THE CREATIVE TEAM

Daniel Grant – Director of Photography
Daniel Grant’s cinematography is defined by a rich and precise visual style. His work has screened everywhere from TIFF to Berlinale to Sundance. Raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the award-winning cinematographer developed an interest in image-making at a young age through still photography. Awards: The 2013 CSC award for this work on “The Real Inglorious Bastards”, a 2011 nomination for his work on the drama “Hangnail” and a 2011 Gemini Award nomination for the documentary “Love at the Twilite Motel”.

Joshua See – Wildlife Cinematography
A Toronto based cinematographer, filmmaker and biologist. Josh has worked in remote locations in Africa, South Asia, Europe, the Caribbean, North America, and Central and South America. His background in ecological fieldwork gives him a unique advantage in filming wildlife and telling stories of the natural world. Joshua has worked with The Royal Ontario Museum, Alternatives Journal, Orion Magazine, WWF, The Globe and Mail, TVO, CBC, PBS, ARTE, Youth Without Shelter, ArtStarts and the Iwokrama Forest.
www.joshuasee.ca

Amar Arhab – Director of Photography
Amar Arhab has had a long and distinguished career as a Director of Photography and camera man working in feature documentary, cinema and television. His credits include: “Bir Hakeim” 1942 (2012), “Ravi Shankar, l’extraordinaire leçon” (2011), “Le grand voyage” (2003), “Circus Baobab” (2000), “Notes interdites” (1996), “Les enfants du voyage” (1995), “Au Sud du Sud” (1991), “Djembéfola” (1990), “Il Florilégio” (1998). Amar was born and lives in Paris.

Laurent Charbonnier – Wildlife Cinematographer
A well known wildlife cinematographer and filmmaker, Charbonnier has been practicing this profession for over 30 years – or more accurately this vocation – the natural evolution of his teenage passion for wildlife. Winning numerous awards as a Producer, Director and DOP, Laurent Charbonnier has made more than sixty wildlife documentaries and participated in the shooting of feature films such as: “Les Enfants Du Marais” by Jean Becker, “Le Dernier Trappeur”, “Belle et Sebastien” by Nicolas Vanier, “Winged Migration”, “Ocean” by Jacques Perrin. He was nominated for a César for his film “Les Animaux Amoureux”.

Jason Milligan – Sound Recordist
Jason Milligan is a two time Gemini Nominated Sound Recordist (for “The Take” and “Memory for Max, Claire, Ida, and Company”) based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who specializes in recording sound on location for Documentaries, Lifestyle, and Reality Programs.   Jason has travelled extensively around the world and worked in Argentina, China, France, India, Japan, Jordan, the Netherlands, Peru, Saudi Arabia, St. Vincent, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
www.documentarysound.ca

Eamonn O’Connor – Picture Editor
Eamonn O’Connor is an award-winning filmmaker and documentary editor. His credits include Bruce McDonald’s award –winning film “Music From The Big House”; the critically acclaimed and award winning mini-series also directed by Bruce McDonald, “Yonge Street”; “Rock and Roll Stories”; Rob Stewart’s award-winning film “Revolution”, Albert Nurenburg’s film “Laughology” and; Alan Zweig’s “15 Reason’s To Live”, both Hotdocs official selections. Eamonn is a graduate of Queen’s University and the Advanced Film and Television program at Sheridan College. He lives in Toronto with his wife Kristen, their children Rhys and Nieve, and their dog Jack.

Phil Strong – Music Composer and Sound Designer
An award-winning composer and sound designer, Phil Strong is distinguished by the variety of genres in which he works: film, dance, theatre, music performance and art installation. He has over 25 credits as a film composer and is a two-time Gemini Award winner. He produced acclaimed albums and soundtracks with his partner Laurel MacDonald, and notably Cape Breton singer, Mary Jane Lamond. Lamond’s CD, Landuil, arranged and produced by Strong, won the 2006 East Coast Music Award’s “Album of the Year”. Phil won a Gemini for music in “Cat Ladies” which was edited and produced by Sally Blake. For more than twenty years, Phil has collaborated with The Messenger Director Su Rynard.
www.phil-strong.com

