Learn & Get Inspired
EP
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Join Melissa DiMarco, her celebrity connections and industry experts.
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Learn how to make a living in this Business
Expert Tricks and Tips.
How to Make a Living Creating Content?
Real Pros Share Real Advice.
How to Make a Living Creating Your Own Content
SPEAKER SESSIONS
1pm to 3pm
Melissa moderates this popular industry know-how event. She shares her in-depth celebrity advice and experiences. Joining the sessions are industry experts in producing, writing, directing, on-camera performance and much, much, more!
NETWORKING & ROUNDTABLES
3:15pm to 5:00pm
She is the face and force behind Out There with Melissa DiMarco, which is one of the country's longest-running comedy/variety series, also syndicated in international markets. For over 15 years, Melissa has produced ground-breaking television with a trademark for innovative shows. She has created hundreds of hours of content for networks including Rogers Media, Global, CHCH, FOX, and Out TV.
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As an experienced content creator from all sides: writing, directing, showrunning, editing and on-camera. Highlights include: An Evening with Oliver Stone, Out There with Melissa DiMarco, Dreamseekers, Confessions of a Go-To-Girl, and Star Wars: Jedi Challenges. As an actor/host, Melissa has also interviewed hundreds of A-list celebrities from Brad Pitt and George Clooney to Julia Roberts and Lady Gaga. Melissa has long acted in a number of North America’s most memorable productions. She starred in the Emmy-winning drama, Degrassi: The Next Generation, CBC's Riverdale, as well as films like Red Green’s Duct Tape Forever and Hustle: The Pete Rose Story.
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​Melissa and her production company Out There Productions Inc. has won the U.S. International Film and Video Festival’s Outstanding Achievement in Creative Excellence Award, and has been nominated for 2 Banff Rockie Awards for Best TV and Variety Show and 2 Canadian Comedy Awards for Best Writing and Best TV Series.
Our Past Speakers and Networking Guests
Director
Known for her unique voice and visually compelling cinematography, Virginia has directed both television and award-winning films.
An alumna of the Meryl Streep Writers Lab, Canadian Film Centre and Women In the Director's Chair program, her directing work has screened in festivals world-wide and on such networks as Lifetime, Amazon, AppleTV, CBC and TVO.
Virginia greatly enjoys working as a director for hire while she continues to dream up her future passion projects. Currently, she is developing her next feature film, the sci-fi drama LIL,
IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0009132/?ref_=nmawd_awd_nm
Story Editor
Margot Daley is an award-winning senior unscripted television producer, story editor, director, and former network production executive with more than 25 years of industry experience.
She is currently the Series Producer on the premium doc series UNDERGROUND RAILROAD: THE SECRET HISTORY for the Science Channel and Discovery Canada.
Her recent Story Editing Credits include:
The Great Canadian Baking Show for CBC
Enslaved, The transatlantic doc series for CBC
History Erased, for History Network Canada
Cinematographer
Matt Bendo is an award-winning Cinematographer based out of Toronto, who has been nominated 7 times for a Canadian Society of Cinematographers Award. He’s a three time winner for “Lamborghini - Storm” in 2017, “Kombat Arts - Legacy” in 2018, and “A Dog Cried Wolf” in 2020.
His maverick approach to lighting creates an upending visual style that has set him apart from his peers and has drawn the attention of sites like Cinema5D where Bendo has discussed his innovative cinematography techniques.
Passionate about world building, he strives to create powerful work that delivers chills. His experience as a Producer, Director, Editor, and Visual Effects Artist, enhance his abilities as a Cinematographer.
He is accomplished in a variety of cinematic styles, having shot narrative, music videos, and commercials, some of which have amassed millions of views. His commercial work includes brands such as Coca Cola, Jack Daniels, Honda, and Microsoft.
Editor
Mina was born and raised in Toronto and obtained her BFA Hons. From York University in Film Production. Her student film Forgiveness was nominated for best fiction film at York’s Cinesiege, and her thesis film Doppelganger was nominated for a CSC award for best student cinematography and was an official selection at the Canadian Student Film Festival.
After graduating she directed many music videos for artists in the Toronto music scene. Her music video, In Honour Of, was nominated for a 2013 Prism Prize. In 2019 Mina was the first recipient of the DGC Emerging Short Filmmaker's grant for A Brief History of the Unicorn, which was an official selection at over fifteen film festivals worldwide, and was nominated for a Golden Sheaf award at the Yorkton Film Festival.
