Wynter is coming
- EFN Staff | October 02, 2017
After forty hours of nationally and internationally broadcast television content as a writer and director over the last ten years, you’d think Mike Gosselin has seen it all in the ebb and flow world of production.
A former columnist at Eagle Feather News, Gosselin has gone on to write on award-winning shows like Cashing In, Rabbit Fall, Wapos Bay and Blackstone. He’s directed eleven episodes of Solstice Concerts and was able to work with Buffy St. Marie, Ashely MacIsaac, Sierra Noble, Brett Kissel and Don Amero. He’s written dialogue for screen legends such as Gordon Tootoosis, Tantoo Cardinal, Eric Shweig, Tio Horn, Lorne Cardinal and even Scott Thompson of The Kids in the Hall.
But Gosselin is the first to admit he goes back to school every time he works on a project.
“The thing I love most about working in TV is constantly discovering how much I don’t know about the business. Whether it’s pitching a great idea five minutes too late or realizing the hard work starts after the script is done, I’m continuously learning new skills and figuring out how to adapt to the market.”
His latest back to school adventure comes in the form of Wynter, an hour long supernatural ‘dramaction' series he created six years ago. It’s about a street nurse who discovers it’s her destiny to defeat an evil race of tricksters intent on wiping out humans.
“I had this idea for a show about tricksters, beings that have fascinated me since I was kid. When I started chatting with my support network, we quickly wondered what if some tricksters decided they didn’t want to teach humans lessons anymore? What if they wanted to take the planet back for themselves?”
The result was Wynter, a half human/half trickster hybrid and the only one with enough power to defeat the evil tricksters. The project was developed by APTN, who recently greenlit the pilot for production.
According to Gosselin, that’s when the real schooling started - he had suddenly graduated to the role of producer.
“I was lucky enough to be mentored by my partners at Animiki-See Digital Production, which includes figuring out how to finance the overall project. The network licenses some production funds and you have to find the rest.”
“It’s much trickier than one might think.”
Gosselin credits his partners at Animiki-See - Vanessa Loewen, Desiree Single and Ashley Hirt - for their commendable work with such a newby when it comes to producing.
“I often felt like I wasn’t contributing because they were so on everything. Endless forms, signatures, budgets, emails, phone calls… It’s actually surreal how much effort goes into producing a TV show from a business affairs perspective.”
Gosselin says “of course” when asked if it’s all worth it and is currently reaping the rewards of such a long journey to production. Aside from finding an excellent crew, the Wynter team is now starting to cast the show. They intend to shoot in Winnipeg this fall.
“One of my favourite parts of the process is seeing actors bring the characters to life, even in auditions. Words I’ve written and stared at and changed and changed back and stared at for six years finally have a voice. It’s really cool.”
When pressed to leak some details about the show, most notably who will play Wynter, Gosselin remains tight-lipped.
“I shall not divulge, as much as I’d like to. But everyone involved is going to make sure the show is awesome.”
The pay-off is if the pilot is well executed, a series order is the next step.
“My writing cohort Trevor Cameron and I have written eight additional episodes. If we get the word, we’re ready to go to series.”
And graduate to the next level.