I realize that this title sounds jaded, but I feel so blessed to have people like Bill J and the Local 488 in my life supporting this vision we share of telling stories about veterans and soldiers. You know me a bit by now and realize how deeply I feel things, it's a damn curse at times I will tell you that. However, I've also realized that it makes me fiercely loyal. Loyalty pays off when you remember your friends because after all, that's all we have in life, friends and family and the work you do. It's my friends in Bill J and the Captain who first stood beside me to make this, and then stood in front of me with their names and reputations on the line. Until Battle Scars started to air, much of our 4 years of discussions was based on speculation on what the end result would look like. It was a leap of faith for all of us for sure. So this all comes together today when I was able to have an audience with the Local 488 and they agreed to support all 3 of our projects including Battle Scars, Paratroopers and a yet unannounced project in the works. So I will be filming a movie about working in the pipe trades and be sure to share it with you when it is done. Thanks to Larry Matychuk and the Local 488! If you see someone proudly wearing a Local 488 jacket or anyone in the pipe trades, make sure to thank them for their support because the 488 truly supports their veterans and soldiers.

Today was a whirlwind and together we managed to film 4 segments! The first is on the Militaria Preservation Society Poster Collection, the second on the Loose Lips Sink Ships campaign of World War II, the third on Victory Bonds and the last one on Officer Comforts collection of World War I, or “The Great War” as I am reminded it should be called. 

Alan is the curator for what may be the biggest private collection of specific Canadian war memorabilia. As a host of segments for Battle Scars, I really think that he is just awesome at it.

Following our shoot today, Alan presented me with this amazing WWII Victory Bond poster. And amazingly enough, it is my absolute favorite! Beaming faces of beautiful children filled with hope and optimism. The iconoclastic nature of the images against simple union jack colours and the simple words, "Don't Fail Them", visually reminds me of my own children, and all of our roles as parents to do our best for our kids. It's just amazing. Thanks Alan!  >>

You may have heard of Lewis Lavoie. He is fast becoming a Canadian icon and has painted well known works of art using his amazing "Mural" technique. He's done art for the Olympics as well as the murals seen around Alberta and indeed products shipped around the world. Check out www.MuralMosaic.com for more amazing work.

What you may not know is that I've had the privilege to call Lewis and his brother Paul my friends for about 10 years now. While Paul and I share an interest in marketing, Lewis and I have watched our careers follow a very similar artistic trajectory. When my marketing company Hype was very young, Lewis actually did the artwork for my very early projects. And that is when he was affordable and had the time!

When I learned a few years ago that he had been commissioned to paint the "Mural of Honour" at the Military Museums in Calgary, I truly beamed in pride. After we discussed the matter, I learned that he also birthed the 200+ painting mural with great pains, and he also tasked himself with the job of learning all he could about Canada's military so that he could do justice to the subject matter. Like me, he's also followed the organic path laid before him, and similarly he has religious beliefs. So I think that it's appropriate that the segment about the Mural of Honour be included in our Battle Scars TV Series and of course in the movie DVD set.

The image you see above was the original sketch from the original artwork for the Mural of Honour. If you look closely, you can see that it was used to create the main Armed Forces soldier image. And following our interview, Lewis gifted it to me. The faith people have placed in me, the gold rings, Panda gold coin, Rob Patterson airborne gifts, the Alan Kerr posters (more on that later) and now Lewis Lavoie artwork are truly the real pay offs of my work.

Money is essential in making movies, but with all of our needs, it disappears quickly. However, as I sit in my den, my cocoon of creativity, I'm able to immerse myself in creative manna while I reflect on all the steps that brought me to this wonderful place. While I am droning on and on here, I might also add that reflection is a much lost art. In American culture, you'd call a business person staring out a window a "day dreamer" and interrupt them without giving it a thought, whereas in the Japanese culture you would never interrupt this person, because they consider this time of reflection to be of immeasurable value. I guess I like having lots of cool stuff to reflect on while I work.  >>

THE PPCLI – PART THREE                                                                         (4:30)
Welcome to the PPCLI with Major Kevin Barry
The Major is joined with amateur historian Major Jade Watson. The two give a brief talk on the history of the regiment from the formation back in 1914 to present day Afghanistan.

LONG GUN REGISTRY IS OVER!                                                             (2:00)
Bill C-19 descriminalizes ownership of rifles.
Gun enthusiasts across Canada celebrate, as the much-debated long gun registry officially becomes a thing of the past. Greg Illebrun speaks out in support of the announcement.

THE 20^th FIELD ARTILLERY REGIMENT                                                 (3:00)
An introduction with CO Captain George Kuhse
A look at the history and contributions of the 20th Field Artillery Regiment since it’s inception in 1920 up to the present with the 61st Field Battery in Edmonton, and the 78th Field Battery in Red Deer.

B-25 – THE DAISY MAE                                                                             (5:00)
Edmonton Pilot Terry Champion Crashes and Helps Rebuild a B-25
A low-speed mishap is immortalized with the restoration of an abandoned B-25 dubbed “Daisy Mae”, so named after the aircraft that 418 Squadron Wing Commander (ret’d.) Terry Champion crashed into the Edmonton hanger.

THE AIRBORNE WIVES CLUB                                                                  (8:00)
Narrated by Nicole Starker
It takes a special kind of woman to sign up for membership in the Airborne Wives Club, but the ones who do wear their trials and tribulations with pride. The segment includes personal thoughts from Nicole Starker (Mike Starker), Rosalie Hartigan (Dan Hartigan), Joy St. John (Roger St. John), Pauline Zachaluk and others.

Today, I met the latest Battle Scars TV series sponsor at Shoulder to Shoulder Militaria. Reid Moseley hosted two new segments; one on his astounding collection of war badges and the other on German collectables. Watch for upcoming segments in Episodes 12 and 13 of Battle Scars. For more information check out their website at:

http://www.shoulder-to-shoulder.net  >>

I was inspired to take in an Opera last night. And for those of you that have never been, it's usually a spectacle of sight and sound. Also, due to the fact that I've been privy to the inner workings of the opera, surprise surprise, I know that in a city as small and separated from the world as Edmonton, managing an Opera with a world class staff and singers and designers from all around the world is a labour of love. And that is something that I can totally relate to and admire. Plus, there's a military angle here, aside from being Beethoven's only Opera. The Opera is set in a world that's been oppressed by didactic forces; yet all the key elements of storytelling are here with elements of love, hope, and especially love.

Wiki had this to say; "Beethoven cannot be said to have enjoyed the difficulties posed by writing and producing an opera. In a letter to Treitschke he said, "I assure you, dear Treitschke, that this opera will win me a martyr's crown. You have by your co-operation saved what is best from the shipwreck. For all this I shall be eternally grateful to you."

As for me and a bit of levity here, I have greatly enjoyed this process and see the martyr reference as akin to being flailed and nailed to a stake, as a few soldiers have all but jokingly come right out and told me, albeit often in very quiet and thoughtfully convincing words. >>

I just wanted to say thanks to another amazing editor who's been able to withstand the pressure of cranking a show out per week and deal with all of the challenges that we face for every show. It's really not like we bring out a proper crew to film: a Director to plan the shoot and get the b roll, a Producer to dot all the i's and cross all the t's, a camera operator to shoot it all and a sound person to get the audio just right.

