What: KRE8 Studio 2018
Where: Various venues
When: Sunday through Aug. 27
Information: Kre8Studio.ca
School is too strong a word for what Tracey Moore has conceived.
“When people think school, they think studying,” Moore said. “This is an answer to people not wanting these long master’s degree programs. I know too many people with master’s degrees pouring coffee.”
Moore has created what she feels is akin to an advanced school of fine arts, without the textbooks and dry-erase boards. KRE8 Studio, which starts on Aug. 19 and runs through Aug. 27, is a nine-day series of seminars and classes designed to get film, television and online video creators online.
“You have the necessary technology in your hand,” Moore said. “But not everybody knows the power they have to create, to get involved in what’s coming.”
Moore wants those who enrol in KRE8 Studio to use the series of seminars and classes as a conduit — the missing link between someone having talent and applying their talent. Her hope is that participants find their way with help from her guest speakers and instructors, which includes a bevy of notables from a variety of fields. Classes are being offered in the areas of graphic design, voice work, and cinematography, among several others, from a variety of experts in their respective fields.
Moore — who will also be instructing — is something of an expert herself. The actor and singer (who voiced during the 1990s the titular character in the groundbreaking anime series Sailor Moon) has worked in theatre, film and television over the course of a 40-year career, including stints on Broadway and with Blue Bridge Theatre in Victoria. She also has voice credits in the Super Mario Bros., Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Pony, Care Bears and X-Men franchises.
The Calgary native moved to Victoria more than a decade ago to care for her mother, who was ill.
Following her mother’s death in 2017, Moore decided to stay, impressed with the amount of promising young talent in the city. She had done some workshops in the past, which went well. One of her former Victoria students went on to become the popular YouTube blogger Kawaii Kunicorn, whose channel has 185 million views from 516,000 subscribers.
“She was in a coffee shop and wanted to do it, so I said: ‘Come on, let’s try.’ She did it, and now makes six figures and lives in England.”
That gave Moore the idea to expand on her idea and create KRE8 Studio. She wants performers and creators with an affinity for technology to dive into sessions with the mentors Moore has assembled, knowing full well that something could come of it.
“The big drive for tech right now is interactivity. But what tech doesn’t have is stories. They need stories to hang it on — that’s why they need creators. Victoria has a really untapped voice, a really unique voice with a lot of really unique people. There’s such talent here.”
KRE8 Studio will be held at various downtown venues, but Moore did not want to reveal the exact locations. She has fans and the instructors she has procured have legions of fans, so she would rather spend the day teaching interested applicants the ropes than signing autographs.
“It’s not a ComicCon. This not about us, it’s about participants finding their own voice.”
Moore knows launching an event such as this is an uphill battle. But she believes the synergy between the creative arts and the tech sector in Victoria is strong enough to warrant it.
“It would take you 10 years to meet these guys in a professional capacity,” Moore said. “But I’ve got them all here, and they want to tell you what they know, and get you producing. Victoria is going to move into the tech world really soon, and let us make the bridge, instead of somebody telling us where the bridge is.”
