Starting with news from God's country: at Vancouver's Cactus Productions, director Randy MacDonald and dop Gabor Tarko have been awarded two spots for the Western Canada Lottery Corporation's "Sport Select" from Parallel Strategies in Calgary. James Head and cameraman Roger Vernon picked up three 30s from Ogilvy & Mather West: Calgary for a TransAlta Utilities heritage campaign. And Head did his own camera work on a just-finished 30 for the B.C. Lottery Corporation's "Provincial Fortune Trail" from Scali McCabe Sloves Vancouver.

Also in Vancouver, the folks at Ace are keeping busy with seven 30s for Boston Pizza from Glennie Stamnes and a just-awarded 30 for B.C. Lottery from Scali. Allan Jones is director/cameraman for both.

In Toronto, Damast Gordon and Associates director Boris Damast has just finished a campaign for Yellow Pages from MacLaren Advertising, with Steve Gordon handling dop duties.

At The Partners' Film Company, director/cameraman Bob Perks has wrapped a job for Mazda 4x4 trucks from FCB Ronalds Reynolds.

Director/cameraman Barry Parrell of Toronto's Roundhouse Films picked up a day for Duracell from Echo Advertising.

In Montreal, recent commercial action from Figaro Films includes a spot for radio station ckmf and agency Groupaction Marketing. Claude Brie directed and Jean-Pierre Trudel was the dop. Director/dop Richard Ciupka and dop Peter Hartmann shared duties on a big, three-day shoot for General Motors' geo out of Cossette Communication-Marketing. The outing produced two French 15s and two 30s - "Parcometre", and "Lecon de conduite". The spots were posted at Supersuite and Metaphore.

At La Fabrique d'Images, new production includes spots for Bell Canada, Loto-Quebec, Gillette Canada and McDonald's Restaurants.

Director Jacques Fournier and dop David Franco shot one 30 and one 15 French/English spot for Gillette and PNMD/Publitel. Director Karim Waked and dop Steve Danyluk handled the action on two 30s for McDonald's McHomard (McLobster) and Cossette. Danyluk teamed with director Jean-Francois Pouliot on "Fini les repondeurs" for Bell's Telereponse campaign, also out of Cossette, while Fournier and Waked co-directed the three Barbie/Hot-Wheels spots for McDonald's and Cossette. Shot over two days in August, the spots were art directed by Claude Marchand and posted at Buzz. Transfers were done at AstralTech and Supersuite.

Michel Poulette directed the action on two spots for Loto-Quebec's La poule aux oeufs d'or promotion. The animation sequences were done at DHD PostImage. Allen Smith was the cinematographer on the one-day shoot out of agency PALM Publicite Marketing.

Any information from production houses about new projects can be faxed to suzanne wilson in Toronto at (416) 408-0870 or to leo rice-barker in Montreal at (514) 843-4971.