For 99% of the filming, unfortunately it’s just me. That's all we've ever done and aside from the Captain managing the staffing, or Adonay sitting in on a few sessions, it's really all we can afford. So this method unfortunately "lends itself to many great opportunities for challenge", as it were. Every week, my close team of Adi and now Andrew get out heaps of band-aids to cover up for the shortcomings that are a result of this "run and gun" guerilla filming technique. I would not recommend it to anyone; however, I suspect that once you've made a season of TV on the budget of one episode, you may likely be able to do anything. As ill conceived as it may be, that's my plan anyways.  >>

92 year old Gordon King may be the last remaining survivor of the Luft III Prisoner of War Camp. The infamous story of their planned escape later became the content of Steve McQueen’s movie and Hogan's Heroes.

I met Gordon King in the strangest way! And here's another example of why I constantly try and let myself be influenced by fate. As our volunteers were making calls to tell the seniors homes about our TV series, we ask if they have any veterans who would like to speak to the Director.

Brenda C. Edmonds is the Life Enrichment Director at a seniors living facility known as Touchmark and she should have been co-titled the "veteran's media liaison", because from my experience that is her double duty. I called her and on a very busy day, following her many encouragements, I found my way over to do a small talk at their home.

Here's the part I loathe to confess, as I am constantly being pulled in many directions, and while juggling what will likely be about 60 segments for the Battle Scars Series 01, I was having trouble rationalizing adding yet another segment! My experience with Gordon King plus another Airborne vet of Captain's vintage, Ed Bakker, changed all that. I was so happy that I stepped outside my own jumbled world, and even more of this creative ilk and idiosyncrasies. I spent a couple of hours talking to the people and did our presentation and another hour just talking to Gordon King on camera. His memory and mementoes were amazing, but the one thing that really stood out were the quality people living at Touchmark. So, special thanks to them for such a great time. They even bought me dinner!  >>

THE PPCLI - PART TWO     (4:00)
The Princess Patricia's Light Infantry Museum in Calgary     
An exploration of the PPCLI’s history and artifacts housed at The Military Museums in Calgary, Alberta with Afghanistan vet MWO Jason Yardley.

408TH SQUADRON SOLDIERS     (2:30)
Urban Training                                
Members of the 408th are featured in a skills enhancement training exercise. The tactical scenario showcases Carbine and Hand Weapon proficiency.

THE FIRST SPECIAL SERVICE FORCE                    (3:00)
A Briefing with Allan Kerr
An informative segment about the Devil’s Brigade and Canada’s involvement with this special force unit hosted by historian Alan Kerr.

THE NEW AND IMPROVED TOURNIQUET                (7:00)
Saving Lives and Lessons Learned in Afghanistan
The story of how a simple tool that had almost fallen into obscurity came to be used to save the lives of many Canadian soldiers, with veteran medic MCpl (Ret’d) Chris Kopp, as well as interviews with soldiers and IED survivors Maj. Mark Campbell, Cpl. Brock Blaszcyk and MCpl. (Ret’d) Paul Franklin.

REMEMBERING ESTER WHITTAKER                    (6:30)
A Memorial for a Forgotten Veteran
When Ms. Whittaker passed away in Pentiction, she left behind her sole possessions; two suitcases containing the sum total of her 89 years. What volunteers have pieced together since is a rich and historic life, including her time spent as a Red Cross nurse overseas during WWII.

Thanks to our friends at the Alberta Aviation Museum and especially General Manager Tom Hinderks we have begun production on a series of segments that feature the machines and men of the skies. From Above will begin with the feature of the rebuilt B-25 Daisy Mae and will also feature other locally foud treasures like the Canadair Sabre Mach 1 and the now disbanded 418 Squadron to name just a few.

So here it is I am more than two weeks behind in posting my supposedly daily blog posts. What I do however is track on my day to day calendar what news I have so that when I do get caught up, I know what I would have posted HAD I been caught up enough to do so. Great Machines of War is a great example for me, of how the project just continues to reveal itself - what we filmed three months ago in support of our friends at the CMEC in Chilliwack will be the start of a new segment called Great machines of War. Humbly shot, the segment features the mechanical tools, trucks, tanks, and means of which our boots on the ground would do their work. The first segments were shot with Brooke Quam who can break 'em down and even put them back together; a feat this fellow could never seem to accomplish. Stay tuned for Great Machines of War to start in around Episode 10.

Part of this process is gaining the permission to use appropriate footage, photos, archival recorded materials and so on in our productions. We've been working with Canada's Department of National Defence for 4 years but only now did we just get permission to use footage from our Combat Camera and Archives in our TV series and documentaries. Quite simply, we didn't really need it until now and with us producing 4 - 6 segments per week, boy do we need it now! Great timing, watch our segments for what we hope will be more vintage Canada rich content!

One of the challenges that we face each week is assembling the shows and getting the timing of each show just right. For example, if we plan that a segment on James Lange, Canada's Most Prolific Jumper, should be 8 minutes, then it has to be completed in exactly that length of time. One of the challenges is that some stories may take longer to tell, and sometimes we may not have enough material to keep the segment looking good for that length of time. Then, there is the matter of what we call B Roll.

James Lange was an amazing story teller, but unfortunately we did the interview in Penticton with limited access to photos and we also don’t have a video of him.  We are left with the interviewee footage and whatever we can get to add some variety to the segment. No one would want to just watch someone talking on camera for 8 minutes. Episode 6 was enjoyable for me because of the James Lange’s interview, but also due to the lengthier segment on our friend, Niel Gow.  Niel is living through the disease known as Dementia and this has taken a terrible toll on him and his family. As sad as it is to tell these stories, it is quite rewarding to be able to help share this information so people can see Niel as we remember him and also hopefully educate people about this terrible affliction.  >>

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 My first Bolex has just arrived. This is an old movie camera from the 50's that worked by winding and you could shoot about 4 minutes at a time. First you'd have to buy the film, do the shoot, hope that you adjusted all the settings properly and then mail the film away for processing and finally wait to get a version back that you could play on your “Projector”. This got me thinking of the immediacy of today's world. And how little value is placed on things of real value. And how skills are the least important of all our assets and how working hard is the only stop gaps you have against progress. So, in spite of all this technology, we are really just telling stories about people. And while the stories may be great and the production may not be Hollywood quality yet, this path is a very real path that allows us to be successful on our own terms. This is all that I do and I do it every single day.  >>

I was invited to come out to the Edmonton Aviation Heritage Centre today and film three more segments. What a busy day! I was met by the Executive Director Tom Hinderks and we began production on the segments:

-       - The B-25, also known as Daisy Mae, featured the pilot who crashed the original B- 25 into the aviation museum hanger some 40 years ago. Terry Champion was that pilot and we interviewed him about the event and the new and improved B-25 they now have in the museum. 

-       - Lt. Colonel (Ret'd) Jim Gillespie was part of the historic 408 Squadron for almost 40 years until the disbandment in 1994. We began work on a piece to remember the Squadron and talk to some of the men about life after the Air Force.

-       - Director Tom Hinderks gave a talk about their Mach One Sabre - the only one in Canada and the precursor to what would become the most sought after and most prolific plane of the Cold War. Plus, it was built right here in Canada.

Thanks to the Aviation Heritage Centre and to Tom, Jim and Terry!

I spent the morning and part of the afternoon with Allan Kerr today. We did a nice segment on Trench Art and does he ever have a lot of it. Wow!

