Photo by Nicolas Jolliet

Toronto – PTV Productions is proud to announce that Inside the Haiti Earthquake has been nominated for a 2011 Webby Award, in the category of Best Writing in Online Film & Video.

Users can vote for the project in the Webby “People’s Voice” competition, where ITHE is competing against several comedy submissions, including an Old Spice ad:

http://webby.aol.com/media_types/online-film-and-video?focused_on_category=899#cat_id_899

Inside the Haiti Earthquake combines documentary footage with an original script to allow users to experience the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake from the perspective of a survivor, aid worker, or journalist.  The simulation was written by Michael Gibson, a previous Webby Award honoree, and co-directed by Gibson and Nicolas Jolliet (bios here).

“Michael was tasked with creating a script structure out of a documentary that had not yet been shot, then bringing it to life with the real-life footage and stories our crew brought back from Haiti.  We gave Michael a near-impossible task and he wildly exceeded all of our hopes and expectations.” says producer Katie McKenna.

Voting for the Webby People’s Voice Award closes April 28th.  Webby Award winners will be announced June 13th.

Inside the Haiti Earthquake is a previous winner of a 2011 Applied Arts Interactive Award (Gaming), a nominee for the 2010 Canadian New Media Awards (Best Cross-Platfrom Project & Best Web-Based Game), and a nominee for the 2011 HistoryMakers Awards (Best Interactive Production).

Nicolas Jolliet, Web Field Producer

NICOLAS JOLLIET

Web Field Producer

Web Producer Nicolas Jolliet has spent the past twenty years traveling and hunting for pictures, sounds and stories. Whether searching for the best Oud maker in Kurdistan, following the Guerimperos (illegal gold miners of the Amazon) or filming the rat eating tribes on the Nilgiri hills in India, Nico thrives on telling stories from the most fascinating places in the world.

An accomplished filmmaker, photographer and writer, Nico made his first feature documentary, “Harvest”, in the Caribbean. His latest film, “Aluku Liba”, which he filmed in French Guiana, is about to be released.

MICHAEL GIBSON

Writer/ Director

Michael Gibson is the writer and co-director of Inside Disaster’s Interactive Experience Simulator. He is president and co-founder of Zapdramatic, which specializes in designing serious games and simulators for entertainment and life skills development.

Michael has extensive knowledge and experience producing serious games and simulators withan emphasis on in Negotiation, Dispute Resolution and Ethics – including The Faculty of Law Certificate Online Negotiation Course for Windsor University.

In 2009 his online game, Sir Basel Pike Public School was a Webby Award official honoree for Best Use of Interactive Video. In 2005, his work won him the “Excellence in Learning” Canadian New Media Award.  In 2004 he won the Vortex New Media Competition for his interactive adventure, Move or Die. Before entering into New Media Michael wrote and directed the Genie nominated feature film Defy Gravity and directed numerous half-hour television dramas including Global TV’s The Bellringer, which won a Gemini Award and a Silver Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival.

CARLA BEAUVAIS

Blogger/ Social Media coordinator

Formée en communications avec une spécialisation en journalisme, Carla Beauvais a près de six ans d’expérience dans le domaine.  Ses années à Radio-Canada à titre de recherchiste et son expérience acquise ont fait d’elle une source crédible de relai d’information. Carla a fondé sa propre agence de relations publiques appelée Groupe Style Communications. Elle est présentement la coordonnatrice principale du Mois de l’Histoire des Noirs au Québec. Elle a également mis sur pied son blogue www.blackauquebec.com qui se veut une plateforme médiatique permettant de présenter une image renouvellé et plus représentative des communautés noires à Montréal. Son virage web 2.0 et son utilisation des médias sociaux ont fait d’elle une référence auprès des médias traditionnels lorsqu’il s’agit de couvrir les événements touchant les communautés noires.

Carla Beauvais has more than six years of professional experience in the field of communications. In addition to her studies in the field, her years as a researcher at Radio-Canada have made her into a well-rounded communications advisor. She’s a prominent publicist, and runs the agency Groupe Style Communications.  Carla is the coordinator for Black History Month in Quebec, and also runs the blog www.blackauquebec.com, who presents a better, more real image of black communities in Montreal and the surrounding area. Her use of social media has made her a touchstone throughout the mainstream media in terms of black communities in Montreal.

KYLA REID

Lead Researcher/ Blogger

InsideDisaster.com Lead Researcher Kyla Reid is a recent graduate of the London School of Economics, MSc. Development Management and holds a BA (Hons.) from Dalhousie University. Kyla currently works as a freelance consultant, writer and researcher for NGOs, think tanks and academic institutions. She’s worked in various capacities for Toronto-based HIV/AIDS organizations OHAfrica and the Casey House Foundation, interned at the Crisis States Research Center, a policy and research think-tank that explores failed and fragile states based at the London School of Economics, and consulted for the Overseas Development Institute, London, as part of an LSE Research Team.

Kyla was a research assistant on Neglected Tropical Diseases in North-West Uganda, and is a contributor to A Dictionary of Humanitarianism (forthcoming, Routledge 2010). Kyla has travelled extensively in South-East Asia and East Africa, and recently conducted fieldwork in Northern Uganda for her Masters thesis, which explored the intersection between witchcraft, healing and justice. Her work received a mark of distinction and will be published as an article co-authored with Prof. Tim Allen (LSE) in the Journal of East African Studies Special Issues in the Spring of 2010.

KATIE MCKENNA

Website Producer/ Editor

PTV Productions Internet Director Katie McKenna has more than a decade of experience producing and directing non-fiction content for film, television, and the web. She is a social media expert and experienced public speaker who consults for Canadian non-profits and political organizations.

As lead of the Inside Disaster web project, Katie hopes to encourage third-party content distribution through open web technologies and tools like Flickr, YouTube and Google Maps, supported by geo-tagged content, data visualization tools, and community participation.

YSHIA WALLACE

Web & Graphic Design

Yshia Wallace is an established designer, programmer and visual artist who specializes in creating elegant and accessible websites from the bottom up. Her past work includes creating and overseeing the PTV Productions website, her own online portfolio, and creating and managing the websites for television shows such as the Bravo! series Star Portraits and Vision TV’s Letters to God.

Yshia is an experienced compositor, animator and multimedia artist who enjoys working on multiple platforms. She has a BA in English Literature from McGill University and is completing a degree in Fine Art from the Ontario College of Art and Design.

Website by: www.ptvproductions.ca