Michelle Wong: Production Pro
Michelle’s career in film and television hasn’t been linear. She started out as a high school teacher but made the jump to film after going to a National Film Board meet up in Edmonton in the early ‘90s. This led her to make her first documentary, Return Home, in 1992. Michelle honed her skills through the learning-by-doing method. After joining a local production company, she made the jump to scripted production in the ’90s when she and her business partner at the time helped to expand production services for television movies in Alberta. It was then that she learned her real strength was on the business affairs side of the film industry. Over the years, she’s helped build two production companies into successful ventures, and she’s now the head of business affairs at Seven24 Films in Calgary, the production company behind the hit series Wynonna Earp.
In this episode:
We hear about Michelle’s switch from education to filmmaking, her early career, and her first documentary, Return Home. Then, Michelle talks about the representation of women of colour in the film industry, building a reputation, and making connections. Later on, we learn about Michelle’s current job and projects, including the hit series Wynonna Earp. We finish off with Michelle’s three tips for starting out in the film industry.
Links
Credits:
Executive Producers: Elise Graham, Ava Karvonen, Samantha Quantz, Theresa Wynnyk; Senior Producer: Sheena Rossiter; Associate Producer: Shayna Giles; Host: Sheena Rossiter; Audio Technician: Sheena Rossiter; Social Media Coordinator: Shayna Giles; Original Storylines theme composed by Aaron Macri and Laura Raboud. Produced with support from Alberta’s Ministry of Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women. Special thanks to FAVA for it’s support in this production.
This episode sponsored by:
Dept.9 Studios is a content creation company primarily in the business of producing film and
television with secondary businesses that focus on developing interactive digital media
applications and representing music artists. Under Dept.9 Studios umbrella, is Dept.9
Entertainment (Television, Film, Web), Dept.9 Digital (Gaming and Apps), and Dept.9 Music
(Publishing and Sound Recording). The company is based out of a 26,000 square foot facility
with two soundstages, production offices, audio recording, audio post-production, video editing
suites, and set shop located in Edmonton, Alberta. Forthcoming projects are intended for a
family co-viewing audience.