Also, managed to kick it on a Children of War segment. It's amazing how much the relationship between families and war actions have changed over the years. Allan mused that perhaps it is because in WWII we had 10% of our population somehow connected to the war. Because of this, children were a big part of the war effort with selling stamps, books and mini uniforms and just rallying behind the troops and dads overseas. It was really fun and always informative. Thanks Allan!  >>

Battle Scars - S01 E05 - Canada's Military in Peace and War. Episode 5 of Battle Scars features the following stories:

THE CORPS OF COMMISSIONAIRES:
Northern Alberta, NWT, and Nunavut Division            
Providing meaningful employment opportunities for veterans is the mandate of this respected security provider, with historical roots that trace back to the Crimean War. Includes interviews with three personnel, each with a unique military background.

THE CALGARY HIGHLANDERS                        
A look at this esteemed 100-year old regiment based in Calgary Alberta featuring Logistics Officer Captain Peter J. Boyle who is the curator at the Calgary Highlanders Museum and Archives.

THE LOYAL EDMONTON REGIMENT
Urban Training                                 
Edmonton’s Loyal Eddies have the distinction of being the reserve unit that has sent more soldiers to Afghanistan than any other in Canada. This proud unit whose roots trace back to 1885 is featured in a segment about their Urban Training program.

ROBERT BAILEY
Visions of Star Wars                            
The saga and spectacular imagery of Star Wars continues with “Star Wars Vision”, a collection of commissioned work, including paintings from aviation artist Robert Bailey.

NOW THAT’S A KNIFE
KA-BAR Knives                                
This segment looks at Ka-Bar Knives – a long time supplier of the finest knives to military, tactical and police units around the globe. Hosted by Gordon McGowan of Milarm, Edmonton’s military and hunting gear supplier.

This episode is entirely dedicated to the memory of Corporal Michael Starker who was killed in Afghanistan in 2008.

The Captain is one of my favorite people in the whole world, just in case you did not know that. He's provided mentorship, friendship and a world of wisdom that made the impossible possible; the movie and the TV series would not have happened withut him plain and simple. On this day the Captain turned 73 years young, Happy Birthday Captain!

Was cool to have time to hang with Rui at his place again. With Sabina out of town, Rui was served baked green beans and some top shelf Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. While we seem to be cut from a different cloth and the old world ex 2 Commando might find creative types like myself to be a bit strange, we share a passion for doing this tv and movie stuff and totally get along. Our other Calgary producer Shiva Sharif joined us and we managed to drag Rui downtown to our favorite pub, The James Joyce. Rui and I shut the place down.

There really is nothing like a dozen beers to cut through all the extraneous bullshit and get to what's real. Rui is that kind of guy and so am I. Through the haze I've been getting schooled on the story of Somalia from his perspective, and it's infuenced me quite a bit. I have personally found that there's a whole generation or maybe two or soldiers that you don't see at Legions and groups like the Airborne Brotherhood. Somalia and the disbandment left a lot of soldiers heart broken, and many without a home or a family. Rui confessed that our work together was the first time the 2 Cdo vets had ever spoken to anyone.

I've always appreciated the cathartic nature of our interviews with the vets; for some it is quite a healing, an opportunity to be heard, to vent. After 300 interviews, most of the vets are fairly certain that we will be respectful with their interview footage. Rui did however assure me again in no uncertain words that if I did mess things up, I'd have 2 Commando after me.

Thanks to Rui and Shiva for your support and really, your very different types of wisdom.

I also got out to film the commercial for our Calgary sponsors in Calgary, Crown Surplus. Gordon and son John have been longtime supporters of the military of course, but what I did not know is that they've also worked with a number of movies that were filmed in Calgary including The Assasination of Jesse James, Passchendaele, Brokeback Mountain and Hell Boy to name just a few! In fact, stars like Cher all seem to enjoy shopping at the store. Who wouldn't? It's crammed from roof to floor with so much gear that you could get lost! Thanks to Gordon and John for their support!

Rory Cory is the head curator at the Military Museums in Calgary - he was kind enough to give me a personal tour of the main storage area for over 95% of the museums collections. It was awesome to say the least. Each of the museums on the main floor has their own curator and collections area in the basement. The tour inspired in us some ideas for future segments and our relationship with the Military Museums continues to grow. Thanks to Rory Cory!

I loaded in at the gun show Saturday morning and having arrived at about 11, would require that I hump gear across the Round Up Centre parking lot which was seemed to be about a quarter mile. This got me to thinking; I need an assistant badly and my gear is too heavy. The backpack weighs 60 pounds with 2 camera bodies, video camera, and about 10 lenses. The DSLR rig that I've been dreaming about that I now own and that I am now rethinking weighs about 50 pounds. The tripod comes in at 20 pounds. However my gigapus DSLR rig was clearly a hit and probably about 100 people asked me about it. I should have set up a booth to talk about the movie but that will be something for next year when we have DVD's in hand. I filmed 3 segments at the show, the first about Nurse Sister Edith Hudson with our good friend and supporter Allan Kerr. Next I met Bob Clay who had an amazing 1873 - 1905 collection of Northwestern Mounted Police memorabilia. Greg Illerbrun from Saskatchewan helped with the third segment about the repeal of the mandatory long gun registry, something that I am sure all of the vendors selling rifles at the show were celebrating the night before. It seems that the world is getting smaller and smaller, I ran into Captain Peter Boyle from the Calgary Highlanders segment I filmed a month ago and James W Lange - Canada's most prolific jumper and a few more. Thanks to the AACCA for letting us film at their show.

I was happy to get into Calgary this weekend and see JR Cox and Brian Kenney at The Shooting Edge. We filmed their commercial and it was a perfect time to do so; the place was packed from floor to ceiling with people and guns and things that go boom.

This is episode 03 of the first season of Battle Scars. This episode features the following segments: YMCA - Protecting the Souls of Soldiers in War An overview of an organization that played a vital role in the survival of both front line soldiers and prisoners of war, with Alan Kerr. Military Vehicles Preservation Society An overview of this international organization with chapters in Canada, dedicated to preserving historic military transport, and providing education about the various vehicles. Ring of Fire -- Canadians in the Pacific in the Second World War An historical view of Canada's involvement in Asia during the Second World War, beginning with the Battle of Hong Kong, as well as other operations in South East Asia until the war's end. Sweetheart Pins At a time when families were torn apart, tiny tokens like Sweetheart Pins meant so much to the women who were left behind to wait. From commercially made to handcrafted by the servicemen, these pins held a special significance. The Van Doos The Royal 22e Regiment are 1/3 of Canada's para qualified Armed Forces and are featured in this segment. Credits Bonus Footage 1 Can Para Veteran John Ross Talks about Brigadier James Hill in WWII

From time to time, Shaw TV will make changes to the airing schedule of Battle Scars.

Wednesday April 11 - Battle Scars will air at 6pm instead of 8PM
Friday April 13 - Battle Scars will air at 8:30 PM as usual
Saturday April 14 - Battle Scars will air at 6:00PM as usual
Sunday April 15 - Battle Scars will air at 11:00AM as usual

Here is another poignant example of how one's nature can be both inescapable and tiresome and yet sometimes, bare great fruit. It can be a reminder that although you tend to pour over the details at times and examine the minuitae of everything, sometimes it's all done for a reason that doesn't reveal itself until much later.

Such is the case with the production of a living memorial for our good friend, Sgt. (ret'd) Niel Gow.

