Author: Doug Groves

dougplanet.com is his personal blog, which is withering on the vine. If you poke around it, you’ll find out that he’s an animator and broadcast designer by trade, usually pushing pixels in either After Effects or Lightwave 3D. If he absolutely had to pick a favourite all time writer, it would be Harlan Ellison more days than any other. If you don’t know who Ellison is, then Doug weeps for you. Doug also likes long walks on the beach, mainly to collect improperly discarded medical waste for an undisclosed project of epic proportions.

Cellular Code of Conduct

September 3, 2009September 3, 2009 Doug Groves Bell, CWTA, Rogers, Telus4 Comments

On Tuesday the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) released a new ‘code of conduct’ that will theoretically govern how wireless carriers will behave vis a vis their subscribers, which number over 23 million in Canada. On the face of it, the code of conduct sounds good. Part of the 3 page document includes allowing customers out of their contracts if, at any point, the carrier has made changes to said contract. I’m sure most long time mobile users are used to such shenanigans, where fees start creeping up, or there’s…

Rock Paper Scissors: The Interview

September 2, 2009September 2, 2009 Doug Groves event, Fan Expo 2009, indie, paper, rock, scissors, tosser4 Comments

One of the best parts of Fan Expo is the unexpected. At this years, one of those unexpected moments was when we had a chance to talk with the April Mullen and Tim Doiron, makers of the film ‘Rock Paper Scissors: The Way Of The Tosser‘, an indie film that just got picked up for a distribution deal and is available on DVD right now. Not only does the film look great, but the ‘do it yourself’ style is something that we here at rgbFilter can appreciate. Wanna see the…

Raindance Filmmakers’ Foundation Certificate Series II

September 1, 2009 Doug Groves 0 comment

Raindance Canada, the independent filmmaker’s friend, has announced a new series of workshops and classes… “Raindance Canada presents Series II of our Filmmakers’ Foundation Certificate: a unique series of evening classes covering integral (and often overlooked) aspects of filmmaking Week 1 The Legalities of Film Production September 16 Learn the basics needed for your fim project Week 2 Introduction to Cinematography with Alwyn J. Kumst September 23 Discover how a camera is used to capture images Week 3 Editing with an Eagle Eye September 30 Films are made in the…

Toronto Zombie Walk: Special Director’s Cut

September 1, 2009 Doug Groves George Romero, zomb, zombie, zombie walk0 comment

With so much going on around Fan Expo this year, I almost forgot to post about a special event coming up. Luckily I ran into Thea Munster at a Fan Expo concert (more on the ban coming soon) to remind me. This year, besides the main Toronto Zombie Walk, there’ll be a Special Director’s Cut, bringing the dead out to play for an extra day… On October 1st, 1968 George A. Romero, Director of Night of the Living Dead, made “Zombies” a horrific house hold name. On September 12, 2009,…

Max Brooks Interview: For Those Who Like Their Zombies Shambling

August 31, 2009August 31, 2009 Doug Groves Comics, event, Fan Expo 2009, interview, Max Brooks, survival guide, World War Z, zombie5 Comments

Alex sits down with Max Brooks, author of The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z to talk about the WWZ movie, comics, Max’s previous “schticks” and much more, including his upcoming work on a G.I. Joe mini series. Finally, in the vein of “Hulk vs. Thing” and “Ninjas vs. Pirate” debates, Max lets us know where he stands regarding the “slow vs. fast zombies” debate.

RIM Acquires Iris Browser

August 31, 2009August 31, 2009 Doug Groves Blackberry, RIM, Webkit1 Comment

Windows Mobile and Qtopia users who were enjoying the Iris Browser might as well not bookmark the Torch Mobile site anymore. The Toronto-based makers of Iris have been bought up by Research In Motion. According to the Torch Mobile blog… Torch Mobile is excited to announce that our company has been acquired by Research In Motion (RIM), one of the most renowned mobile technology companies in the world. Our team of developers will join RIM’s global organization and will now be focused on utilizing our WebKit-based mobile browser expertise to…

Fan Expo 2009: Shape Of Things To Come

August 30, 2009August 30, 2009 Doug Groves 5 Comments

Just posting this as a little teaser, but with the final day of Fan Expo just getting underway, we’re gearing up to get some more interviews. So far, we’ve had a chance to talk with Max Brooks about his latest project, Bruce Campbell, Walter Koenig, James Duval, Roger Corman, as well as some details on the upcoming Dragon Age: Origins game from Bioware.

Facebook Bows To Canadian Privacy Commish

August 27, 2009August 27, 2009 Doug Groves canada, facebook, privacy8 Comments

Just over a month ago, we talked about Canadian Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart’s ruling that the ubiquitous Facebook was indeed violating Canadian privacy laws, including making personal information available to 3rd party Facebook application developers. Well, during a press conference today, Ms. Stoddart has announced that Facebook has indeed agreed to all the changes… “This is an extremely important change,” said Ms. Stoddart. “I would like to thank Facebook for its co-operation throughout this investigation.” Facebook will provide new notifications for users, additions to its privacy policy, and technical changes…

Palm Pre Launches On Schedule In Canada

August 27, 2009August 27, 2009 Doug Groves Bell, Palm Pre0 comment

Right on time, the Pre has hit the Great White North (or should that be Great Wet North given the weather lately). Instead of rolling with the US Palm ads (ironically starring Canadian actress Tamara Hope), Bell has launched a very iPhone-esque TV spot, and done some viral style ads via Facebook. Videos after the break:

Episode 019 – The Accidental Episode

August 26, 2009August 29, 2009 Doug Groves Atom, District 9, episode, Fan Expo 2009, netbook2 Comments

After recording an interview with nerdgirlpinups.com founder Nicole Rodrigues, Ryan and Doug decide to kick around the studio and talk a bit about Atom processers, District 9 and the latest CRTC ruling in favour of Bell.

Interview With Bill Pope

August 26, 2009August 26, 2009 Doug Groves Bill Pope, Edgar Wright, interview0 comment

After wrapping up shooting of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Edgar Wright’s mini film fest had one last night at the Bloor Cinema, with Pilgrim director of photography Bill Pope as the guest of honour. On tap were two movies that Pope worked on, Army of Darkness and Team America: World Police, and between the screenings Ryan got a chance to talk with Pope on a wide range of subjects.

The Copyright Consultation

Remember Bill C-61, and how that ultimately died on the vine of Parliament, in large part because of public outcry? Well, the Canadian government recently launched it’s first public consultation on copyright in almost a decade, and will be taking public input until September 13th. The above movie, produced by Michael Geist and Dan Albahary, focuses on copyright issues, and more specifically how they affect Canadians. It’s definitely well worth the watch, and after it’s done, you can go here for ways to have you say with the copyright consultation.