Welcome! We’re proud and excited to be the first video production company in Kingston to offer cinematography! We’ve actually been testing the market over the past year, steadily growing our client base purely through word of mouth. The response thus far has been incredibly encouraging. Clients appreciate the higher level of video quality compared to traditional videography, and we offer our services at competitive rates too. We didn’t set out to be ordinary videographers and our clients see that in our work… in fact, we never set out to make a business of it either… but I’ll get to that in a moment.
My personal fascination with cinematography stems from both my roots in downhill skiing and my interest in the BBC’s hit show, Top Gear. As a kid, I grew up on the slopes of mountains like Mont Tremblant where I spent winters carving turns with family, which drew me into the world of Warren Miller flicks and all sorts of epic ski & snowboard films. For the record, I think the ski & snowboard film industry is filled with some of the most creative, innovative, young filming talent on the planet, as each new filmmaker tries to outdo the last. It’s not enough to simply go out and film someone jumping off a huge kicker… you’ve gotta push the limits of your equipment in some of the most adverse conditions in order to find the coolest shots. Then edit it together in a way like no one ever dreamed of in order to stay ahead. All on a tight budget, or sometimes no budget at all.
I’ve been running another venture over at Tremblant360.com for a few years now, where I’ve gained considerable experience filming around the mountain and learned a great deal in the process, both about film production and myself. I can spend the entire day (sometimes an entire night) out in the freezing cold filming, or find myself collecting shots in the middle of a stormy blizzard, yet I feel like I’m on an epic adventure and love every minute of it. I like to think of Tremblant360 as a testing ground for North Summit Productions… if we can film at -30′ celsius for hours on end, we can probably handle your next shoot.
At the other end of the cinematic spectrum, I’m a huge fan of the BBC’s jaw-dropping automotive series Top Gear. Among other things, Tremblant360 gave me something to film and Top Gear drove me (no pun intended) in the direction I wanted to take my filming style. As the BBC’s most popular show, they’ve managed to attract a huge global audience, many of which aren’t even into cars. The show prides itself on breathtaking cinematic quality and truly stunning edits that really captivate your attention. Everything I’ve learnt about cinematography and film production has been in pursuit of achieving that level of cinematic video quality.
Which brings me back to the bit about the business. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to win a film festival in San Francisco, have work featured on television across North America, and formed numerous positive relationships along the way with big players in some major industries… all before I ever thought about making a business out of it. It was purely for the love of it. How things got started at the beginning of the year is a prime example. Last winter (early 2010), I was out walking around Kingston looking for interesting things to film and came across members of the Queen’s University rowing team who were fundraising on campus for Right to Play, a charity that benefits children through sport. Someone from Queen’s Marketing happened to tap me on the back while I was filming and asked if they could see my work. A few weeks later, I had a filming contract with Queen’s for a major project they were working on, which led to more projects around campus. I think that story speaks volumes about the nature of North Summit Productions. We’d still be out there making great films and videos, even if we weren’t being paid. We absolutely love what we do and we’re driven by that passion.
- Chris