4 years ago in 2009 I had no idea to where this path the Captain and all our colleagues would find us leading to. So when I filmed the D-Day ceremony of the Airborne jump into Normandy, I first met Niel. For some reason, I really liked his character and ended up also filming an entire performance that he would do for an audience of Airborne friends and well wishers. At the time, I remember thinking that we might need the footage some day. Now today as I had just talked with Adonnay about the Niel Gow tribute segment being light on footage, I remembered the performance he gave, and figured I must have the tapes somewhere. After some searching, I found almost two hours or footage including an outstanding interview with Niel. Now as his family battles with the dehabilitating effects that dimentia has diseased his mind and body with, we are all able to look back and remember him as he was. It's exceptionally important also from a creative persective because we are able to include that footage in the movie we are making in his honour. Niel was the Duty Bugler for the PPCLI for a number of years and as such, performed diligently in his duties through thick and thin. Now as we remember him, I am glad that I am a bit of the OCD, compulsive obsessive and even more, as all our patient crew will surely attest to.

The Shooting Edge welcomed me recently to film a segment about some fo the soldiers from 408 Squadron in Edmonton. We filmed their exercises and will be producig a segment for an upcoming episode of Battle Scars. Thanks to all the guys from 408!

JR Cox at the Shooting Edge is ex-Airborne and the first Calgary company to come on board as a sponsor. Our friend and ex-Somalia 2 Commando veteran Brian Kenney is a trainer and manager at the shop, and they welcomed me and brought me up to speed on sidearms and better shooting technique. Thanks to JR Cox and Brian Kenney and the boys at the Shooting Edge. Our official shooting range in Calgary.

Wed Mar 28
Battle Scars #4 will appear at 7:00pm instead of 8:00PM
 
Fri Mar 30
Battle Scars will appear at 7:30pm instead of 8:30PM

Saturday March 31
Battle Scars will appear at 6:00PM at usual.
 
Sun Apr 1
Batte Scars will appear at 10:00pm instead of 11:00am

Ring of Fire is an exhibit that is showing at the Military Museums in Calgary. This segment works in conjunction with our ongoing series about Canada's Defence of Canada in British Columbia during WWII.

Thanks to our friends at Shaw TV, you can enjoy the latest episodes of Battle Scars FOUR TIMES a week. The new time slot is Friday at 8:30PM.

Wed. 8:00PM (Can be pre-empted by WHL Hockey)
Fri. 8:30PM (Can be pre-empted by WHL Hockey)
Sat. 6:00PM
Sun. 11:00AM

Thanks for watching and please tell your friends! If you can't watch Battle Scars on TV, check it out here: http://www.YouTube.com/HypeTVCanada  >>

We've finally managed to get the segment with Allan Kerr up to the editing stage. This is a really cool segment. The YMCA in both great wars played a serious part in disseminating information to our troops and helped them remain Godly Christian men. For example, as Allan Kerr explains, one booklet they produced would list the local activities of the women at the local brothels; this would encourage the young soldiers to understand how many women the sex workers would be seeing, and how important a role in their lives that their wives at home would be playing. Allan tells the story so well that it really is interesting. You can watch the show on this week's episode of Battle Scars.  >>

That's the name for the exercise I heard and really didn't know what to expect until we were invited to join the Loyal Edmonton Regiment at the base today to film them during their Urban Training Exercises.

They had built a mock building with a series of about 20 apartment-like rooms and would go through each one, clearing the rooms and shooting up the bad guys as necessary. Watching the young and seasoned troops alike go through the exercises, one couldn't help but imagine being able to join them. It was pretty cool! This will be part of an upcoming Battle Scars segment. So, watch SHAW.  >>

Today, I was privileged enough to be able to film a segment on the PPCLI which was hosted by the CO Major Kevin Barry. The Major along with the DCO Quintin Innis have both always been very supportive of our movie project. In between takes, he was asking me about the progress and commending our team on the TV series and all that we've been able to do together. Yes, it is always awesome to get that kind of direct feedback from people who mean the most: the soldiers and veterans who inspire us to do what we do. Sometimes, they thank us equally, but I haven't put my life on the line nor have I served 4 tours in Afghanistan, Bosnia or Somalia. So,  at the end of the day, I will always just be a civilian really just working to do what God has blessed me to do, and all of us really.  >> 

Bill and I were at the base today over at the 3PPCLI lines. I've been working with Bill and Chris Kopp and his crew over at CTOMS to assemble the assets together for our documentary short on the Tourniquet. In the Korean War, soldiers would learn first hand about the dangers of improvised explosive devices like claymores and what they called a "Bouncing Betty". When triggered by wire or pressure, this mine would project an explosive into the air and would explode at gut level, usually disembowelling and literally tearing someone apart.

According to my interview with Paratroopers movie consultant and former Colonel of the Regiment, General (Ret'd) Herb Pitts, he watched a young soldier in his platoon be blown apart as he was following him through a path of laying trip wires in Korea.

The "meatball surgery" you'd hear about in shows like M*A*S*H were because of the terrible manner in which these mines would tear skin, bone and meat apart. The tourniquet has generally been shunned by civilian medicine and until Afghanistan, and specifically the Tarnac Farm Incident, Canada's soldiers wouldn't have had the need to use such tools to save lives. With the use of IED's and the ground warfare in Afghanistan, the original deployment in 2002 would see a number of soldiers having their limbs blown off.

As Kopp and crew will show, the Tourniquet became a life saving tool that is now mandatory for all soldiers deployed in Afghanistan.  We were joined by Major Mark Campbell who is still kicking ass and taking names. Mark is always great to talk to and an inspiration to soldiers and veterans alike. He is a fighter. Paul Franklin lost both of his legs and is now doing motivational speaking. Brock Blaszczyk is a young man who managed to get blown up good and walk away, literally. I will post a few photos of his amazing transformation. The interviews were quite incredible and will be featured in an upcoming Battle Scars segment.  >>

Here's the latest episode - you can watch the whole thing here. Just click on the bottom right hand box to make it full screen! Send us your comments and if they are awesome, we will post them.

Here is a photo of Nicole Starker after our interview. Nicole is the wife of the late medic, Mike Starker, who was shot in an ambush in Afghanistan in 2008. I really don't have more info on how we lost him, but I've interviewed his mom, dad, Nicole and 5 of his friends to let them tell you all what he meant to them. The entire episode of Battle Scars S01 E04 will be dedicated to remembering Mike Starker and talking to people who are still trying to get over losing him. We Will Remember.  >>

Again with the Zsombor here, we have a new promo to get people to send in their story ideas. Speaking of which, why aren't more people contacting us with their story ideas? If you have a friend in the service or a family member whose story you want us to tell, email us through this site!

Meet Zsombor Csont, our new editor with the crazy creative ideas that this guy just loves. Here is the sweet new intro for Now that's A Knife. The name has always been a play on the scene from Crocodile Dundee when he is being robbed in a New York scene and scoffs at the young man that pulls a knife on him.
Here is the video:

I was hanging out with Bill and Simon at the last CHAS gun show and had the chance to meet up with David Good, who is a representative from the local chapter of the international group known as MVPA or the Military Vehicle Preservation Society. David was good enough to show me some of their vehicles and we produced a segment that you will see next week on Battle Scars. Thanks to the boys from MVPA and we hope you all like the little segment that we produced about your crew.  >>

Just wanted to share this link with everyone:
www.YouTube.com/HypeTVCanada

I will be posting every segment and entire shows, plus all the out takes and commercials in their entirety on this channel. We don't profess to want to own any of these shows and just want to make them available to everyone that we can to let the vets and soldiers voices be heard.

