Oliver Drew
Director

Oliver graduated from the University of Victoria in 1994 with a BSc. in Economics.  After graduation he moved to Alberta and worked in the IT industry. After many years of travelling and working with large multinational companies Oliver returned to Victoria in 2005 to settle down, start a family and run the family business, the Pacific Design Academy.
On January 19, 2009, Oliver started the Pacific Film & New Media Academy (PFMA) from the ashes of the Victoria Motion Picture School.  Resurrecting a business has been challenging, rewarding and a lot of hard work.  Working with such a dedicated and talented group of administrators and instructors has been a great experience.
 
PFMA is a fantastic school offering a diverse selection of media programs, professional instructors, dedicated students and located right here on beautiful Vancouver Island. I am dedicated to building community partnerships and improving our facilities and equipment with the end result of providing fulfilling and gainful employment for our graduates.
 
Welcome to the Pacific Film & New Media Academy.

After spending 2007 and most of 2008 administering the 3D Animation & Video Game Design Department at Pacific Film & New Media Academy’s sister school Pacific Design Academy. Susan has accepted the role of Assistant Director, with her unique hands on approach and an eye for detail, Susan over sees all operations of the school from marketing to instructing. With an impressive resume which includes more than 25 diplomas in business administration and A+ Certification for pc support.

Subsequent to serving as administrator for the 3D Animation & Video Game Design Department at Pacific Design Academy Susan owned and operated a successful online career service company that provided the following services; resumes, cover letters and online career coaching.

Susan has also spent more than 9 years working in the Private Career College industry most notably as an Employment Co-coordinator and a licensed Head Facilitator/ Student Services. 

I started my career at CBC Television in Vancouver in the early 70’s. During my time at CBC I worked in various departments including; News, Current Affairs, Children’s’ programming, Drama, Variety and Sports.

After 16 years of Television work I moved to Victoria and became Film Commissioner for Victoria and the Islands. However, after awhile I missed the action of being on set, and returned to the Film Industry, and work as a Directors Guild of Canada 1st. Assistant Director. During the next few years I worked on Feature Films, Episodic Television and Movies of the Week.

Currently I work as the Head of the Motion Picture Production Department at PFMA. I love the work as it allows me to keep an active foot in the door of the Film industry, while at the same time continuing to mentor young people. I also get the chance to do some freelance work still. Most recently I was a Field Producer for APTN at NAIG.

If you are considering Film School, either to jump-start a career or to upgrade your skills, then I highly encourage you to look closely at PFMA. We have small class sizes with successful Graduates. I hope to see you here at the Pacific Film & New Media Academy. If you have any questions just give me a call!

David Springbett
Interviewing Skills and Concept to Completion

Since joining the film and television industry in 1966, David Springbett has worked as a director, producer, editor,
and sound recordist – as an independent (Asterisk Productions) , with  the National Film Board's Ontario Region
Studio,  the CBC, and for other production companies.
David Springbett’s films have combined decades of social documentary experience with science, environment and
natural history programs.  Whether exploring the mysterious thousand mile voyage of the monarch butterfly, the
success of community forestry in the Honduran jungle, or the technology behind hand-made paper in Nepal, these
films have connected people, the science, and technology.
His award-winning productions have taken him to over 32 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas and have
been broadcast on television networks around the world including the CBC, Discovery Channel Canada, Discovery
Channel International, ZDF, PBS, National Geographic Channels, and Channel Four England.

Kirk spent seventeen years working in radio for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. For the past five years he has
been the Technical Director at MediaNet where he teaches basic film making  skills, audio production and Final Cut workshops.  He is the producer 
creator of the popular MediaNet program "EcoDoc". Kirk has been the Technical Director of MediaNet's "Dance for the Camera" program for the past four years.
He has created videos for the BC Women Artists web site, worked with Ekos Communications on numerous web
videos and a recent companion DVD to an ecology text book for Oxford University Press. Recent projects include DOP
and Editor for BellyFit Earth (DVD) and post production audio and video for the companion DVD to the book "The
Bishop or the King" by Ron Corcoran. He is the co-ordinator and publicist for Victoria Independent Film Producers
Take 2 Series and is the documentation videographer for TriPod Dance Collective.

With over 28 years in the broadcast industry, Laurie Carr-Hall has a wealth of producing and directing experience.
After many years producing programs and documentaries in Canada and abroad, as well as directing live studio
productions, Laurie turned her talents to producing multi-media promotional campaigns and commercials for television.
Her specialties include all types of video production from inception to completion, as well as marketing,
communications, and event planning.
As well as practical experience producing and directing for television, Laurie has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the
University of Victoria and a Diploma in Communications from the University of South Africa. She is also a freelance
writer with articles published in the Times Colonist, Broadcast Dialogue and other industry publications.
Laurie has conducted workshops for university classes, conferences and media groups and been a mentor to many.
She is currently enjoying the role of Teaching Assistant at the Pacific Film and New Media Academy in Victoria.

