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People of Timmins: Local artist talks film, photography, and working 'Mission Impossible' set

Adam McKay has been working on a homelessness project with the Cochrane District Social Planning Council

For our third issue of People of Timmins, we interviewed Adam McKay, a local photographer and filmographer.

Q: You produced a movie, The Long Road Home, in Timmins in 2012. Do you still have people asking you about the movie and buying copies?

A: We shot it in 2011. Funny enough we do still get some people asking about where they can see it, problem now though is that most people have moved away from physical formats such as DVD's so we may or may not have hundreds of DVD's left. We ended up just throwing it up on YouTube where we have almost crossed the 100k views mark. You can see it here.

Q: What movies have you produced since The Long Road Home?

A: I have been working fairly steadily in the feature film world since then. Mostly service productions in northern Ontario. I have shot a few small documentary projects since then, some of them have yet to be finished as it is all about balancing time and money. I have been continually working on a homelessness project with the Cochrane District Social Planning Council attempting to document the struggles of what it means to be homeless in northern Ontario. It has been both very emotional and challenging. I am hoping to be able to eventually release a feature length documentary with all of the footage.

Q: IMDB says you were on the crew for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. What did you do on set and what was it like?

A: It sounds a lot more glamorous then it was. On that particular film I was tasked with watching one of the hundreds of giant lights used to light up the Vancouver skyline. So of course it was raining and often you were forgotten about. Technically they had to feed you, but many times they would forget. They were very long days. I later become a prep tech and delivery driver for a camera rental house and that allowed me to jump around from set to set and get a bit closer to the action then I had been able to get prior to that.

Q: What advice would you give someone who wants to be a film maker in Timmins?

A: The bar for entry is as low as it has ever been. Just look at what happened to the creators of Letterkenny. They put up a few short clips on YouTube and now it has become on of the biggest Canadian television shows. Watch movies, read books and tell a good story. Almost everything technical you need to learn can be learned online. If you are passionate and creative, you will find a way. You need to just make it happen. There will always be a bunch of great reasons why you shouldn't, so just do it.

Q: You're also a photographer with a varied portfolio from landscapes to weddings to sports. What type of subject do you enjoy photographing most and why?

A: That is a tough one. I love travel, I love experiencing new places for the first time and trying to capture what it feels like to be there in that moment, whether that be someone on the street, or the stars in the sky. I am always chasing moments.

Q: What are the biggest roadblocks to success as an artist in Timmins?

A: Not a lot of support initially. Northern Ontario was so far removed from the glitz and glam of Hollywood it was hard to know where to start. This was also all pre-YouTube generation so there was no real platform to release your ideas like there is now. Early on my creative partner Alex Coulson and I had one of our short films play at Cinefest in Sudbury and I think that was what really sent us down the path we are on now. It made us feel like it was possible and that it wasn't just a pipe dream.

Q: What is your next big project as an artist?

A: There is a Canadian novel that I have been obsessing over for the last 10 years. I desperately want to make it come to life. We are currently looking into acquiring the rights as the first steps to making this dream a reality. Fingers crossed.

Q: Okay. Time for three rapid fire questions just for fun. If you had a spirit guide, who or what would it be?

A: Bob Ross. Without a doubt. I actually have a Bob Ross Tattoo with W.W.B.R.D underneath for ‘what would bob ross do.’

Q: If you started a band, what would you name the band?

A: I was in a band once, also have a tattoo for that and it was called The Mind Control Device. We only played three shows ever and they were all terrible.

Q: On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the most) how weird would you say you are?

A: 6 -7 depending on the day. I tend to see things a bit differently than most of the people and like to travel to the beat of my own drum.

Want to suggest someone for us to interview? Email [email protected].