Firefly Digital Media Inc.

A video can do anything. It can sell you a product, entertain you, educate you and even show you the world. And if you're a young woman growing up in rural Nova Scotia, a video might help you discover the multitude of career opportunities that await you. That's the aim of a new series of web videos designed by firefly digital media inc., a video production company based in Bedford, Nova Scotia.

For the past 11 years, an organization called Techsploration has given young women in Nova Scotia the chance to explore careers in science, trades and technology. This innovative program travels to schools across the province showing young women in grades nine through 12 opportunities they may not have considered before.

In grade nine, their first year in the program, girls on school teams are assigned a career and paired up with a role model working in that field. Each year, approximately 30 schools and more than 2,500 students participate in Techsploration events. The only limiting factor – the program couldn't possibly connect with every young woman in the province.

"They can't reach every girl in rural Nova Scotia with their message, so we proposed doing a video series for them and building a web library of women doing these fantastic jobs," says Julian Gibbs, Creative Producer of firefly digital media.

This project, called “Women in Action”, will span three years, culminating in an online video library of women working in different scientific, trades, technical and technology-related careers. These short vignettes will give young women an up-close and personal chance to learn about the educational choices, challenges and day-to-day life in careers ranging from physics to welding..

"Women in Action" will launch in December 2009r, reaching young women across Nova Scotia, Canada and the world. "This web video is very critical, to be able to reach communities that we've never been able to reach before," says Tricia Robertson of Techsploration. "In a year from now, kids in Africa, Siberia or kids in rural communities in Newfoundland will be able to log onto our website and meet these role models."

For Robertson, collaborating with firefly digital media on the web video project was a natural fit. "Working with firefly is spectacular," Robertson says. "They are very creative, they have patience and they are open to anything. I have complete trust in them and what they do."

Firefly digital media began when business and life partners Tracy Bennett and Julian Gibbs decided to move to Halifax from Vancouver. "We thought – what would be a great place we could set up our business, yet still have a life and a family and still have a balance?” Bennett says. "And it totally worked. We moved here about 11 years ago and it ended up to be a great balance!"

Along with the ability to balance work and life, running your own production company in Nova Scotia comes with the advantage of a close-knit film and television industry. "It's a supportive production community," Gibbs says. "I'm always passing on work to other people or other people are passing on work to me. I've done camera work when people need more than one camera on a shoot and your competitors will work with you when you need help on a project."

Firefly’s list of clients is diverse, from Empire Theatres to the Canadian Council on Learning, and running a production company means there is never a dull moment. On any given day you might be flying in a helicopter along the breath-taking fossil cliffs of Joggins, touring the new Emergency Room at the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital to shoot an emergency simulation or interviewing a lighthouse keeper on the Bay of Fundy. Video production keeps you on your toes. "You learn all kinds of stuff and you have to learn it really fast," Gibbs says. "You have to understand your client's business really quickly to produce something of value for them."

For firefly, the growth of online video has opened up new possibilities for working with clients around the world. From their home base in Nova Scotia, firefly digital media is accessible on a global scale. "Now pretty much all video is online video. The opportunity to speak directly to your audience worldwide is open to everyone. It makes what we do more exiting,” Gibbs says.

Aside from working toward international opportunities and launching “Women in Action” this year, Gibbs says they’re also looking for new and creative ways to live life to the fullest and grow their business. “The ideal is to be able to incorporate your life into your business. That makes it more fun!" For this Nova Scotia company, the adventure is only just beginning.