Devan Scott got the knack for filmmaking while at Heritage Woods secondary.
He took a few movie-making classes as a student at the Port Moody school and even handed in some video assignments to get through French.
But films were just a side thing.
Until he got through his first year at Simon Fraser University.
After a year in computer science, Scott stopped his major because he lost interest in coding. On a whim, he enrolled in the post-secondary institution’s film program and was accepted.
In 2013, Scott graduated with a bachelor of fine arts in film and now splits his career primarily as a director, cinematographer and colourist, the latter for post-production work.
For his new project, Norman Norman, which was picked to roll at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) next month, Scott was tasked to three roles: producer, cinematography and colourist.
The seven-minute flick, which revolves around a 16-year-old Shih Tzu and its master who spends the night on the computer while thinking about genetic replication, animal immortality and Barbra Streisand, is not the first TIFF entry for Scott.
Five years ago, he was in Hogtown for the premiere of Paradiso, a “biblical apocalyptic comedy” — as he Scott described it — that he co-directed, produced, screen wrote and coloured.
For Norman Norman, Scott teamed up with Victoria native Sophy Romivari, a Capilano University graduate he met about three years ago at the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF); she is currently studying film production at York University.
Scott said he was impressed with Romivari’s artistic drive. “She really wanted to get her vision out there,” he said, “and I wanted to be a part of making that happen.”
Since then, the duo has collaborated on four films, including Norman Norman — all shot in a day or less: Nine Behind (2016), a VIFF pick; It’s Him, which appeared at the London Short Film Festival and the Port Moody Film Festival this year; and Pumpkin Movie, selected for the 2018 True/False Festival, Sheffield and Hotdocs.
The pair typically has no plot or formal script when they create a film. “She comes up with a concept and a vague list of shots,” he explained. “We have the perimeters to make a movie then we riff around shot ideas on set.”
There was a skeleton crew for the four-hour shoot of Norman Norman, in which Scott used his personal digital camera with no lights; his business partner at Sad Hill Media, Will Ross, was the sound designer.
• Norman Norman will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday, Sept. 8.
jcleugh@tricitynews.com