You will also find all my other corporate work on there and since this is MY blog, I think it's okay to mention that some of it is pretty good. If you can support the people that support the shows and that hire me to produce and direct their movies, please remember that all this money and resources helps to fund our endeavors. When Noralta hired me for six months, for example, that cashflow helps to pay for interviews and segments on the soldiers and vets. Such is the hand to mouth life to date and as much as I celebrate being able to just almost entirely make movies and TV, I can't wait until that is all that I do. And motion pictures. Real movies like Paul Gross. 2014.

Somehow our international team just got even more coloured. Our new editor is kangaroo Andrew Nicholls, another import from down under. Andrew is a teacher in Australia and a welcome addition to our editing crew. His maturity and ability to act under pressure and crank out the cuts is very much needed, and appreciated. Thanks Andrew and welcome aboard, Mate!  >>

Well, I recently missed the opportunity to join our Troops up north for Operation (ex) Arctic Ram. This would’ve gotten me out in the cold for two days staying in the frozen North. This operation is part of Canada's First Defence Strategy which includes protecting, defending and working safely in the North.

In Bill's days, in the real cold war, he participated in many of what was Canada's own battle to exercise sovereignty over the North. We'd all agree that having Para capability to protect Canadian assets in the North is crucial, because there is no other way to get a regiment to a location such as this as efficiently. However, having our Para qualified troops spread across Canada and across 4 regiments is hardly as practical as having everyone in one location. Also, while the regiments 3PPCLI, 3RCR and 3 Van Doos plus the Queen's Own Rifles all have the capability, only one third of the first three are actually wearing the maroon beret at a time. Many feel that having this readiness of the Canadian Airborne Regiment in Edmonton 1968 - 1978 was the very best solution for Canada.

If Canada does not defend the North, people feel that we may lose that ability to do so, and in losing that ability, may also lose our own sovereignty. We missed this opportunity, just as we have missed so many great opportunities due to financial constraints; we haven't found a program or the support to cover the costs of opportunities like this and that really is a shame.  >>

Today, we are compiling a list of all of the Seniors Residences across Metro Edmonton. We will be contacting them all over the next few days leading up to the weekend to tell them about the BattleScars TV show that is on Shaw. I am also seeing if any of the anoyone would like to have me come by and talk to the veterans and answer questions about what we are doing for the TV show, and what is ahead for us with the movie series. So far, we have 4 people who have volunteered to help out. So hopefully, we can get the word out to around 150 homes we need to reach!  >>

The schedule is in! The show will air 3 times a week on Channel 10 here in Barrhead, Westlock, Stony Plain, Parkland County, Sherwood Park, St. Albert and Edmonton.

*Wednesday 8:00 PM
Saturday 6:00 PM
Sunday 11:00 AM

*Please note that this airring may be pre-empted due to WHL Hockey scheduling. In that case, the show will be either BEFORE the WHL game or AFTER.

I will try to post changes as regularly as I can, and thanks for following my blog!  >>

Our main editor Adonay has been with me for almost 4 years now. Hard to believe! When I jump headfirst into every single task with my ridiculous optimism that could get me into trouble, it is Adonay's slow and cautious approach to editing that really makes what we do come together.

Adi is in his Masters program in film studies and while he is busy with that, I dump an incredible amount of work on him and somehow he balances it all. Adonay has the whole Paratroopers story in his head just as I do. So, it's also important that I work hard to maintain the quality of our relationship. This is difficult when things get rushed, and pressure starts to build. However, I really think that the best relationships are the ones that took a long time to season and grow.

Today, I am thinking about my pal Adonay and the great work he does to make us all look so great. Thanks Adi!  >>

As we sit here waiting for the repeat performance of a preview episode of the Battle Scars TV Series on Shaw, I think to myself that I am really starting to understand the difference between the world that I was living in and this very real world of producing for TV.

In my world, my clients are very patient. They really want to get the very best quality of product possible, and that always takes time. In case of the log home builder, for example, I extended the delivery period of our movie by 45 days just so that I could get what I considered to be very valuable shots for the movie. There was no extension in that budget and I learned the hard way that you have to make quick decisions working in this field, and you sometimes have to be satisfied to let a few things slip by without needing to fix just about everything. That's a very hard thing for me to do. So that WAS my world. And just today in this new world, I realized that instead of having as much time as needed to get my work done, we now have just short of one week to deliver each show. Sometimes, that is just not enough. However, it empowers me with the knowledge that I have to create a system where everything can be done in time and on budget.

After all, Battle Scars is a micro version of the final production for Paratroopers. If I haven't said it before, one of the primary reasons for doing this show was to create a system that would enable us to complete these movies. It's not like I have done it before. The longest movie I have ever made was just under 60 minutes and I had almost 5 months to do it. Now, I have 6 months to complete a 15 hour movie!  >> 

The Captain and I have had a lot of help winding down this old road. In the beginning, there was a crew of Airborne buddies who helped point me in the right direction. Bill Johnston and Bob Dawe stood up and asserted themselves in their own fashion.

In 2011, I met Shiva Sharif and Rui Amaral, who both helped me in entirely different ways. Shiva has a background in managing people and organizing some pretty impressive projects. Her quiet and sometimes not so quiet assistance has been invaluable. Rui has a great way with people, and being a veteran of 2 Commando is well known as a man's man. And aside from running an international security company, somehow found the time to mentor me along.

I find it strange that I would find such a kinship with both of them. Rui is like an old friend and Shiva like a wise ancient monk. So on this day, I am pleased to find a new title for them, not that it matters to them, but for me it does, as Assistant Producers. Thanks to everyone and today to my special new friends in Shiva and Rui.  >>

I've recently had the pleasure of meeting BC musician, Dennis Leclair. His song, "To Our Canadian Troops" has been played across Canada, and we will hopefully get an interview with him next time we go through Kelowna, which is planned for  next month.

I will add the video here in a bit, but in the meantime, here is the link:  >>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJmbIX53Sio&;

Layne Mitchell’s voice can be heard in documentaries, corporate narratives and radio and TV commercials across North America. Mitchell also hosts a radio show in Edmonton, and satellite shows in Fort McMurray and Medicine Hat.

Having both a grandfather who was in the Canadian Army and a father who served in the Royal Canadian Air Force, this project was of particular interest for Mitchell.  >>

Jay Lawrance has been in the television and video production industry for more than 10 years. Jay has worked on television shows such as Taste, The Beverage Show, Spirit Basics, Speakers Corner and Be Seen TV alongside editing numerous commercials for Corus Entertainment and promotional videos for Travel Alberta. He has been honing his craft of editing, motion graphics and post sound audio over time. Jay not only prides himself in having a keen eye for editing, but also a well tuned ear for post sound production.  >>

Anderson Hearing Centres are the latest sponsor to join us to support our work on the Battle Scars TV series. Karen Scheffielmaier is an audiologist who immediately saw the value in reaching out to our veterans and soldiers.

Since we really only want to have one supplier for each kind of business, I was happy to find a company like Anderson Hearing Centres that had such a great approach to doing business. They had the local marketing firm of G Squared come up with their latest advertising campaign, and we had some great materials from which to create their commercial. Here is the campaign concept:

I would like to take this moment to introduce our newest sponsor, Simply Cremations. They will be supporting us by running ads across the province and likely in BC as well.

Simply Cremations offers affordable after life care solutions including cremations, memorials and standard services. After spending a couple hours with the Funeral Director's Douglas Overend and Leslie Duncan, I was put at ease with dealing with the afterlife, as it were. It's always crept up and freaked me out. I know, however, that I would like good people to take care of me when I die, and I'd trust the small team of people at Simply Cremations.