Jeff graduated from UVic with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree specializing in Theatre.  Following 2 years as a Lighting Designer with Club Med, he completed the Advanced Television and Film Program at Sheridan College in Ontario. 
Since then, Jeff has worked with Claremont Camera in North Vancouver, and as a Camera Trainee and Second
Camera Assistant in a number of Vancouver and Victoria based film productions.  He is also happy to be an on-going volunteer for the Victoria Film Festival as a Stills photographer.  Jeff recently completed his Bachelor of Education at
UVic specializing in Media Arts, Visual Arts, and Drama.
Jeff currently lives in Sidney and is a Teacher-on-Call with the Saanich School District.  He is looking forward to his
first year as a teaching assistant with Pacific Film and New Media Academy

Kimara Brilling
Teaching Assistant

Working in the film industry has been a wonderful creative outlet for Kimara. With a background in journalism, theatre and dance, she brings a sense of playful exploration to her visual style of storytelling. After graduating from the Vancouver Film School in 2002, Kimara chose to pursue a career in editing. She has worked on documentaries for companies like Global, CBC and Discovery. She has also enjoyed being a part of the comedy world for CTV and showcase.
Working on an animated feature for Rainmaker Animation sent Kimara off in a new and exciting direction. She is now focused on Children’s educational and entertainment media. Kimara belongs to an active community of independent filmmakers in Vancouver and believes in sharing a positive energy and creating quality works.

Bobbi Charlton’s commitment to Acting spans nearly 25 years and over 75 film, television, and theatre productions. Her credits include television Co-Starring roles on Cold Squad and the anthology series The Outer Limits, a recurring Co-Starring role on the Sci-Fi series Andromeda as the “Abyss” along with a recurring Co-Starring role as “The Boogeyman” on Nightman. She also provided her talents for productions such as, Hollywood Off-Ramp, Alienated, Poltergeist, Cupid, The Sentinel, Viper, The Commish, Neon Rider, Cold Feet, and Seven Days, to name a few. Bobbi continues to be devoted to helping new independent film-makers realize their dreams and has provided her experience and knowledge for numerous productions including such features as “Fate” and “The Guardian” both in a Co-Starring role.
Ms. Charlton’s other passion is teaching. Her desire is to help young artists explore and develop their own style, “method”, through a variety of techniques working in a holistic, organic way so that they can free themselves from the clutter in their mind, “The Trash”, and utilize their natural senses in a truthful reactive way placing emphasis on “self and the role”. 

Althea McAdam, CAEA / ACTRA / UBCP / SOCAN
Audition/business

Althea McAdam, Actor/Singer/Songwriter/Pianist/Dancer, has performed in over 100 Film, TV, & Theatre Productions during a professional career that has spanned more than 3 decades.  Her on-camera credits include, most recently, the Television Mini-Series “Seven Deadly Sins” which was filmed here in Victoria in the fall of 2009, to be premiered on the Lifetime Network in 2010. She has acted on projects for Universal Artists, Paramount Pictures, MGM, Atlantis, NBC, Fox, & CBC, and appeared in episodes of Wiseguy, Palace Guard, The Sentinel, The Outer Limits, Cold Squad, and The Addams Family.  Her theatre work has taken Althea on-tour throughout Canada and the North Eastern United States appearing in such venues as The Bayview Playhouse, (Toronto Ontario), Theatre London, (London Ontario), The Queen Elizabeth theatre, (Vancouver B.C.), and The Belfry Theatre, (Victoria B.C.). She has also worked extensively in Voice-Over for Animation as a Casting Director & Assistant Director and has been coaching young performers in acting for camera for over 10 years.

Graham lives in Victoria, BC in Fernwood with his loving girlfriend of 2 years and their crazy white cat. Graham is originally from Penticton, BC in the Okanagan Valley. He moved to Victoria in 1997 and graduated from Reynolds Secondary School in 2000.
Graham graduated from the Center for Arts and Technology in Kelowna, BC with a diploma in animation and visual effects.
He is a 3D Generalist with a focused talent in modeling texturing and animation and a passion for for the traditional arts, painting, clay and life drawing. His past works include 3D cut scenes For the Royal Tyrell Museum in Drumheller, AB, and is currently working on modeling, texturing and rendering 3D maps for a local company. His interests include reading, games, cards, art, hiking, family and friends.
“After teaching the second half of our part time Digital 3D Animation level 1 program, I was very impressed with the students finished product. The students learned more with in a 36 hour focused program and exceeded my expectations.”