Mina also works as a picture editor in a diverse range of genres, including feature films, commercials, web series and documentaries.
Location Sound Mixer & Boom Op
Brian Horrell is the owner and operator of Brian Horrell Sound, where he oversees all location sound and training projects. Brian has been involved within the sound spectrum for the past ten years and has worked on over 100 projects. He has an extensive background within the arts - ranging from Art History (UofT) to Media Arts and Advanced Television & Film (Sheridan College).
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Upon graduation, Brian went to intern at Technicolor (Toronto). He then joined Parachute postproduction, where he worked on SFX editing for shows like Haven. After a couple of years of postproduction, Brian decided to jump into Location/Production Sound. It was this transition that gave him the calling to apply to NABET 700 as a sound assistant.
Once in NABET, Brian trained with some of the best mixers in the union, including but not limited to; Herwig Gayer, Phillip Stall and Stephen Bourne. He worked his way up from an Assistant to Pram Pusher, Pram Operator, Boom Operator and finally, Mixer.
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Over his NABET carrier, Brian has worked on shows like:
Workin’ Moms
The Stanley Dynamic
The Parker Andersons/Amelia Parker
Overlord & The Underwoods
Hardy Boys
Orphan Black
Possessor
Tall Boyz
Ransom
Creative Director
FEARLESS
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Matkai Burmaster is the co-founder of the Fearless streaming service and a self-made filmmaker behind So That Happened, It's Complicated, Stripped and Committed. Matkai is proudly LGBTQ and is a vocal activist for the inclusion of LGBTQ, female, Black, Indigenous and Disabled perspectives in the film industry.
He is also an ACTRA member and works with various local and national arts and film initiatives. Matkai lives in Toronto with his husband and cat and you can often find him supporting local small businesses and events.
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Daryl
Ledwon
Mandy Representative
MANDY.COM
Daryl has been in the Film and Television industry for years both in front and behind the camera. As an actor, he has worked on various television programs such as Unexpected Killer, MurderBoard, Paranormal Survivor and Killer Affair as well as indie films like A Song for Us, Snowed Inn and others. A theatre performer, he has been in many plays and musicals across Canada. He also regularly consults with production companies and casting directors to source talent and crew as the Canadian representative for Mandy.com.
Writer
Kaleigh Sutton is a Toronto based writer and director. She worked her way up to a Development Executive role at Chesler/Permutter Productions, where she wrote, pitched, and developed films for various networks including Hallmark, MTV, Netflix, and Lifetime.
She also directed, produced and co-wrote a web series pilot called Date Me. Currently, Kaleigh is the Showrunner Assistant to Melissa DiMarco at Out There Productions, where she is involved in various creative endeavours including writing TV show bibles, TV Movie Treatments, Pitch Decks, and paid programming. During her time at home, Kaleigh has been working on a feature script and improving her posture.
Adam
Pal
Director, Writer, Producer
Twenty-five years ago, Adam Pal was coined, ‘a small-town boy with worldwide gusto’ doing live shows from Toronto to China, Las Vegas to Israel. Pal was willing to do anything in the business. “If all the world’s a stage, I am the best boy key grip” -Pal
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Pal is the owner/operator of Glass Ceiling Productions, producer, and creator of 4 short union films, producer of digital content, online radio shows, national tv, theatre content and social media.
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Pal has taken time to create short stories and is reviewing publishers for a partnership to promote his Novella, Novelette, and said short stories.
Production Manager
Rebecca Taylor grew up loving technology, television and pop culture. Her ability to spot a trend and be an early adopter paired with her passion in technology led her to work in telecommunications and software until making the leap to film and television.
She worked both in front of and behind the camera in many roles, learning the ropes in multiple departments from camera assistant to script supervisor to background performer. Her credits include several independent films and television shows, as well as projects for the CFC.
For the past 13 years, she has found a home as Production Manager and Producer at Out There Productions. She is part of the writing team that has been twice-nominated for Canadian Comedy Awards and part of the production team that has been twice nominated for Rockie Awards for Out There with Melissa DiMarco, Canada‘s longest-running comedy series
