Conflix The Podcast

Today's episode is going to be a bit different as we recorded this one live on camera in our new Theatre with a full audience in attendance.  As for today's guest, the name Tyler Emms has been synonymous with the North Ontario Film industry for quite some time and with good reason too!  Tyler has worked his way up to Key Grip with Film credits on all the biggest shows to come out of the North.  We had the chance to invite Tyler to our brand new Theatre to discuss how he broke in the business and reflect on some of his biggest film credits including Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City, Indian Horse and Robert Egger's The Witch! 

Anyone who was a student from the time of Dennis Austin truly understands one statement, "Film is a River".  Dennis Austin taught film here at Conflix for several years before becoming the Co-Ordinator of the program where he helped create and oversee the massive expansion that has made Conflix what it is today.  In this episode we chart Dennis' varied journey in film which has led to all over the world, making bonds and learning from more communities than we could count and of course ending his journey here at Conflix in Thunder Bay. 

Film and Wrestling fans rejoice as we step back inside the squared circle for Part 2 of our interview with Andy Appelle!  Having just wrapped Operation Avalanche, Andy and the same team come together again to make one of the greatest Canadian shows of all time, Nirvanna the Band The Show where Andy would serve as writer, editor and cinematographer.  We then talk about Psycho Gorman, Andy's next project as Cinematographer and then we end with a swerve...Wrestling!  Andy would find himself working alongside Jason Eisener and Evan Husney as Cinematographer on Vice's Dark Side of the Ring and then directing the epic show Tales from the Territories and now directing the newest season of Dark Side of the Ring which is airing now on Crave.  

Andy Appelle was born and raised in Thunder Bay and actually started his film career acting in Conflix films before heading to Toronto to start his career as a successful Writer, Editor, Cinematographer and Director!  In this first part of our interview we trace Andy's time acting in Thunder Bay, directing his first short film Little Matthew, landing a spot on the crew of the Slamdance winning film The Dirties and we will end with his role as cinematographer on the brilliant feature film Operation Avalanche!

Growing up in Thunder Bay, Tammy started her journey in the film industry by studying at Conflix before moving to Vancouver and working in the Camera Department.  One could mention film credits like Insomnia or Rat Race or maybe televiosn shows like When Calls the Heart or Upload and be regarded as a massive success in this industry but Tammy has accomplished so much more including the honour of being Canada's first female Steadicam Operator!  Tammy recently joined us for a chat about her career and her next chapter in the film industry, Directing!

In this second part of our interview with Steve Johnson, we dive deep into behind the scenes on some more projects he has worked on in VFX including Jurassic World: Dominion, Sonic 2 and The Mother which just released on Netflix in May.

Born in Thunder Bay and a graduate of Conflix, Steve Johnson has been killing it in the VFX world for many years now with more credits than we can count.  So much in fact that we had to split this interview into 2 parts.  In this first part we trace Steve's journey to success in the world of VFX, ending with his first major film credit War for the Planet of the Apes! 

Alexis Hoxar has been working in the Sound Department professionally for several years now.  Starting her journey, working her way up from Trainee up to Sound Mixer on countless Films and TV shows.  Alexis recently stopped by to discuss her path to success, starting with her time here at Conflix at Confederation College to where she is today.  You can also watch her most recent work on the CBC Gem mini series Essex County which coincidently stars Thunder Bay's Kevin Durand.

Ryan La Via is an award-winning filmmaker based out of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.  Ryan recently visited us to chat about his filmmaking career in Thunder Bay.  Starting from his early days at our Conflix Film Production program here at Confederation College to directing his hockey documentary "Cup Confidential" in 2020 and his most recent project "A Sobering Story".