http://www.hfxnews.ca/news.aspx?pname=News&storyID=34380
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Forces spend $1m on videos
By Chris Lambie
The military is looking for a few good filmmakers.
The Canadian Forces is planning to spend $1 million on â Å“inspirationalâ ? high-definition recruiting videos.
â Å“It's something that someone's going to watch and they're going to go, 'Wow, this looks like a great career opportunity,'â ? Capt. Holly-Ann Brown said yesterday.
The short films will be shown in recruiting centres. They'll promote occupations and trades in the military â Å“without embellishment,â ? Brown said.
â Å“We want it to be realistic,â ? she said. â Å“We don't want to candy-coat anything.â ?
But Halifax filmmaker Chuck Lapp believes the videos won't provide a true picture of life in uniform.
â Å“They're not going to advertise that they're going to put people through post-traumatic stress disorder and exposure to toxic environments,â ? said Lapp, who produced No Harbour For War, a documentary on the military history of Halifax Harbour.
â Å“They're not going to attract people if they actually tell them what it's really like.â ?
The videos will be used to hire disposable â Å“cannon fodder,â ? Lapp said.
â Å“They're recruiting people who are going to be chewed up and spit out by the military,â ? he said.
â Å“Clearly, they're trying to imitate a lot of the American propaganda to attract soldiers.â ?
Over the next five years, Canada's military plans to hire 5,000 more full-time soldiers and 3,000 reservists. But the recruiting system has come under fire for being ill-equipped to handle that influx.
â Å“There's growing recognition that the present recruiting advertising system is not working,â ? said Richard Gimblett, a research fellow with Dalhousie University's Centre for Foreign Police Studies.
The new recruiting videos will be â Å“selling a lifestyleâ ? to people between the ages of 18 and 26, said Gimblett, a former naval officer.
â Å“That's your ideal candidate,â ? he said.
Halifax filmmaker Wanda Graham has little doubt the military videos will attract new troops.
â Å“Those recruitment films can be really sexy and dynamite,â ? said Graham, who directed a documentary called Military Wives about the problems faced by women married to soldiers.
She suspects the new videos won't include any tales of family strife in the military.
â Å“Part of the military is this stoic, duty-bound, fortress mentality,â ? Graham said. â Å“They would have to admit that families are softer than that.â ?
