Planet In Focus Profiles Eggplant Picture and Sound
Local post-production company, Eggplant Picture and Sound, have generously donated video, audio and digital post-production management services to the winner of the Green Pitch Competition at this year’s Planet In Focus Environmental Film Festival (PIF).
“We are looking forward to building a relationship with Planet in Focus, recognizing and supporting the cause that they stand for. ” said co-founder, Bruce Fleming, when asked about what he was looking forward to at this year at PIF, “It’s the people behind it too – festival General Manager, Jordana Aarons, has worked with us on several other projects, both dramatic and documentary.”
“We take fresh water for granted here in Ontario especially with the Great Lakes,” he says, “but other parts of the world really need water filtration systems and government movement to stop the pollution. We are working on a show called Water Brothers where the hosts look at challenges that are all around the world with water. ”
Fleming and his business partner, Paul Moyer, have been operating Eggplant Picture and Sound locally in the Toronto region for the last 18 years. The duo run a bustling business just off of Sherbourne and King in one of the “greener buildings” in the city. Two of their biggest environmental concerns include clean breathing air and clean drinking water. “We’re fairly fortunate here in Canada,” explains Fleming, “but in some of the larger cities in China and Japan, the air is terrible for breathing and something really has to be done about it.” Moyer focused on the subject of clean water: “We take fresh water for granted here in Ontario especially with the Great Lakes,” he says, “but other parts of the world really need water filtration systems and government movement to stop the pollution. We are working on a show called Water Brothers where the hosts look at challenges that are all around the world with water. ”
Eggplant Picture and Sound offers a full range of post-production services ranging from audio, video, graphics, visual effects, and music. “We are currently working on a number of TV series: one for CBC called Hello Goodbye; one called Snapshots; and now TVO’s Water Brothers,” says Fleming (Alex & Tyler Mifflin are premiering a Water Brother episode at this year’s festival). “We just delivered a film to TIFF called I am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House – a horror film directed by Osgood Perkins.” The company also stays busy with recording and design for animation and documentaries, including All Governments Lie, which debuted at TIFF this year, and The History of Advertising.
While they have been a part of the Toronto film scene for quite some time, Moyers explains that they are constantly evolving to meet industry demands. “Being a service provider is more and more competitive and challenging. There are new deals being made where we are reinvesting back and co-producing properties to address the financial gap, meeting the shortfall in funding sources so often challenging a production,” he says. “We often help productions finish a product for a participation position.”
This year Moyer will be on hand as jury member to select the winner of PIF’s Green Pitch Competition. The winner will receive monetary awards and in-kind donated production services to help produce an environmentally focused documentary with the opportunity to screen their film at next year’s festival.