With such a low overhead, they are able to specialize in pricing that is far less than the big companies. Also, with their combined 50 years of experience in the funeral business, they come from the big companies and know how it's all done. I didn't think I'd ever be posting a blog entry like this, but Bill is always joking about him being past God's good grace period of three score and ten, so I figured it was just about time I lightened up a bit. Tell them Dixon sent you. www.SimplyCremations.com.  >>

Now we get down to crunch time with this TV production, the precursor to the 15 hour Paratroopers movie series. Getting access to filming opportunities and people is one thing, but the real challenge comes down to editing. Editing is the assembly of the various assets for a given commercial, segment, documentary or TV show. Here is how it works:

In most cases, we will have the "A" camera materials, which is the original interview with 2 audio sources. Then next we will likely have the "B" camera which films our B Roll. I have done this in different ways in the past 5 years with segment production. Sometimes I shoot the B Camera stationary, so that we have a backup image in case there is a problem with the A Camera footage. About 1 out of every 50 shoots there will be a problem with the footage on either side. Now, for B Roll, I have been using the 5D which provides excellent High Def video with amazing optics; however, it has been quite a learnign curve pulling focus in real time. That's because unlike the stationary cameras that have auto focus, the 5D shoots video completely manually. This is another reason I am exploring lenses, so I can get back to the very basics of photogrpahy, and understanding of how to compose a shot, light a shot, choose the appropriate aperature to allow in the right amount of light, and so on. Anyone can make videos using point and shoot cameras with auto focus, but I have learned that there are many factors to making manual focus video look good. Especially when you are planning and blocking out every shot.

Aside from the A and B Roll, we will hope to have some kind of narrative that drives the story or sometimes we can use the interviewee. In addition, we try to find interesting videos, images and graphics that can help make the segment more fun to watch. So while I put the segments together, typically an editor will do all the magic stuff of assembling the show and making my work look best.  So that's what we have been doing for the past 2 months, filming, finding sponsors and editing, editing, editing...  >>

 I will be adding the videos into the blog entries here shortly.

This one was shot down in Chilliwack last year with the boys from Harry Moon's re-enactment crew. It will be running on Shaw's channels to promote our upcoming show including Spike, CNN and others.

I am wondering if I COULD really make my titles any MORE dramatic. Since there is no way for people to provide feedback, (MIKE!!!) it seems like sometimes I do this blogging for my own sake, for sanity, and perhaps to record this long and often awesome process for posterity’s sake.

So as I look at the iMac that sits beside me and stare for a moment at the face of Major Barry, his pose locked in the very last frame of the very last interview of the very last tape that I have had to digitize, it feels like we have completed the first part of the marathon. I am faced with the daunting tasks of assembling all of the interviews into their respective time periods, and finish writing the eight scripts. Also, at some point, we need to finalize and complete the production, which is the actual recording of interviews.

As I noted earlier, when my trusted editor and film art student going for his Masters, Adonay, was informed by me that we would be expanding the scope of the project from one movie to eight, and that we would interview another 200 men, it seemed like a spring inside his head popped out. Bless his soul. Boing!!!

So at this point, we could decide to wrap all production and take the safer route, or keep working through March. The former would be the smarter path since we have to deliver completed productions by November 2012. However, I need to note some severe shortcomings in our story. For example, we need to get more Van Doos. Yep! Also, the FSSF and Korean vets have not been represented as well as our other time periods. Finally, we have a shortage of RCR soldiers interviewed. PLUS we have yet to find a single FEMALE PARATROOPER to interview! So it appears that a trip out East with the Captain seems to be the only way to rectify all of this.  >>

One of things that I do besides working as much as I can on our movies and TV shows is to collect lenses and old cameras. I find a great pleasure in this. Plus it allows me to learn and understand the basics of taking photos.

As a Director without any formal film production training, I have taken close to a half million photos within a four-year stretch while I hosted a rock show, which was mostly of rock bands. Since you shoot the bands often in low light, and since they move around so much and you are shooting it all 100% manually, you really get to know your cameras. This show is what inspired me to get started in filmmaking five years ago, and this I guess is what has lead me to this point in time here and today.

So, taking photos and understanding how images are composed is the most important aspect of what filmmaking means to me today. The machinations of assembling people, interviews and production I can manage reasonably well, perhaps at times not so much, but making movies look beautiful like Private Ryan is something that truly gifted directors and directors of photography can do. So that's what I am doing for an hour a day these days. I bought a few Pentax 1.4 Takumars and retrofitted them to my full frame 5D and for the first time since I studied photography in junior high did I really and truly feel connected to my subject. It was like opening doors to a whole new reality. Putting old lenses on new cameras is quite an eye opener and puts the quality of $50,000 camera kits into the hands of young aspiring directors such as yours truly.  >>

Another interesting segment that we have in production is the Ring of Fire -an exhibit from the Military Museums of Calgary.

We were able to get an interview with the communications manager Aaron Paton. This is another one of the four non-related interviews that we have done about the Defence of Canada's West Coast during World War II. With the Japanese successfully sending over balloon bombs, the threat of a Japanese invasion was very real to the 10,000 plus soldiers stationed at the fortifications and military installations across Western Canada. The exhibit at the museum actually features one of the few balloon bombs that Canadians can see in person. This segment will appear in an upcoming episode of the Battle Scars TV series only on Shaw.  >>

Miranda joins our team of sponsors for the Battle Scars TV Series. Miranda specializes in Military Financing, which I understand can have specific aspects to it that require the knowledge of someone with her skill-set. As the wife of a PPCLI soldier, she also knows the challenges that face military families. So if you are in the service and are thinking of getting a mortgage, I invite you to consider Miranda. Tell her Dixon from the Battle Scars TV series sent you.

You may well appreciate the fact that we really want our sponsors to get a tremendous value from their sponsorship. Win-Win is always part of any business arrangement. Of course, she also handles mortgages for civilian families too!  >>

While visiting the Penticton Museum last month, I stumbled upon a really interesting story...

The Museum houses most of the military artefacts from the area, despite the relatively small area they have to house the highlights of their collection. This is not uncommon due to the fact that both the Royal Alberta Provincial Museum and Military Museums in Calgary can only house a very small portion of their collections. This indeed is a shame because when people give their treasures and artefacts, they do so in the hopes that people will be able to see them. We need to find a way to empower these museums with funds and resources to create larger exhibits and spaces.

From time to time the museum gets calls from people wanting to donate their items. When the call came in from the local hospital, museum Curator Peter Ord's first instinct was to turn down the hospital’s offer to pick up the two small suitcases that contained the entire life's possessions of their recently deceased patient. Once Ord had a look at the contents, however, he changed his mind. Inside the cases were hundreds of meticulously taken and kept photographs that assembled the puzzled of Miss Esther Whittaker who apparently died quite alone but had lived a rich and full life starting on a naval vessel in WWII. What we know of her story will appear in Battle Scars.  >>

Production continues on this segment which celebrates the usefulness of the common tourniquet; a tool that was almost forgotten after the Korean War but has found a new home in the kit of every soldier now deployed to Afghanistan. This is in part due to the sacrifices and experiences from the Tarnac Farm Incident in Kandahar. Through interviews with veteran soldiers who served in Afghanistan, we hope to gain a better understanding of how the right tools can save lives.

Arlene Johnson will be handling the research and narrative writing on this one and we will pick up interviews at the 3PPCLI lines in March with Chris Kopp, and hopefully Lorne Ford, who is currently serving in Afghanistan.  >>

We spent the last few weeks planning for our interview shoot at the Commissionaires. Thanks to Colonel (Ret'd) John Slater, MBA, CA and our own writer, Arlene Johnson, we were able to do interviews with the Commissionaires from three different eras.

