Tuesday 12 November 2013

Brittany Kwasnik releases her second video called "City"



Brittany  Kwasnik in a scene from the video.
Dollard  des Ormeaux singing sensation Brittany Kwasnik released her latest video last week, the second from her new CD launched in June. She shot it one Saturday evening downtown, appropriate since it is called "City."In a Q & A conducted by her publicist Bob Dubois, Brittany was asked why she chose City as her new    “I thought visually, a video for this song would really bring it to life!” she said. “I wanted to capture the beauty of Montreal, as it is the city that inspired the line ‘If I was a city, you would be my lights.’  As I was writing the song, I was thinking about the night-time skyline of Montreal, specifically from the view on top of Mount Royal. The lights from that view of the city, at night, are so powerful and breathtaking. I really wanted to share that image with everyone that listens to the song.

The shoot took place on a cold Saturday evening in October.  It was a very cold and windy night, probably the most chilly we had experienced since the end of last winter,” Brittany remarked. “It made the night feel quite long! We began to shoot around seven in evening, and I got home around two in the morning! Although it was lots of fun to shoot, I really wish I had considered to wear something with a few more layers for some of the shots!


As Brittany describes it,  the idea for the video really matches the lyrics, especially of the chorus  “If I was a city, you would be my lights, through my eyes, you'd shine so bright, if I was an airplane, dancing through the sky, you would be my guide.  Besides the various shots of the city, you can see in the video that I'm on a journey from my apartment to the airport.”


For the shoot Brittany gained access to a rooftop in Griffintown  and did  some walking scenes  on downtown St. Catherine Street.  “It was funny shooting there, because it was a Saturday night and there were tons of people walking on the streets,” she says. “We had to get scenes without people getting in the way, and without people staring right into the camera as they saw us walk by.”

Here is the new video:


Sunday 10 November 2013

New Montreal radio stations delayed until next fall

The Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has given TTP Media authorization to delay the launch of their 940 AM French talk radio station until September 2014, thereby signalling that the planned AM600 English talk radio station and the 85O AM all-sports outlet will also go on the  air by that time as well.

TTP Media is headed by radio industry veteran Paul Tietolman, former Montreal city councillor Nicolas Tétrault  and  former FIDO boss Rajiv Pancholy.

I reached Tietolman who told me that there a few reasons for the delay. First and foremost there are some technical difficulties regarding the transmitter site. He also points to the delays that occurred in getting CRTC approval for the AM 600 frequency and the 50,000 watt frequency at 850 AM for French sports talk.
Tétrault and Tietolman.

Furthermore, Tietolman said he was on hold to see whether the CRTC was going to approve Bell Media's purchase of Astral properties, which included CJAD, Virgin Radio and CHOM.  Bell Media did get the thumbs up at the end of June, which TTP Media had to take into account for its own strategy.

"Our project and strategy was based on launching all three stations in the same location with many services being shared," Tietolman maintains.
So, for radio observers and  the abundance of on air talent anxious to get back to work -especially where AM 600 is concerned - patience will be required.  Radio vet Steve Kowch is still in the mix as the likely general manager of the three stations

It is not unrealistic to predict that the outfit could begin hiring some people in the spring. If Kowch wants to challenge his old station, CJAD, he will need plenty of time to vet potential candidates. How about Ted Bird on the morning show? 

Star media blogger Fagstein did this excellent backgrounder  on TTP Media last month.
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