Videographers gather tape at the Cave and Basin National Historic Site. Photo: Laura Vanags.

Centre boot camp kicks off Parks Canada videography project

Jeff Bordal is standing in the birthplace of Canada’s national park system, an underground cavern with a steady stream of warm, sulphurous water dripping from its ceiling into an aquamarine pool. When this hidden hot spring was discovered in 1875 by three off-duty railroad workers, it planted the seed for Canada’s commitment to identify, protect, and promote wild places for all Canadians. But for now, Bordal is just trying to centre this one important spot, the heart of Banff’s Cave and Basin National Historic Site, in the viewing screen of a small, handheld video camera. 

Bordal is one of 32 young videographers taking part in a five-day boot camp offered by The Banff Centre in a unique partnership with Parks Canada. After the boot camp, Bordal and his colleagues, chosen from more than 900 applicants, will head out to National Parks, national historic sites, and national marine conservation areas across the country to participate in a new initiative Parks Canada is calling The Greatest Summer Job in Canada. Their mandate: to act as video-reporters and tell the stories of park places, people, and experiences. 

Parks Canada CEO Alan Latourelle championed the concept at the project launch at The Banff Centre in May. “I am extremely proud that Parks Canada imagined this unique way to engage Canadian youth in the realization of our mandate. Their enthusiasm and creativity will help us better connect with young Canadians and open new communication channels to bring Parks Canada closer to the population.” 

“I have so many ideas about what I want to say in the films, and it’s just a matter of learning the skills to do it.” 

“I was ready for an adventure,” says Jeff Bordal, who lives in Port Alberni, B.C., and will be stationed at the Coastal British Columbia field unit, which includes the Gulf Islands and Pacific Rim National Parks Reserves. Like his 32 colleagues, he’ll spend the summer exploring the parks, filming and editing short films, and posting the results online. In November, the best films by the videographers will be available for viewing at the Banff Mountain Film Festival. “It’s a huge learning experience for me,” he adds. 

Designed by the Centre’s Film and Media department to upgrade the videographers’ skills in video, editing, sound, and storytelling, the boot camp was run under the guidance of experienced filmmakers and Adobe experts, like local adventure filmmaker and photographer Pat Morrow, and Ava Karvonen, founder of Reel Girls Media. 

Participants were given quick courses in project management, audio recording, and editing, Adobe editing software, interview skills, camera operation, and finding and telling stories effectively. They were in Banff in part because the project celebrates the 125th anniversary of Banff National Park and the parks system, but also because it’s an investment for Parks Canada in new technologies and new forms of communication, areas of expertise that mesh well with the strengths of The Banff Centre. 

For Chris Paetkau, a student in communications at Red River College in Winnipeg who will be stationed in Manitoba’s Riding Mountain National Park field unit, the boot camp was a worthwhile refresher. But the most compelling thing about the Greatest Summer Job was the opportunity to get out of the city, and away from technology, as much as a videographer can. “I’m very interested in developing less city-centric points of view,” he says. “Parks provide a respite from civilization, and I want to capture that the best I can.” 

One of the keys to the project will be to convey the experience of the outdoors, and have it resonate on viewers’ computer screens. Many of the students applied for the job with strong backgrounds in videography and editing. Others have skills in filmmaking and new media, but few have extensive experience of the parks, so they have the same stories to discover as first-time visitors. 

Banff National Park interpreter Heather Dempsey has told the videographers that Parks Canada would like viewers to see the parks and reserves through fresh eyes when they watch online. 

That won’t be difficult for Harmony Umwali, travelling to New Brunswick for the first time to join the field unit at the Bay of Fundy. “I’m looking forward to the challenge, and doing something I’ve never done before,” she says. “I have so many ideas about what I want to say in the films, and it’s just a matter of learning the skills to do it.”Originally from the Congo, she’s been studying at the University of Calgary, and has visited Banff National Park a few times. But New Brunswick, and Fundy National Park, will be a completely original experience. “I had to Google that,” she says.