We were fortunate to get interviews with three veterans: Don Murphy served in World War II, Collette Welch served in Afghanistan and Derek Mackay served in both Afghanistan, and coincidentally under our Captain (Ret'd) Bill DIckson when he commanded a local cadet Corps. Thanks to All!

The Commissionaires segment will appear in our Battle Scars TV Series.  >>

Thanks to Chris and the great people over at Congdon's Aids to Daily Living! They've become the latest sponsors for our Battle Scars TV Series. Since 1970, Congdon’s has provided Ostomy Supplies, Wound Dressings, Sports Medicine, Bathroom Safety, Incontinence Products, Independent Living Products, Orthopaedic Products, Therapist Supplies and Lymphedema garments to Albertans.  >>

I was never really 100% happy with the other artwork! Now, thanks to some great photos by our friend, Robert Bailey, and the amazing art styles of Vinz, we bring you the new original poster art for Battle Scars! We will be producing posters, and so if you want a copy, drop me a line and we will save you one.  >>

(will be posted soon)

Here for the first time anywhere is the new production by our favourite painter, and star gazer Robert Bailey. He called it Fortress Assault and produced it for us to use in the Paratroopers series. You will also see this soon on TV on Battle Scars but in the meantime, here you go...  >>

(movie will be posted here soon)

Here is another story that we are working on - narrative provided by Arlene Johnson.

Watch Battle Scars for this segment coming soon.

As long as men have been going to war, women have been left behind to wonder, worry, and too often, mourn. When Canadian servicemen joined the conflict of WWI, they adopted the practice of giving sweetheart pins to their loved ones, from mothers to wives.

These tiny tokens of affection were often worn from the time of receipt to the return of the person who gave it. In times of hardship and sacrifice, these pins symbolized a connection between people whose lives had been torn apart; keeping hearts close in spite of time and distance.  >>

CWC is our newest sponsor for the Battle Scars TV series and will be running a recruitment campaign across Edmonton and Calgary. As the saying goes, they are looking for "a few good men". If you are looking for career options in the oilfield once your time in the service is complete, why not give Renee a call and tell her that you read about the opportunity on the Paratroopers website?  >>

Paul Powers was part of the 2 Commando contingent whom I recently interviewed down in Calgary as a result of Rui Amaral's efforts to rally the Somalia vets together. Paul and I had an excellent chat and afterwards he committed to supporting the movie.

Thanks to Paul Powers and his company, PSI!  >>

Zubin Kothawala is our newest Gold sponsor. Zubin works with a company that specializes in providing communications infrastructure to both military and private sectors abroad.

Thanks to Zubin Kothawala!  >>

I have been praying for an assistant to help me wade through the miles of tapes that have to be digitized, and then have the audio ripped, then transcribed and finally sorted according to their relevance to the eight movie set.

Just in past few weeks I have purchased six more 3TB drives, which when added to our existing hard drives, puts the numbers in 40 or so tera-bytes of footage. As I prepare to hand over the materials to our editor Adonay, it's also imperative that all the materials be clearly and intelligently marked. As with everything I do, this also requires the creation of a process, because I cannot just do anything quickly, easily or conveniently.

So here is a short mile of tape that has to be digitized by yours truly since that assistant willing to work 12- 16 hours a day to get this done just has not materialized. Go figure!  >>

Our legal representative Robert E Smith managed to get us an audience with the acclaimed local composer and producer George Blondheim and provided some great insights into what I would need to do in order to get music into our movie and TV series.

Of course, in spite of all this, as is my usual fashion, I chose to do this all myself and posted a casting call to a number of musician groups across Canada. The results were astounding! We got about 120 applicants from as close as Edmonton to the Ukraine and Russia. Entire orchestras were at our fingertips if we wanted them. Some people offered to do the commission for credit and others were looking for an amazing $650 per finished minute. It was a learning experience to say the least. 

In the end, we chose a young 27 year old Luke Ertman, who aside from being an incredibly gifted young man after this writer's own heart in his dedication and tireless pursuits, but also proved that he was "in it to win it" by turning around music at a pace that matches mine. Together, we've selected pieces and he has written the main themes for our TV series. Paratroopers and Battle Scars are proud to announce LUKE ERTMAN as the official composer for the Battle Scars TV Series.  >>

Warrant Jason Yardley was on hand to help us film a segment about the PPCLI museum to which he is the curator and General Manager. Because of his unique tactical experience, he was a font of information for me. We filmed a segment on the Hall of Honour and the PPCLI Museum.  >>

Our friends at the Military Museums in Calgary were gracious enough to welcome us back to pick up all the b roll here today. I shot about 200 photos and videos of both the PPCLI Museum and the Calgary Highlanders museums.

The overall museum experience is really second to none in Canada and for the small amount they charge at the door, it is an incredible value in my humble opinion. You could spend a full 8 hours reviewing all three major museums and each one of the subsequent smaller museums and still not be able to see and experience everything. PLUS, I spent some time in the founder's gallery filming the Ring of Fire exhibit which pays homage to Canada's role in WWII defence of British Columbia.

Between what Rollie Kieth has been schooling me on, and the Penticton museum, and Don Thomas at the Esquimalt Museum, and what they have here in Calgary including an actual Japanese Balloon Bomb, the story is all slowly coming together.  

Thanks to Wayne, who is the Commissionaire, and Aaron Paton, the Marketing Director plus Tom Doucette and curator Rory Cory!  >>

And so goes on the creative battle of "Battle Scars"...

I am very picky when it comes to art and really want everything to be perfect before I release it. Kind'a like birthing a baby!

So right now, we are very quickly editing the titles, artwork, posters, music compositions and the actual segments for the first Edmonton episodes.

You know how when you watch a TV show for the first 4 or 5 episodes, the titles change? And how the intro and overall look of the show changes? It's often because they are rushed into production and spend the first few episodes figuring out what everybody likes and if the designs are working for the public.

To do this, they use focus groups, who are your average Joes getting together and providing feedback. Unfortunately, we do not have this luxury and so the first few episodes might be a bit of a gong show.  >>

Our friends at the Canadian Historical Arms Society were amongst the first people to get behind this vision and help support the movie series.

Once a year they bring their community of gun collectors together. And for the last few years, I have been invited to come down and join them.

Now that we have the TV series going on, their show gave me a great opportunity to meet some people and film some segments. The segments that we produced this weekend in support of CHAS were:

- World War II Sweetheart Pins
- The 20th Field Artillery Regiment
- The Military History Preservation Society
- Rebuilding of a Lockheed Ventura Bomber

Thanks to everyone who participated, because I always learn so much from the experience and am left wondering how in the world I landed such a sweet gig!!!  >>

Mike has upped his commitment again here with an advertisement in the Battle Scars TV series. Mike is a veteran of service with the Armed Forces and was also a sponsor of the Paratroopers documentary series.

As a jumper himself, Mike was only more than happy to help us and we were able to have his young reporter daughter sit in with us at interview sessions out at the 3PPCLI lines. She has gone on to become a reporter in Victoria and we could not be more proud of her!

Thanks Mike and if anyone wants to buy a house or sell theirs, please call our buddy Mike Muranetz or Audrey Abuan at 780-242-5229. Mike specializes in military relocations and will absolutely take great care of you. Tell him Dixon sent you!  >>

It probably sounds like a kid's cartoon show, but the biggest file sharing solution was shut down by the FBI recently and that sucks. Mega was a great way to legally send files from me to our people all over the planet. Adonay is in Toronto, Vinz is in the Philippines, and we have others all over.

