameras together and who are you listening to now? Likewise, in what ways do you feel the band and your music have evolved over the course of the roughly ten years you’ve been playing together?

The staid music scene in Toronto from the 90s was a big influence. I wanted to do something different. Spectacle was a pillar of the band’s ethos which I think was a new thing for music in Canada.

What’s in store for listeners on the new album planned for 2013?

A much darker and more experimental affair. It’s being mixed right now….

What’s in store for fans at the Rockhouse when you play there on June 22nd and 23rd?

You’ll have to come to the gig and find out! Primarily you will see Jon and John who are from St. John’s playing bass and drums with us.

What about life turns you on?

Nature, people, food, music, sex ect.

If you’ve been looking for an intro to film course that’s more hands-on and less “in this course we shall examine the aesthetics of film by investigating the concepts and practices that comprise the experience and interpretation of movies, based on the philosophical tradition begun by Ludwig Wittgenstein,” we’ve got news for you.

The Atlantic Studios Co-operative and the Motion Picture Lighting and Grip Equipment Supplier in Newfoundland and Labrador are presenting a series of three weekend workshops designed to introduce you to the mechanics of film production. Here’s the run-down:

SET ETIQUETTE WORKSHOP #1
DATE: Saturday JUNE 23, 2012
Prerequisite: NONE
Duration: Full Day, Includes a two part video
Location: Pope Productions, 114 Water Street, St. John’s, NL
Instructor: TBA
Cost: $25
Description: Ever wonder who does what on a film set? How the set is run? This IATSE certified workshop will prepare beginners for what to expect when they arrive on a film set. Best for individuals interested in Lighting/Grip/Camera but also for anyone wanting to work on a professional film set.
Notes: Please bring pen and paper, there will also be information hand outs

INTRODUCTION TO GRIP AND LIGHTING EQUIPMENT WORKSHOP #2
DATE: Saturday JUNE 30, 2012
Prerequisite: NONE
Duration: Full Day
Location: Atlantic Studios Co-operative, Suite 102, 62-64 Pippy Place St. John’s, NL
Instructor: Karl Simmons, Key Grip
Instructor: Flora Planchat, Gaffer
Cost: $25
Description: This is an introduction to what all the motion picture gear is called and how it is used. Useful for those who want to get in the business or expand theatre skills and knowledge
Notes: Please bring pen and paper. Please wear work appropriate clothing (Jeans, closed toe footwear). There will also be information hand outs as well as The Atlantic Studios Co-operative equipment catalogue, which will be needed for Workshop # 3.

BASIC OPERATION OF GRIP AND LIGHTING EQUIPMENT WORKSHOP #3
Date: Saturday & Sunday JULY 14 & 15, 2012
This Workshop involves on location operation and use of equipment.
Prerequisite: “Introduction” Workshop #2 or equivalent on-set experience.
Duration: Full Day
Location#1: Atlantic Studios Co-operative, Suite 102, 62-64 Pippy Place St. John’s, NL
Location #2 Pope Productions, 114 Water Street, inside and out.
Instructor: Karl Simmons, Key Grip
Instructor: Flora Planchat, Gaffer
Cost: $50
Description: This is a demonstration of basic configurations and use of grip and lighting equipment in situ. It includes selection, pull and loading equipment at the start of the day using the gear during the day and downloading at the end of day.
Notes: Please bring pen and paper. Please wear work appropriate clothing (Jeans, closed toe footwear). Please be prepared to go outdoors.

Workshops are open to all interested persons.
Workshop is limited to 10 people and will be filled on a first come basis.
Deadline for registration is Monday, June 18, 2012

Innarested? Email bpetrie@atlanticstudiosco-operative.ca.

I have been granted a somewhat unique perspective on food since my body doesn’t handle sugar very well. In most cases when I eat anything that is sweet or has been sweetened with sugar, I get an upset stomach, headache, my mood plummets and my saliva and blood just feel wrong.

So I avoid sugar, which means avoiding a lot of what most people tend to eat in the run of a normal day.

This has allowed me to experience what it’s like to enjoy foods for their natural flavour. My cereal consists of sprouted whole grains, raw nuts and seeds, blueberries and no-sugar-added almond milk. My salad consists of vegetables, no dressing. I don’t cook with any sauces or use them as dips.

And there’s certainly no sugar tonight in my coffee. No sugar tonight in my tea, either.

This wasn’t always the case. For a long time I didn’t understand my sugar intolerance, and even once I’d recognized it I wasn’t immediately adept at navigating its terrain. So for most of my life I’ve eaten the same things everyone else does.

What I’ve since come to realize is that most of what we add to our foods to make them taste better actually masks the food’s already great taste.

Without any real incentive to do otherwise, it’s unlikely anyone would be inclined to forgo the BBQ sauce on their grilled chicken or the balsamic on their salad, let alone all the sugar-added processed foods that line the aisles of our grocery stores.

The public’s pallet is increasingly being bombarded with more and more intense flavours from the processed food market, which only makes the prospect of enjoying natural food flavours even less likely. How can a raw tomato ever hope to compete with the latest violently-named flavour of Doritos that damn near promises to explode inside your face?

Even the bread most of us eat is unduly processed because the grains are harvested before they are allowed to sprout and then are mixed with other ingredients, including sugar, to help the bread rise and, of course, to add flavour.

These processed foods set the tone for what all food should taste like, so that when we encounter unprocessed foods the inclination is to enhance them with processed ingredients.

Leaving those processed ingredients out of your food would certainly be a more healthy choice, but I’m not even trying to make a point about what’s more healthy.

My point is simple:

Food is delicious.