A new film project is giving local seniors a unique way to explore their hometown.
Jean O’Malley and Trudi Watson took part in an adventure around Niagara-on-the-Lake as part of the filming of a pilot episode for a lifestyle television show, “Barely Local.”
The show is a project from fourth-year media students at Toronto Metropolitan University, which features seniors exploring small towns across Canada and checking out all the popular spots.
O’Malley said getting to work on the project with her granddaughter and producer Hannah Barker was a great experience.
“It was super. Very enjoyable,” she said. “We weren’t quite sure what to expect. But we all enjoyed it tremendously.”
The seniors visited the Shaw Festival Theatre, Fort George and Reif Estate Winery.
“The main three things: Wine tasting, the theatre and Fort George,” said Watson, who had fun taking part in the play re-enactment in the park — a playful nod to the Shaw theatre, she said.
“Shaw would not let them film anywhere in the theatre,” she said. “So that’s when they decided, ‘Well, we’ll do our own play in the park.'”
They borrowed uniforms from a high school one of them attended. It made for a good, lighthearted time, said Watson.
Barker said the team paid a $50 rental fee to film outside the Shaw Festival Theatre using the outdoor band shell and approximately $450 to film at Fort George for the day. Their visit to Reif was a trade-off — the students provided footage in exchange for a tour and wine tasting.
She often visits her grandparents Jean and Ken O’Malley, said O’Malley.
“[Barker and her friends] come down for the weekend, spend time, wander around the town and go for walks,” she said.
Through these frequent visits and her media studies, Barker said she noticed a gap in Canadian media.
“None of us, really, could think of a show that talks about Canadian small towns,” she said.
After their pitch was accepted in January, the team spent the semester focused on pre-production, followed by a summer of planning and a fall/winter of production.
Watson said the project successfully captured the essence of NOTL, especially through its filming of the main street and historic houses.
She said it could help someone who’s new to town learn to appreciate its beauty and know where to go and what to see.
The team secured sponsorships for staff lunches from three nearby restaurants — Avo and Co., Irish Harp Pub and Budapest Bakeshop, said Barker.
“One of our big production costs was going to be feeding our cast and crew. There were about 16 of us,” she said.
In return, sponsors were offered credits, social media promotion and the potential inclusion of the restaurants’ food or branding in their footage, she said.
Once the pilot is edited, the team will pitch it to TV broadcasters with the hopes of it getting picked up and potentially inspiring other projects, said Barker.
“It has the ability to branch off into something, too,” she said.
The episode will then be available to view either on the team’s Youtube page or through a broadcaster or external company.
To keep up to date with where “Barely Local” will go next, you can follow the team on their Instagram, @barelylocaltv.
The cast of NOTL residents includes Jean O’Malley, Ken O’Malley, Trudi Watson, Earle Waugh, Glenna Collins and Derek Collins.