Now, I have been spending days trying to figure out a new method. I have to grrr here, because I am choked! After testing a few other sites and a couple of FTP programs, we had to revert back to managing all of the files on our server and setting up multiple access levels for our people. Nothing in the world that has any long standing value is achieved easily it seems. For someone as meticulous about regiment as I am, stuff like this makes life tough.  >>

Part of the process we deal with here is working with assets like photographs and documents. Things have changed a lot since Ken Burns started his "burns effect" which he accomplished by mounting images on a board and then filming the photos, doing slow zooms, pans and animating an otherwise still photo. Of course nowadays we are able to do a lot more right in the movie editing software without filming the assets, but we do need to digitize them. Returning from this trip, I brought back with me about 1000 images that we needed to scan. They all have to be scanned one at a time. Thanks to my friend Annie for all of her help in scanning, because she made short work out of what would have taken me forever!  >>

In order for us to create what we hope will be really outstanding artwork, we rely on guys like Rob Patterson here in Alberta and Harry Moon and his crew out in BC to provide people and places to shoot photos that we use in our designs.These guys are avid collectors and usually soldiers who enjoy recreating the past and remembering the soldiers.

When I started this project, I really had no idea of just how many guys were into this, and really how COOL IT IS! I've been looking for an "entry point" where I can begin my own collection of items specific to the paratrooper theme and found it; Helmets!!

The photos here are of Hans and Abraham Mulder, thanks guys!  >>

I am decidedly in favour of positive thinking and personal empowerment. I've always considered it to be both a blessing and somewhat of a curse that there is no block between the optimism I feel and the lack of common sense about just setting forth to do all that I set out to do. While others spend their time planning and educating, both being noble causes, we have just been toiling and pushing forward.

The main setbacks for me have been lack of skills and inability to manage my time. With the compliment of amazing people currently helping to provide support, however, I feel that we are well prepared to really accomplish great things here in 2012.

Unfortunately, Shiva has advised me that while my charts indicate that this will be an unbelievable year of hard work and concentrated effort, financial support may be scarcer until 2013. My response is and has always been to celebrate the fact that the path is actually the goal. And just as the great existentialist writers Kerouac, Bukowski and Henry Miller felt that nothing of greatness is accomplished from a position of complete wholeness and complacency, my view has been that nothing worth having was ever achieved without great pains, and no battle has ever been won without tremendous sacrifice.

The photo here is of my dinner table where I do all my work. I've finally created an environment that I love working from. It's very small, humble, cozy and wonderful. In case you did not know, all of the movie and TV crew work from their homes. The articles on the table include the spoils of our most recent tour in BC and Alberta; 30 amazing veteran and soldier interviews for the movie series and 10 new filmed segments for our TV show.  >>

If you talk to enough people, and manage to listen enough to show people how much you care, eventually, you make some friends in this world.

Lewis Lavoie is someone with a tremendous voice and he is so naturally and beautifully gifted that it is indeed an honour to consider him and his brother Paul amongst my list of creative friends.

Before I ever thought of becoming a photographer let alone a director, gulp, Paul and Lewis did design and signage work for my various clients over the years. So now we come full circle as Lewis is now an internationally renowned artist and has these terrific murals all over the place.

His commissions include the Olympics and The Military Museums just to name a few . We will be producing a short movie about Lewis and the Mural of Honour that was created by Karen Koonar and now rests in the museum.  >>

The Military Museums of Calgary are featuring two outstanding exhibits that I encourage everyone to visit: A Measured Act and Ring of Fire. Both deal in this new and exciting world I have been introduced to, which is the Defence of British Columbia during World War II.

Thanks to Tom Doucette and Aaron Paton we were able to film a segment that will introduce everyone to what they are doing.  >>

Niel Gow and his family were able to join us at our makeshift studio in the Military Museums of Calgary. It has been a year or so since I had last seen Niel and unfortunately, the once razor sharp wit of a great man, whose performances have been enjoyed by many over the years, has succumbed to Alzheimer's. 

Niel took the chair yesterday and told his story with great conviction and decided articulation that was not lost on this reporter. His words, however, were in a language that was not meant for anyone but him to understand. Through the fog and smoke, his sense of humour and joie de vivre characteristically resounded. I found myself laughing out loud more than a few times with the dear man and his wife Elsie and best friend and son, Todd.

We will be remembering Niel in a living documentary testament to his life and the positive impact that his music has had on so many. If anyone reading this would like to share stories of Niel, please drop us a line.  >>

(more coming soon)

This week we were able to do interviews with seven veterans from Somalia and got the perspective from the men of 2 Commando;

Rui Amaral
Jared Clutesi
Brian Kenney
Paul Powers
Bob McGonigal
Ken Furdal
and Joseph Gilmar.

It was really nice to have the help of our good friend from down under the last few weeks. I find it amazing how small the world actually is when you start communicating to people in a medium like film. Annie was able to help with some of the production and details that I am always too busy and likely to miss.

Thanks Annie!  >>

George Couture spends time helping out and giving tours at the PPCLI Museum in Calgary's Military Museums. We were able to do an interview with the para qualified veteran who served in both World War II and later in Korea.  >>

The Calgary Highlanders are the reserves descendant of the famed WWI rifles regiment known as the 103rd Calgary Rifles. It was this regiment that was featured in the movie Passchendaele by the outstanding Canadian filmmaker, Paul Gross. Interestingly, Paul has committed to narrate a movie for us and has the distinction of being a writer, director and producer of the largest budgeted Canadian movie in history.

I digress. Captain Peter J. Boyle gave us a tour of the Calgary Highlanders Museum and we will be producing a segment about them for the Calgary episodes of Battle Scars.  >>

The Marriott in Calgary will be providing us with a place to stay while we are in Calgary. Their hotel is located right in the heart of Calgary and after 15 days of driving was a luxurious respite from the mountain driving and long days.

Special thanks to Joseph Clohessy and our new friends at the Marriott. Please consider staying there next time you are in Calgary and tell them where you heard about their support for the military and people like our TV and film crew!  >>

More coming soon as I can get back online... 12:28am and filming starts in 8 hours. brb

(more info coming)

  (more info coming)

Rui Amaral learned first hand how difficult it can be to sit around and wait while Bill and I waded through all the normal rigamarole we go through at location after location... First we need to secure the area where we will do our interviews, set up our gear and then workout the logistics of where our staging area will be, and who will greet, and so on. Sometimes, the simplest thing like having a chair that will look good on camera can provide some considerable issues. The best chair to date would have to be a prime ministers chair we found at the Pentictom Museum; tall and stately. (here is a shot of myself, Rui and Bill when we still had the energy left in us to smile, barely)

Thanks to the Alberta and BC winter weather, I can honestly say that my knuckles are now permanently tattooed a perfect ivory white!

Driving back through the Roger's Pass afforded many wonderful opportunities for a challenge. The plus one weather mixed with white out snow was just awesome; and to make matters even more delightful, I couldn't make it to Banff to enjoy the comforts of a world famous lodge, and instead enjoyed the icy floors of Golden, BC.

The room had not been pre-heated and smelled like old cat urine mixed with Spam meat substitute...The bed was circa WWII and about as hard as sleeping on the ground. However, after the BC drive, the $69 rate was more than I could resist.

(More about Peter Ord and the documentary that we shot for the museum.)

(more info coming)