Working Draft Magazine

Content Creation & Management

  • Write and publish a 3,000 word white paper, creative non-fiction, or article about the theme "Community" for a final project in the Creative Communications program.

  • Leverage my film crew experience to publish a creative non-fiction that exposes the unsafe and dangerous nature of working in film.

    • Published to Working Draft Magazine on March 18, 2022 (front page feature)

    • Received A- grade

    • Interviewed by Lauren Donnelly of CBC.

    • Generated 100 visitors in 1 week.

A silhouette of a man against a yellow-orange backdrop.

Excerpt #1

“I froze with anxiety. Manitoba was in a province-wide fire ban because of the drought.

People starting fires were getting fined hundreds of dollars. Would I be responsible if a fire broke out? I stared back at Angela and at the rusty metal bucket in her hands.

“You can fill this bucket in the motel,” she said, pointing toward the dated building.

“We’re in the middle of a fire ban,” I said with a sharp voice. “Is this safe?” I thought I could see a glint of reluctance in Angela. I don’t think she wanted to start a fire either.

“It’s what the producer wants,” Angela replied defeatedly and pointed to our feet. “I already dosed this area off. Just in case they want to have a fire here too.”

I grabbed the old rusty bucket from her hands and walked toward the motel’s kitchen to fill it up.”

A silhouette of a woman against a blue backdrop.

Excerpt #2

“The winter wind whipped against Nancy’s thick coat as she inspected the BNC cable. The end of the video cable looked fine, but she was still convinced something was wrong.

As she looked up from the video monitor, dozens of other crew workers busied themselves around the impressive Wellington crescent property. As a camera assistant, Nancy was excited for the opportunity to learn more about the camera department and gain her union status. She looked back over at the monitor and tried connecting the cable again.

A buzz rang through the air and up her arm like a swarm of angry bees.

“Lance,” she said through clenched teeth. “There’s definitely something wrong with the cable.”

A silhouette of a woman against a red backdrop.

Excerpt #3

“Leena didn’t mind working for the locations department. At times, being alone to secure an access point to set was peaceful. She could catch up on reading or rehearse for upcoming auditions. But that wasn’t always the case.

As Leena rocked back in the black plastic chair against the darkness of Logan Avenue, she thought of the night a production company left her to secure a rural field location alone. That night her phone died, and the walkie-talkie lost reception — tonight felt oddly similar.

Without a walkie-talkie to communicate to set, Leena hoped her phone battery would last the night. 

A sharp scream shattered the silent shadowy street. Leena’s eyes snapped toward the sound, locking in on a lit window six or so houses down. It was a woman.”