The Cannabis Show
The Cannabis Show
From Concept To Pilot
In late 2016, producer Amy Lafleche of Royal Ascension, approached Alex Spence in need of DP Services (Director of Photography). She needed a pilot filmed for her concept called, The Cannabis Show.
The Cannabis Show is an informational show about Canadian medical cannabis. The show revolved around the often controversial plant and its medicinal benefits. The intended audience ranged from newbies to those with a moderate understanding of cannabis. At Cerebral Expansion, we are definitely advocates for weeding out myths and empowering people with objective facts. After considering everything, we were on board and together we shot the pilot in November of 2016.
Medical Cannabis Questions? The Cannabis Show Has Answers!
In total, this series shot 109 episodes. Regarding medical cannabis, the show provided industry news, patient, doctor and special guest interviews, and product demos. It did this all while continually engaging its viewers by answering submitted questions and holding contests.
Over time, the format of the show evolved. It went through several changes from series start to finish. Finally settling on a four panel discussion group and a series of individual green screened presentations. This became standard for each episode. The trick was to be as efficient as possible. We had one day of filming to capture all content for four episodes at a time.
When Bill C-45 or the Cannabis Act received royal ascent and became law on October 17, 2018, the laws specific to promotion and advertising limited how The Cannabis Show could grow. Unfortunately, the show had its final taping in January of 2019.
The series was hosted by Chris Foord, Hart Steinfeld, Kait Shane and Basil Kelly (left to right in photo).
Standout Moments
In the two years that The Cannabis Show posted weekly on YouTube, we never missed a deadline. Including the time we lost our studio location due to an adjesent fire in the building. That shooting block did not go ‘up-in-smoke,’ however! We all pitched in and made it happen. We found a new location and retooled the segments to work with what we had available at the new, temporary location.
A definite highlight was when we sat down to interview Tommy Chong at Edmonton’s 2017 HempFest. Chris Foord, was only a couple of months into the gig. As such, he was nervous to be interviewing this legendary icon. In truth, everyone shared a mix of nerves and excitement. We setup, started rolling and without fail, Chis rocked the interview! And of course, Tommy Chong was his typical hilarious, happy going self.
More Information
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Find episodes of The Cannabis Show on Royal Ascension’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHFeqZGcpa4tsEVgFsnl3Pw
- Client: The Cannabis Show
- Date: March 27, 2019