Daniel Pellerin – Mixer
Daniel Pellerin has worked in sound and music post production for film and television for the past 32 years, as recording and re-recording mixer / engineer, sound design and music supervisor / editor. Throughout his career, he has mixed all of Atom Egoyan’s feature films, including “Chloe” and “The Sweet Hereafter”. He has also supervised and mixed the sound for many of Bruce MacDonald’s and Clement Virgo ‘s feature films, as well as Deepa Mehta on her feature film, “Heaven on Earth” and Istvan Szabo’s feature films “Sunshine” and “Being Julia”. In the documentary field, he has worked on sound design and mixes for film makers as diverse as Brigitte Berman, Peter Lynch, Velcrow Ripper, Nettie Wild, Nik Sheehan, Ron Mann, Lindalee Tracey, Peter Raymont, Tim Wolokatiuk, Barry Stevens, Peter Mettler, Min Sook Lee, Ric Bienstock, Simcha Jacobovichi, Sarah Goodman and Liz Marshall to name a few. 

Mark Alberts – Visual Effects – Electric Square
Mark Albert’s career has touched on motion capture direction, graphic design, and VFX creative director for many broadcast television projects. He has contributed to the TV series “The Nature of Things”, “Things That Move”, “Canadian Made”, “What’s In A Name”, and “The Polar Sea”. He has designed the visual effects and animation for the films 2009 Hot Docs Special Jury Prize winner, “Waterlife”, “When Dreams Take Flight”, “Wakening”, and “Nocturne”. He currently resides in Toronto where he runs his visual effects studio Electric Square.
www.electricsquare.net

SONGBIRDSOS PRODUCTIONS INC.’S MEMBERS

John Kelly – Consulting Financial Producer & Business Affairs
John Kelly is an environmentalist and entertainment lawyer specializing in international co-production financing and other complex film financing models. His expertise includes documentary production, social innovation, UN partnerships and impact investment. He also founded Youth Climate Report.

Joanne Fishburn – Consultant / Impact Producer
Joanne works as a creative consultant with filmmakers and NGOs to build outreach and engagement strategies around a variety of media projects. This work includes building strategic partnerships, fundraising and sponsorship opportunities. Her producing credits include “Fezeka’s Voice” which won Best International Documentary at Tri-Continental Festival 2009. As an Impact Consultant she has worked with “Pig Business” (UK), “Cyber-Seniors” (CAN) and was involved in the early development of Passion Pictures “Earth: A New Wild” which recently aired on PBS (PBS/Nat Geo/ The Nature Conservancy).

Nina Beveridge – Website and Social Media Manager
Project Manager Nina Beveridge is the Queen Bee at Interactive/Film/Television media company Beevision Productions. She currently specializes in providing interactive consulting and producing services to documentary productions. Most recently she produced the cross media documentary entitled “The Ghosts In Our Machine”, with social issue/auteur filmmaker Liz Marshall. “The Ghosts In Our Machine” was commissioned by documentary channel and premiered at Hot Docs 2013.
www.beevision.com

Diana Warmé – Line Producer / Production Manager
Diana Warme joined SongbirdSOS Productions Inc. in 2013. Previously she worked closely with filmmaker Jamie Kastner as a Line Producer and Co-Producer (since 2003). Their most recent documentary “The Secret Disco Revolution”, premiered at TIFF in 2012. Her other work in documentary has included collaborations with Shelley Saywell, Deborah Parks, John Kastner, Sarah Sprinks, Jari Osborne, Ann Shin and Sun-Kyung Li.

Jenny Armour – Brand Strategy and Design
Jenny Armour is an art director, brand designer and communications consultant working predominantly within the arts and culture sector in Canada. She specializes in narrative and visual engagement with notable clients such as Soulpepper Theatre and Plan Canada.
www.jennyarmour.com

AFAR Advanced Facility for Avian Research
Special mention for the songbirds and team at AFAR. The super slow motion images of songbirds in flight, including the Indigo bunting, Baltimore Oriole, Swainson’s Thrush, Wood Thrush, Robin, Catbird and warblers were filmed over three days in London Ontario at AFAR. The birds were filmed in the world’s first hypobaric climate controlled wind-tunnel under the supervision of Dr. Christopher Guglielmo ecologist, biologist and Associate Professor at Western University. Guglielmo and his team cared for the birds during filming.  No birds were harmed during filming and all the birds were successfully released back into the wild.

Special Mention also goes to these excellent nature photographers who shared some of their original footage with us.
Michael Male,  Bird Films
Hugo Kitching
Garth McElroy Jim Zipp, Wild Bird Videos