Canadian Armed Forces Veterans Given Production Experience On ‘Murdoch Mysteries’

EXCLUSIVE: Four Canadian armed forces veterans are being given hands-on production experience on the set on CBC drama Murdoch Mysteries. Madeleine Seed, Hector Perez, Dianne Neuman and Marcos Garcia are the first veterans to go through the Veterans Behind The Lens program, which is an initiative between Canadian pubcaster CBC, Murdoch Mysteries producer Shaftesbury and labor union NABET 700-M Unifor. Launched during Veterans’ Week, the program will see the four given paid, hands-on work on Season 12 of Murdoch Mysteries. They will spend 13 shooting days – the time taken to make two hour-long specials – alongside production professionals and shadow NABET members in departments such as lighting, grip, props, set decoration and construction. The CBC-supported initiative came out of a collaboration between Shaftesbury and Soldiers in the Arts, in association with Vets On Set, an organization founded by documentary maker Jeremy Atherton and his brother Andrew Atherton, a retired Brigadier-General. Soldiers in the Arts is a program that supports veterans, reservists and military families through creative work, skills development and community outreach. Watch on Deadline From the first Veterans Behind The Lens cohort, Neuman worked for ten years as an image technician, working in stills photography, video and public affairs; Perez spent 14 years in the Canadian Reserve Force, Regular Force and CANSOFCOM; Seed spent a decade as a boatswain in the Royal Canadian Navy; and Garcia gave ten years of service with the tactical helicopter squadron. Neumann will go into the Murdoch Mysteries lighting department, Perez into the props department, Seed into the set design team and Garcia in the construction department. “Veterans bring so much to a film set – discipline, teamwork and a perspective shaped by service,” said Jennifer Grose, Co-Founder & VP of Fund Development, Soldiers in the Arts. “This is about giving them a real foot in the door and the opportunity to turn those strengths into a lasting creative career.” The ambition is to extend Veterans Behind The Lens beyond the pilot to establish a repeatable model that brings veterans into industry training, professional networks and employment opportunities. Official statistics from Veterans Affairs Canada show up to 8.9% of Canadian veterans are unemployed. “There are many ways to serve your country,” said Andrew Atherton, co-founder of Vets on Set. “When you leave the military, you leave a world where you know your role and who’s counting on you. It can take time to find that sense of belonging again. Being welcomed into a paid role on the crew of Murdoch Mysteries, with key crew at the ready to show you how the set works, makes that first step into civilian work feel familiar. “I applaud Shaftesbury, NABET and CBC for making that possible and hope more Canadian productions give Veterans the same opportunity.” “Throughout its 20 seasons, Murdoch Mysteries has played an integral role in contributing to Canada’s film and television industry, supporting the growth of our production workforce and the communities in which we work,” said Christina Jennings, Chairman and President, Shaftesbury. “Veterans Behind the Lens is a natural extension of that commitment. “At a time of renewed national pride and a focus on strengthening Canadian industries, this initiative creates opportunities for those who have served our country. We see this as a first step towards a larger project that will hopefully inspire other Canadian producers to follow suit.” Doug Smith, Executive Vice-President of CBC and Sally Catto, General Manager, Entertainment, CBC, added in a statement that, “By providing opportunities for our honoured military veterans to build their knowledge and skills on set, we are strengthening their career prospects as well as ensuring the future success of our screen industry.” “Being asked to participate in this initiative on this season of Murdoch Mysteries is a testament to the longstanding relationship and partnership between NABET 700-M UNIFOR and Shaftesbury,” added Jayson Mosek, Business Agent with NABET 700-M UNIFOR. “The Veterans Behind the Lens training program provides an excellent opportunity to assist veterans looking to transition into a career in the film and television sector in Ontario by getting paid, on-the-job, training alongside the highly skilled members of our Local. “Veterans represent just one of the many groups that we collectively should look to in an effort to grow our respective workforces. It is our hope that this pilot can be a model to be expanded upon on future productions in Ontario and by others across Canada.”